Alleged Parking Offence

Mrs Gekko gave me a lift to meet some mates on Saturday. We pulled up and I got out of the car. A Garda approached us and said that we were parked in a disabled bay. I said that she wasn’t parked and was just dropping me off and that he’d seen us pull up 10 seconds earlier. He accused me of being smart with him and said he was issuing a €150 fine. A row then ensued. He was pretty rude and obnoxious. Any thoughts/suggestions on how to play it? I’m pretty annoyed about it and am happy to fight it, go to Court, etc. i don’t care about the money or the cost and I’m happy to engage with the Ombudsman or whatever the appropriate channel is. We’re law abiding citizens and I actually helped the Gardai from yer man’s station recently with a technical matter. Thanks.

They just love the power! :mad:

Is parked stopped in a spot or leaving the car unattended? If you stop briefly in a spot are you parked? I would agree with you, that you were stopped but not parked. You pulled in out of the traffic to do a drop off. Stopping in the middle of the road would have been a lot more disruptive to everyone.

Once you receive the fixed charge notice then you can apply for it to be cancelled. More info here. What proof do you have that you were just stopping briefly? Otherwise it may get into a he said/I said argument. Dashcam? What’s app chat saying Mrs Gekko is dropping me off?

I think thats very childish behaviour on the part of the Garda but logically processing it you have to have grounds to appeal. Parking is leaving or staying stationary for any period of time. I do not think you have sufficient grounds to appeal on the face of it.

Was the engine on or off when the Garda came over? I'd imagine that'd be a fairly important factor in distinguishing between a parked car and a stopped one...

torblednam said:

Was the engine on or off when the Garda came over? I'd imagine that'd be a fairly important factor in distinguishing between a parked car and a stopped one...

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I don’t recall but the Garda saw us pull up. It was literally a 15 second thing. We pulled in, I got out, she went to drive off.

Good news item of the day.

Gordon Gekko said:

We pulled up and I got out of the car.

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Your car was stationary. You were parked.

Accept the punishment and move on.

I played this game many years ago… I pulled into a bus lane, zero traffic, Mr hopped out and went to the bus stop 2 m away… I got a ticket. I didn’t really think the Garda was serious, the engine was still running when he appeared on his bike in front of me. I switched it off to be able to hear him and he grinned and said the car was stationary and therefore I was parked. I was still sitting in it with the window open. I just thanked him for the heads up and when the fine arrived I replied explaining where I was stopped and why and for how long and never heard anything more. I sent photos of the area with lines drawn to indicate where I was stopped and put in the exact time, I did a quick photo with my phone so I had the exact time and the position of the Garda bike.

TBH I expected to pay the fine but I thought it was worth the price of a stamp. And it was. Dunno why really. I was parked in a bus lane…

S class said:

Good news item of the day.

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What?

Dr Strangelove said:

Your car was stationary. You were parked.

Accept the punishment and move on.

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That’s sensible analysis. The engine was on.

I see where you are coming from but you were blocking a disabled space it doesn't matter for how long.

Gordon Gekko said:

The engine was on.

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Engine idling is also an offence.

An issue here as I see it is that if the fcn is issued, it will be issued to the OP's wife as the driver of the car, not to him.

Regardless of his appetite to go to court and fight it will be Mrs. Gekko's call. If she's of the same mind and allows it to escalate to a summons, and subsequently a court appearance, by not paying the fcn then Mr. Gekko can be called as a witness in her defence.

An appeal can be lodged if the fcn is issued. Should that course be taken by Mrs. Gekko she will need to ensure she lodges it well in advance of 28 days from the date on the fcn. Otherwise the fine rises to €225.

One further thing to bear in mind - should the Garda have formed the opinion that the parking was dangerous in some way and should a fcn for dangerous parking be issued that offence does come with penalty points also.

Is there a time limit for paying the fine?
For example 30 days and an increased amount in 60 days?

28 days from the date on the fcn, otherwise the amount increases. In this case from €150 to €225

I'd write a letter to the local superintendent. It worked for me when a jobsworth garda accused me of taking the wrong lane on the roundabout approach. (right lane 3rd exit) It was more because I overtook him on thew approach and he was dwadling. He claimed there was a "local rule" that meant you took the left lane.

I laughed in his face - not purposely, but it was so absurd that I just burst out laughing and then asked him how do visitors to Newbridge get to know of this secret local rule that flies in the face of the published rules of the road and the signage on approach.

I got a letter back letting me know that "no fine is being issued in this instance"

Of course no acceptance that that garda was wrong and no apology either. For that you need to take a high court action against the gardai and they will defend it to the nth degree because legal fees for any action against the gardai do not come out of the garda budget, hence they have nothing whatsoever to lose.

And if the parking ticket does go to court. Its TWO appearances and the gardai know this and love how it "punishes" you even if you are right.

Appearance #1 - the summary appearance. You wait anything from a couple of hour to all day. Plead guilty and its dealt with. Plead not guilty and its then put down for a hearing.

Appearance #2 - The hearing. Again you wait around for anything from 2 hours to 6 hours. You will NOT be told the time of when you are called - but strangely the prosecuting garda will know. Thankfully judges generally see sense and fairness, but you've wasted two days and THAT'S the real punishment and the gardai know this and abuse this if you do not beg forgiveness and say "yes sir three bags full sir".

Zobeda said:

28 days from the date on the fcn, otherwise the amount increases. In this case from €150 to €225

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And is there a time limit on the €225 payment?

Disabled Parking bays are off limits for anyone except those allowed to use them.

Guard was correct and glad they keep clamping down on people who are inconsiderate to those who need them.

Absolutely bananas carry on from the Garda, how are you supposed to drop somebody off, just stop in the middle of the road like a bus
I wonder would the Garda have said anything if Mrs G was a taxi driver??