Massachusetts drivers among the most determined in the U.S. to contest parking tickets, reveals survey.
- Are fines too high? 1/3 of drivers would struggle to pay a parking fine.
- Shame on you! 1 in 10 would park in a disabled space if they thought they could get away with it.
- Revealed: Where in America is most likely to challenge a parking ticket or argue with a meter maid.
Walking back to your car and seeing a ticket on the windscreen is one of life’s biggest curses – and it’s especially annoying if you believe you’ve been unfairly hit. So, what do the majority of us do when we’re faced with a ticket? Do we dispute it? Or do we pay the fine? Auto advice website CarBibles.com conducted a survey of 3,500 drivers to discover how we react to parking tickets and meter maids.
Here are the results:
According to the survey, almost 1/4 (24%) of drivers in towns and cities across Massachusetts say they have appealed parking tickets, compared to the national average of 18%. Whether they feel they have been unjustly penalized or are confident they can exploit a loophole in the system, Massachusetts drivers appear to be among the most game for a fight when it comes to appealing parking violations. But where in the U.S. are drivers most likely to contest a fine? It is revealed that Marylanders are most likely to challenge a parking fine, with nearly half of drivers there admitting they have appealed (49%). Interestingly, it is South Carolinians who are the least likely to challenge a fine, with only 5% having tried to get out of paying.
Given that 18% of drivers (nationally) would contest a ticket for a parking violation, it’s not surprising that the study revealed that 17% have actually argued with the meter maid when issuing the ticket! Fun fact – the first ever meter was installed in Oklahoma July 16th, 1935 and ran at a rate of 5 cents per hour. It’s fair to say it’s increased in price slightly since then!
Despite there being an estimated 2 billion spaces available, parking can still be a struggle in many towns and cities across America. A recent study revealed that we spend 17 hours per year on average just looking for a parking bay – but just how low would we go to get the ideal space? Parking in a disabled space when you don’t have a disability is considered an extremely selfish act, but unfortunately a lot of drivers do it – with the survey revealing that 1 in 10 admit they would park in a disabled parking space if they thought they could get away with it.
But really, it’s no surprise that a significant number of Americans challenge parking tickets, seeing as the survey found that 65% of us think parking tickets are just a money-making scheme from the city, rather than a way of deterring people from breaking the rules. In addition to this, 34% of Americans state that they would struggle to pay a parking ticket – which is probably another reason why so many people try to wriggle their way out of it.
Commenting on the survey results, Dan Collins of CarBibles.com says: “Our survey shows that one-third of Americans would struggle to afford a parking ticket, emphasising how important it is not to park somewhere you are not authorized to park! That said, you don’t always have to take a parking violation lying down. If you’re adamant you weren’t in the wrong, make sure to gather as much evidence as you can in your defence, and appeal to avoid paying up.”
