Driver Fined 1 Minute After Parking Ticket Expired: 'Frustrating'

A motorist was left stunned after returning to his car to find he had been issued with a ticket, precisely a minute after his allotted parking time had expired.

The driver, who asked to be simply referred to as Ray, from Tampa, Florida, told Newsweek that it was "very frustrating" to see the ticket on his windshield.

Parking, in general, represents a major source of frustration for the majority of Americans. U.S. drivers spend an average of 17 hours per day searching for parking, which can result in $345 in additional costs per driver, according to a study conducted by transport-analytics firm INRIX.

"I was running a little late to get back to my car," Ray said. "Unfortunately, the app only allows you to buy a full hour, which I didn't think was worth it since I was only going to be a couple of minutes late."

That decision proved a costly one. By the time Ray returned to his car, a ticket had been placed on his windscreen. What made matters worse, however, was that, upon closer inspection, Ray realized that the penalty had been issued exactly one minute after his parking expired.

"It was very frustrating to see I got a ticket a minute after my parking expired," he said. "I called the city's parking department, who told me to submit an appeal online. I did and was promptly denied. [They said] that the ticket was valid, and there is no grace period."

Though Ray said he was offered the opportunity to further appeal the decision, he ultimately opted to pay the fine because "going down that route did not seem worth it."

Instead, Ray uploaded a screenshot of the ticket to Reddit. "It was the principle of getting a ticket one minute after my parking expired that irked me," he explained.

Posted under the handle u/Blurpy69, the picture generated a strong response among fellow Reddit users who were equally incensed at the apparent pettiness of the fine.

"They were waiting," one user wrote, with another commenting: "The fact that this person was standing and waiting for the clock to turn just to go ahead and write a ticket is the mildly infuriating part."

That said, there were plenty who felt Ray only had himself to blame. One Reddit user posted: "One minute, ten minutes, expired is as expired does." Another agreed, writing: "Not sure what the problem is. They're supposed to give you a pass because you were only somewhat late?"

Ray said he regularly parks in downtown Tampa and that this is the first time he has received a ticket. "I wasn't aware they would nab someone for being a minute past their time so, in a way, it did serve as somewhat of a public service announcement," he added.

Ray also hopes his experience will put others off taking similar risks. "If you choose to gamble, be ready to have your bluff called," he said.

Ray can console himself with the fact that his fine could have been far worse than $30. One couple in San Francisco hit the headlines after it emerged that they were facing fines of up to $250 a day for parking on their own driveway.

Another couple were sent a similarly eye-watering $1,500 ticket after parking outside their own home. Then there was the lawyer who was left facing $4 million in parking tickets.

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