airport pickup area unattended ticket?

Question

I had to pick my family friend at the columbus ohio airport and i was waiting for 1min along with my wife at the pickup area before she showed up. She left her 2 check-in baggage inside close to main entrance and she needed my help to grab them.i went inside along with her and told my wife to wait in the car. (my wife cannot drive so she was sitting passenger side of the car). with in no time less than a min airport security guy showed up and asked my wife whether she can drive the car. she said she cant, and that i was at main entrance. while i was coming back with the luggage i saw them typing a ticket from a distance and i rushed to them. they gave me ticket with $25 fine on it and saying reason UNATTENDED, WENT INSIDE? I really confused how come it is unattended? my wife she was inside car. I want to appeal this... this is my first ever warning/ ticket in my entire driving history of 15 years. will this ticket have impact in my driving records? Do i have right to appeal against this ticket issued to me? Please help me answering these questions.

Answer 1

Having someone in the car who cannot drive it makes no difference at all. You are wildly luck that the ticket is only $25. Pay it. You have no basis for "appeal."

Answer 2

Unless you are actively loading or unloading your car you are not allowed to stop in front of any terminal. This is for security as well as traffic flow. Had you been even just a short distance away where you were obviously getting the bags you would have been okay, but you went inside the terminal and were gone for more than just a few seconds. As you had time for the Airport Police to notice the car, but come up and talk to your wife, and in the middle of writing a ticket. It also seems that the officer would have given your wife the opportunity to move it had she been able to drive, but since you as the driver left the car it is considered unattended.



You can of course fight it, and if you want to appeal you must follow the directions on the ticket. Most likely you have to send in a written request for a hearing and still pay the fine as a deposit toward the hearing. However, you probably will loose and to be honest with you it will cost you more than $25 in time to do this. But as long as you pay it off it will not affect your driving record at all.



If you want any positive of this. Just be glad that your wife was in the car. Because if she wasn't your car would have been towed and that $25 fine would have been probably a $150 tow fee along with a fine. Yes as quickly as the airport police showed up there would have been a tow truck there just as quickly.

Answer 3

You are guilty and it is not worth going to court and trying to fight a 25 dollar fine. Just pay it and learn from the experience. The police are usually standing by issuing tickets and trying to keep traffic moving through the pickup area. It can be really frustrating for other drivers when someone leaves a car parked in the drive. Even if it is only a few minutes it can clog up traffic and is inconsiderate to the other drivers trying to make their own pickups. I don't know if there was much traffic in your case, but that is why the rules are strictly enforced. A traffic jam can build quickly if the rules are not followed.



It is not a moving violation and it will have no affect on your driving record or insurance. Just pay it.

Answer 4

You don't get to define unattended, they do. You may as well have left a 10 year old with the car. I suspect their definition of "attended" means someone who can move the vehicle.

It isn't a moving violation, so no points, parking tickets don't really mean anything. Consider yourself lucky it was only 25$. Pay it and move on.



Ten years ago, I parked my car and while I was in class, they put a no parking sign up in front of the space I was parked in. I got a ticket. When I appealed it, the cop brought a picture of another parking space and claimed that's where I was parked. I ended up paying the fine and court costs.

Answer 5

Just pay the fine. It will not affect your driving record.



You have a right to appeal but they aren't going to see it your way. I guarantee it. You will end up paying the fine anyway, plus court costs probably, and your time and hassle (like paying for parking at the court).

Answer 6

A car cannot be without a driver and since your spouse was not in the driver's seat ( she cannot drive ) then the car is considered unattended.