[Silver85327]

So I am sitting in Lancaster, Texas at our terminal. I run out of smokes so i bob tail down to the Wal Mart. I am in the store a total of 10 minutes MAYBE.

I come back outside and a police officer is writing me a ticket for breaking a city ordinance of parking my tractor in a business parking lot.

NO where on the lot does it say no tractor trailer parking the only signs they have is 1 no trucks sign by the fuel island driveway.

Anyways the ticket is 552 dollars. I have been solo for a month and a half now I don't have 550 dollars to spend on this what are my options?
I was not sleeping there I have a receipt proving I was a paying customer do I have any chance at all of getting out of this?

Because if I don't I'm going to tell OTR trucking to shove it and go get a local job.

[mikey4069]

Thats total bs and i would fight it .

[Sealord]

Did you ask the Wal-mart manager what the deal is? If you have a receipt, he may go to bat for you. BOL

[LA to Cleveland]

Before you get too bent out of shape, try going to the court clerks office & have your time stamped reciept for your purchase with you along with a great attitude - locate the one clerk that doesn't display a dirty look & mean attitude, be as apologetic & pleasant as possible while you give a short explaination and ask for a warning only - let them know you will never do it again & let them know there is not a "No Parking" sign with the city ordinance number visibly displayed anywhere on or near the parking lot. I just started driving not too long ago & I got the same kind of ticket on Thanksgiving day - Violation: Parking a Commercial Vehicle on a Vacant Commercial Property , the city ordinance says i can park in the daytime but not 1 hour after sunset until 1 hour before sunrise, what a crock of bull$*%#....I let the office know that i was beginning my 3rd week of driving & hadn't even got my first paycheck yet, it worked only after the clerk went to her supervisor wih the officer's copy of ticket.

* by the way, what sealord said about going the the store manager also got me out of paying a ticket when i went to court in front of judge, the store manager vouched for the fact the painted lines & handicapped spaces were had worn away & the sign had been knocked down - No Fine !

[One]

Unbelievable- 1st of all, a bobtail is not a tractor-trailer, so if the law states tractor-trailer, you are off the hook if the judge if reasonable. 2ndly that lot is private property and you were there to shop at the store, not to loiter or stay overnight, so i think the store who owns the lot was happy to have you....Talk to the store manager, get something in writing from him, then the DA or clerk of court. If that doesnt help, hire a local traffic attorney.

Unbelievable injustice!

[mikey4069]

when they see trucks all they see is $$$$ . :roll: :twisted:

[classicxl]

a police officer can not write a ticket on private property unless he was called to the business by the owner/manger

[Twilight Flyer]

a police officer can not write a ticket on private property unless he was called to the business by the owner/manger

That was going to be my comment, too, meaning don't expect the store manager to vouch for you.

[btinc]

Originally Posted by classicxl

a police officer can not write a ticket on private property unless he was called to the business by the owner/manger

This a new crackdown that started on the first of the year in and around the Dallas area, they are supposed to target companies that let trucks park and the trucks that park there.

[Rev.Vassago]

Unfortunately, ignorance of the law is not an excuse. They are under no obligation to display signs. If you were cited, it is because the owner/manager of the Wal Mart has requested that they do so.