
Quoting
cdwjava
Unless you live in that particular community, you do not know how open they are about enacting local ordinances or even about publicizing them. But, since the law that permits towing from a fire lane is based upon CA STATE law, it's not up to the local city to educate the motoring public on something they should already know.
Well this is not what I suggested, so if we could stick to what was actually stated I would appreciate it
All of the above. There is no law that governs how little or how much they have to publicize those ordinances that have been duly adopted. There are laws that govern HOW a local ordinance is enacted - presentation, reading, public notice, etc., but afterwards, they don't necessarily have to have a press conference announcing it.
Actually I lived there for several years and believe it or not people from other towns can access their websites as well as the local papers and other sources of public information. If you want to stand in the way of transparency I find that unfortunate. Secondly it was not a fire lane. Also activists and the like have the right to create their own sites to explain the rules of the town if officials are not able to do, or are unwilling to do so so
And, again, this is an issue of state law, not simply a local ordinance.
And again I asked you to clarify what aspects are mandated by the state and which are not, and this do not seem to address that question. My question in this context was in regard to the posting of signs and painting of curbs the State law is amenable as well
The law permits discretion in most areas of enforcement. Agency policy might modify this.
Agency policy will most often reflect community values. If the community - as reflected through action, redress, or the influence fo their local representatives - wants to modify agency policy, then that is what will happen. One example is Los Angeles. They have opted not to impound the vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers in order to placate a large undocumented and unlicensed driver community
This is one example, but in no way demonstrates that all laws are understood or agreed to by the public. An unwillingness or reluctance to even post the law would seem to be symptomatic of a glib belief that they believe and understand the law without any evidence that that is the case. The claim that the process is working just fine is simply your opinion and not based on any facts as far as I can see
I am sure you can make the argument that this could lead to micro management by the community, but I would suggest there is a happy medium, and wide police discretion is not necessarily saving us from even more punitive measures. Also, I would assume police discretion would still be based on some criteria. And while such a criteria may not be legally binding that it would nonetheless lend itself to some consistency and general fairness. For instance if a person approaches yelling obscenities at the officer, I think most people would understand a negative choice made for that individual. but I do believe a community has a right to some transparency on these decisions and a right to having discretion over the nature of polices discretion - ostensibly to avoid negative economic impacts against that poppulation. But, it is an example of political will driving a policy that runs counter to common practice and, arguably, highway safety.
This lends itself to all manner of problems - not the least of which is that we here in CA have no history of doing this, and I would argue that doing so can lend itself to all manner of accusation of malfeasance. I don't want my officers to be nose deep in a credit card transaction on the street or having to complete the necessary release records checks and paperwork in the field. While some states allow officers to take traffic offense payments in the field, this is a system that smacks of potential corruption - or, at least, the appearance of such.
I made it clear the issue was your claim that increased officer discretion from police officers was saving the public from even more punitive measures, and in my opinion this answer did not address that point and instead only focused on the payment aspect which I acknowledged as relatively moot. On the other hand I do not have a problem with an officer whose discretion seems reasonable to the public. But if an when the sum total of such discretionary decisions seems to drift from the public interest, then I would suggest the public does have an option to limit officer discretion
If you ask, most agencies will have some resource available that they can contact on your behalf. I live in a very small community with few resources, and even we could find some sort of shelter for the night if the need were great enough. Most of the time, however, the person whose car is impounded either has family/friends in the area, has money, or chooses not to ask.
And when you say agencies who are you referring to? The police department was closed. And again how are you sure to what degree people may or may not be left stranded in other towns? I am glad your small town seems willing to work on this, but I am not sure that is the case everywhere Regardless, to me the point that people need to be left stranded seems like an unnecessary outcome, and steps need to be taken to avoid it if possible
I believe that the only way the tow driver is mandated to be paid is if he already has it on the hook. I'd have to look this up again, but I recall there being case law on the subject. And that drop fee is minimal (i.e. $100 or less). It's been a while since I have had to look that one up, and I have not had to conduct a hearing on such a scenario in many years, but if I recall the law correctly, the officer should have allowed you to leave with your citation.
Well I am appealing the case, and will let you know how it turns out
Tow yards are not required to have 24 hour access - only normal business hours. After hours, they are permitted to charge a gate or late release fee in addition to any other fees that might be assessed.
And I did not suggest that. I stated that if they towed the vehicle and were at their yard from sad towing that an additional cost for taking a payment would be a minimal additional charge
A fine is levied by government as a result of a determination of some form of malfeasance. The tow fees are paid to compensate the tow company for their reasonable expenses, and the vehicle release fee is paid to the police department ostensibly for the same reason ... though, personally, I believe many agencies charge far more than is reasonable for these.