Nope not what you are thinking!!! Received a citation for parking in a handicapped spot in Plano, TX. I know it was wrong, and I accept full responsibility however there were some extenuating circumstances. I received the citation at my place of business; we are not a retail business, where the number of handicapped needing parking spots fluctuates greatly from hour to hour. It's great that my employer has grown leaps and bounds this year; however the down side is that the parking lot is completely full by 9:00AM, I mean jam packed. If you arrive late you have to use a "nearby" parking area that my employer has rented. I use the term"nearby" very loosely! It is 1.5 miles away from my building, that's right, not a city block away but over a mile away. Plus you have to walk across 6 lanes of traffic with no signal light, so it can be dangerous. As a result there are cars everywhere in our main parking area, at times it is difficult to even get my vehicle through the parking lot, without having to back-up or turn around because some yahoo blocked traffic. Folks are parked in every small opening they can find, on the grass and even blocking fire hydrants.

I was working from home and had left some things in the office that I needed, so I went in about 10:30; of course the parking lot was jammed. Drove around looking for a spot for a few minutes, then spied several handicapped spots available (5-8 at least) so I parked in the one furthest from the building and limped in (just kidding). I knew my round trip inside would be less than 15 minutes; Just grab what I needed, say hi to a few colleagues, and I'm gone. I could have put my flashers on and blocked a fire lane or hydrant; I could have parked on the grass or double parked, blocking others from leaving. But after a quick analysis, the handicapped spot appeared to me to be the lesser of the evils. Big mistake! The city of Plano Police Department has a Citizens Handicap Parking Patrol. These individuals take the required training (4 hours) then they are able to write citations same as a police person; and they appear to enjoy writing citations! I questioned the Parking Patrol why only I was ticketed, when clearly several other cars where parked in fire lanes and illegally parked blocking vehicles. The response was that they only write citations against handicapped violators. So those cars that were parked in a fire lane were potentially endangering the lives of hundreds of people inside the building, while at worst I prevented one handicapped person from parking. OK no problem I had done wrong I knew it so I took my citation and went on my way home.

You must be joking? The first offense handicapped violation fine is,are you ready $517.00!! I was floored, I had no idea it was that steep a penalty. Apparently it doubles and triples for repeat offenders. I did some checking if I had been speeding in a school zone (1-10 MPH over) the fine is $227, the first offense for public intoxication is only $369.00! The fine amount seems really out of line with, in my opinion, more serious crimes. Speeding in a school zone you could hurt or kill someone. So after I picked my self up from the floor, I called the number on the back of the citation. They said I could pay the fine or contest the ticket. I had never received such a high fine before, so I elected to appear before the court to make them aware of the circumstances of my violation. I was really disappointed in myself, I use coupons to save a dollar, then I make a $500 dollar mistake, it could take me months to make that money back being frugal.

A week later my day in court arrived. The Plano municipal court building is easy to get to and very clean, I didn't feel like a criminal just showing up anyway! I was nervous as I had no clue what to expect. Part of me just wanted to experience it, I figured worst case just pay the $517 fine, and might learn a little about the justice system. Fortunately the officers at the courthouse were very pleasant and helpful. They guided me into the courtroom, with a laminated piece of paper to read, and soon as my butt hit the seat, I heard my name. I raised my hand and said "I'm here"the judge just looked at me and continued to just look at meso after a few awkward moments, made my way up to the bench. He quickly gave me my options, "guilty or do you want to take it to trial?" I told him I was guilty but there were some unusual circumstances that led me to park there, so then I had to speak to the DA, that's the District Attorney for you unseasoned law abiding citizens that only watch American Idol! I informed the DA of the circumstances and he said he could reduce the fine to $317.00 or I could take it to trial, but if I was found guilty at trial the fine would be the original amount plus court fees..so I took the plea bargain, paid my money and within 15 minutes I had made $200!

I know it's not what you were expecting, and did I really make $200, when it still cost me $300? Debatable I suppose. So what can you learn from my experiences:

1 - DO NOT PARK in a HANDICAPPED SPOT!!! Unless you have a placard.
2 - If you do something dumb, like I did, but have a reasonable reason why you did it, the courts are willing to work with you. I was able to save $200, basically just by showing up.

I'm glad to see that Plano was willing to reduce it some, because in some checking I learned that the city generated an extra 2 million in income in 2010 from these volunteer parking patrols. I was concerned that it was just an easy money grab by the city.

I'm sure some of you more seasoned criminals could have gotten it reduced more or maybe by hiring a lawyer it would have been thrown out? I considered that, but honestly I knew I did wrong. I took the chance I would not get caught, I got caught so I paid the price in time and money. I guess that's why they make the fine so high, so you never even look at a handicapped spot again! Since it works for Handicapped why not do it for all traffic violations? How about the FrugaNation, anyone have a related story to share?

Dismissed - Be Frugal Out There!