"I was fined in a parking lot even though I had paid" – many drivers get ripped off

This little-known reason is why some drivers are fined even if they have paid for their parking.

Paying for your parking space properly and getting fined? This mishap doesn't just happen to other people. And drivers who have experienced it will tell you, it's quite annoying. Parking fees in major cities are often prohibitively expensive, and sometimes even good payers receive a ticket in their mailbox a few days later. It's enough to make your hair stand on end, especially when you consider the size of the fines in some cities.

Since each municipality has been able to freely set the rate for FPS (post-parking fee) in the event of non-payment or exceeding the duration, i.e., since January ^1, 2018, the price of fines has skyrocketed. In Paris, it reaches 75 euros in the first eleven arrondissements and 50 euros in the other nine… Of course, it is always possible to contest a ticket provided you have kept your parking ticket, which we strongly recommend.

If error is human, it is also with machines, and when the municipality recognizes a computer bug, then the ticket is canceled. But there are also certain specificities that escape the majority of people, and one can be wrong even when one believes one is in the right. Some motorists have had the bitter experience of this by receiving, a few days after paying for their parking, a letter in which was indicated in the box reserved for the description of the offense: ILLEGAL PARKING IN A PAID PARKING ZONE: WRONGLY PLACED PARKING MACHINE TICKET. A reason that, inevitably, never goes down well.

What does the Highway Code say about this? It stipulates that the parking ticket must be visible from the sidewalk without leaving the roadway. It must therefore be placed on the inside of the windshield, on the sidewalk side, to facilitate inspection by Public Highway Surveillance Agents (ASVP). If the latter cannot read it from the sidewalk (and they are a little overzealous), then they have the right to issue a ticket that will be very difficult to contest. Especially since this rule is often specified in the paid parking conditions of municipal by-laws.

For the many drivers who carelessly place their parking ticket on the dashboard of their car, we strongly advise you to take the time to place it in the right place and especially in the right direction so that it can be easily read. This will prevent you from receiving a fine and ultimately having paid for your parking for nothing. Keep in mind that this will become increasingly rare since it is no longer necessary to use a ticket in many cities, where enforcement officers directly scan license plates to determine whether payments have been made.