In what serves as an object lesson for drivers in Lamont and Shafter, San Francisco successfully prevented a parking ticket app, which relied on locating errors on the citations, from taking root in the Golden Gate City.

Since the smartphone app arrived in San Francisco in 2013, Fixed had led to the dismissal of over 10,000 parking tickets. Over 50 percent of these dismissals were due to physical mistakes on the citations; the app also used Google Streetview to determine if the correct signage was in place. When the app owners initially faxed requests for hearings to the city, officials responded by turning off the city’s fax machine. Shortly thereafter, citing a “security change,” San Francisco’s payment processor stopped accepting mass online payments. Both the city and Xerox deny any wrongdoing or intent to target Fixed.

It is estimated that the $74 parking tickets in San Francisco – which are some of the most expensive in the country – generate about $130 million for the city each year.

Ticket Errors

Somewhat like parking tickets, some of the most effective defenses to traffic tickets are technical errors that result in what lawyers call a “variance.” Mistakes alone are not enough to warrant dismissal: in addition to a variance, an attorney must convince the judge that the variance was “fatal.”

Other defenses involve legal errors; for example, the speed limit sign may be obscured by a tree or the engineering study in support of the lower limit may be out of date.

Getting Legal Help

The aggressive lawyers at Bigger & Harman, APC, are committed to giving individuals a voice when dealing with speeding and traffic tickets. Call today at 661-859-1177 or email attorney@markbigger.com to receive the personal professional attention you deserve. En español, llame al 661-376-0214.