My car got towed!

[brooklyngirl]

We moved to San Jose about 2 months ago, and rented an apartment in a nice apartment complex, which has a bit of a parking problem (read, many times it''s not available).

FI drives me to the trainstation on Mondays at 6:15 am, and we got home at about 8pm last night, and for lack of a better spot, we parked in the "future resident" parking area in a handicapped spot. Before I get flamed, the leasing office is open from 9am to 6pm daily.

As such the handicapped spot was not being used for it''s intended purpose.

Well we got towed anyway, not because someone called and complained, but because the tow companies in CA are apparently allowed to enforce parking laws by towing cars. Apparently they don''t need authorization from anyone.

 

[Shoopy]

Wellllll.....as someone who had her car towed from a space that I paid $3,000 for while people are parking in the handicap spots left and right with no regards to the sign posted...I think this is really just your bad.

It sucks to come outside and not see your car there and then to have to pay the $100+

but it was a handicap spot and you took a risk parking there.

Sorry

 

[Lauren8211]

That''s a bummer for you. I bet the tow companies make a lot of money off of people that do that!

But of course, you knew that was a violation since handicapped spaces are handicapped regardless of the time, so it was definitely appropriate for them to tow you for it.

 

[zoebartlett]

Elle said the same thing that I was going to. No matter what time it was, a handicap space is still a handicap space, and you shouldn''t have parked there. Have you spoken to the people in the rental office to find out if there''s alternative parking elsewhere within your complex if most of the spots are filled? For example, in our small complex, we have two designated spots per condo unit. We also have short term and long term parking for guests and/or residents who need a place to park in the winter if they''re going on vacation, so that if the residents'' parking spots need to be plowed, their cars won''t be in the way. I know you don''t have to worry about snow in SJ, but does your complex have something like these alternate lots?

 

[bee*]

Date: 10/13/2008 12:02:18 PM
Author: elledizzy5

That''s a bummer for you. I bet the tow companies make a lot of money off of people that do that!

But of course, you knew that was a violation since handicapped spaces are handicapped regardless of the time, so it was definitely appropriate for them to tow you for it.

ditto.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/13/2008 12:26:30 PM
Author: bee*

Date: 10/13/2008 12:02:18 PM

Author: elledizzy5

That''s a bummer for you. I bet the tow companies make a lot of money off of people that do that!

But of course, you knew that was a violation since handicapped spaces are handicapped regardless of the time, so it was definitely appropriate for them to tow you for it.

ditto.

Thritto. I can understand parking in a spot for the leasing office, but not a handicapped spot. They are there for a reason.

 

[swingirl]

I'm sure a handicapped person trying to find a parking space would have no sympathy for you. It's not a matter of you deciding the spot wasn't going to be used. And the parking spot doesn't have "hours" based on the establishment it is in front of. Maybe it's different in other states but in California a handicapped parking space is meant for handicapped only -- 24/7.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Date: 10/13/2008 1:39:46 PM
Author: swingirl
I''m sure a handicapped person trying to find a parking space would have no sympathy for you. It''s not a matter of you deciding the spot wasn''t going to be used. And the parking spot doesn''t have ''hours'' based on the establishment it is in front of. Maybe it''s different in other states but in California a handicapped parking space is meant for handicapped only -- 24/7.

There are quite a few handicapped spots around the complex which are intended for the residents to park in, and I would never take one of those spots -- so it''s not a matter of my taking a spot from a handicapped person.

If a spot is intended to be used to access a facility, and the facility is closed, the aformentioned handicapped person cannot use that space to access said facility.

The law is intended to help the handicapped, but it looks to me like the city is looking for cash when they tow cars parked in a handicapped spot of a *closed* facility, under the guise of helping the handicapped.

I suppose it''s not the first time municipalities have done things like this, but it''s still wrong!

 

[brooklyngirl]

Date: 10/13/2008 12:11:41 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
If you parked in a posted handicap spot, regardless of the parking situation- you should have been towed. Its private property, so it was most likely someone from the complex.

It drives me CRAZY to see people who have no reason to park in HC spots do just that. There''s a reason they are there and its not for those of us who have no right to park there. I myself have called pd on such parkers... I''m sorry your car got towed and that you didn''t get a warning, but it was a posted HC spot.

Apparently it wasn''t someone from the complex -- the tow company apprently drove by, and saw the car, and is allowed to just tow it, without any sort of complaint from anyone.

Like I said before, I don''t agree with people parking in hc spots when those spots need to be used (i.e. facility is in use), but when a facility is not in use, I don''t see what makes a hc spot so different from any other spot related to that facility.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Date: 10/13/2008 12:13:34 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Elle said the same thing that I was going to. No matter what time it was, a handicap space is still a handicap space, and you shouldn''t have parked there. Have you spoken to the people in the rental office to find out if there''s alternative parking elsewhere within your complex if most of the spots are filled? For example, in our small complex, we have two designated spots per condo unit. We also have short term and long term parking for guests and/or residents who need a place to park in the winter if they''re going on vacation, so that if the residents'' parking spots need to be plowed, their cars won''t be in the way. I know you don''t have to worry about snow in SJ, but does your complex have something like these alternate lots?

Unfortunately we don''t have anything like that. It''s first come first serve. We leave very early on Mondays, and when we park on the street, we have to run through sprinklers to get to the car. There isn''t really any street space to park other than about half a block. I haven''t seen cars parked anywhere else.

 

[Tropicmaster]

I bet there is no shortage of people who would gladly crawl through a sprinkler to get to their car if they could just afford one! HC is always HC, otherwise it would fall to people who are not HC to determine whether it was really needed by an HC, or just waiting for " me cause I really dont want to walk that far".
Sorry you got towed, but no sympathy vote here.

 

[deegee]

My employer has a contract with a towing company to tow any cars on our lot after hours that don''t have a company tag in the window. Next to our building is a large apartment complex with inadequate parking. Our office opens to the public at 8, but many employees get there at 6:30. We had so many apartment tenants parking in our lot that if you got to work at 8, you couldn''t find a place to park. Our lot has "employee parking only - violators will be towed" signs everywhere, but the apartment tenants still took half of our spaces. Our director met with the apartment landlord to circulate a memo to the tenants telling them not to park in our lot, but it didn''t work. Then our office manager, who arrives at 6:30, began putting notes on the cars in our warning them that it was a private lot, etc. Didn''t help. The next step was having all cars on the lot at 6:30 am towed. Still didn''t help. Now we have the contract with the towing company for the automatic towing. Seems drastic, but at least I can find a place to park when I get to work.

 

[purrfectpear]

If you aren''t handicapped and don''t have a HC sticker then don''t park in a HC spot. It''s that simple.

There were many days in my 8th month of pregnancy that I coveted those HC parking spots, but I never parked there.

It doesn''t say "HC unless you think no one will use it after hours and then feel free"

 

[sparkel]

Date: 10/13/2008 4:02:55 PM
Author: brooklyngirl

Date: 10/13/2008 1:39:46 PM
Author: swingirl
I''m sure a handicapped person trying to find a parking space would have no sympathy for you. It''s not a matter of you deciding the spot wasn''t going to be used. And the parking spot doesn''t have ''hours'' based on the establishment it is in front of. Maybe it''s different in other states but in California a handicapped parking space is meant for handicapped only -- 24/7.

There are quite a few handicapped spots around the complex which are intended for the residents to park in, and I would never take one of those spots -- so it''s not a matter of my taking a spot from a handicapped person.

If a spot is intended to be used to access a facility, and the facility is closed, the aformentioned handicapped person cannot use that space to access said facility.

The law is intended to help the handicapped, but it looks to me like the city is looking for cash when they tow cars parked in a handicapped spot of a *closed* facility, under the guise of helping the handicapped.

I suppose it''s not the first time municipalities have done things like this, but it''s still wrong!

Hi,

I have a part time job where I assist individuals who are physcially challenged. As such I drive a HC acess van. While you might feel that it was acceptable to park there since it wasn''t close to the entrance to that facility often the issue with HC spaces is that they are wider or have extra space on the side to accomodate the deployment of an access ramp. Many many times I have been unable to park the van because of people like you who felt that their knowledge of the need for HC spaces was superior to those who designed the space and set out the laws for the city.

At the end of the day you broke the law and unfortunately for you you got caught. I''m sorry to take such a hard line against you but I hope this makes you and others think twice about this as I have often been forced to deploy an acess ramp in unsafe parking spaces (often into traffic) b/c people have used the HC space without a permit.

...rant over!

 

[lovegem]

Date: 10/13/2008 4:11:29 PM
Author: brooklyngirl

Date: 10/13/2008 12:13:34 PM

Author: ZoeBartlett

Elle said the same thing that I was going to. No matter what time it was, a handicap space is still a handicap space, and you shouldn't have parked there. Have you spoken to the people in the rental office to find out if there's alternative parking elsewhere within your complex if most of the spots are filled? For example, in our small complex, we have two designated spots per condo unit. We also have short term and long term parking for guests and/or residents who need a place to park in the winter if they're going on vacation, so that if the residents' parking spots need to be plowed, their cars won't be in the way. I know you don't have to worry about snow in SJ, but does your complex have something like these alternate lots?

Unfortunately we don't have anything like that. It's first come first serve. We leave very early on Mondays, and when we park on the street, we have to run through sprinklers to get to the car. There isn't really any street space to park other than about half a block. I haven't seen cars parked anywhere else.

Sorry I don't buy this excuse. If an alternative is available (i.e. walk couple streets) then that's what you should have done instead of parked at a HC spot. If you wanted your complex to schedule a time on the HC spot, you could probably had asked them to put a time restriction on this HC spot to ease the parking issue in your apartment complex. Before they change it, a HC spot is still a HC spot.

 

[lovegem]

Date: 10/13/2008 4:59:11 PM
Author: purrfectpear
If you aren''t handicapped and don''t have a HC sticker then don''t park in a HC spot. It''s that simple.


There were many days in my 8th month of pregnancy that I coveted those HC parking spots, but I never parked there.


It doesn''t say ''HC unless you think no one will use it after hours and then feel free''

In Toronto, we have expectant mother parking spots or people with strollers/babies etc. Each shopping mall got many spots like that in each entrance.

 

[Bia]

I feel you. This was me two weeks ago

Very Frustrating!

 

[strmrdr]

I call the towing company if its posted who covers that lot if I see a car without the handicap plates or sticker in a handicap spot.
Sorry but you did wrong and had to pay for it.