Ever hear about the phantom parking ticket?
The government needs to give you notice of parking ticket. They do this by sticking the parking ticket under your windshield wipers, usually. It’s not a perfect system. The ticket can blow away, you can drive off with it, a man can throw it on the ground with anti-government vehemence… It is possible to get a parking ticket without knowing.
All subsequent notices, such as court dates, late fees and deadlines, are sent to by mail to the address you have registered with the DMV or your local Department of Transportation. So, if you never change your address with the DMV, you might never get notice of a parking ticket at all.
When you finally get wind of the ticket, it might have spiked from $50 to a frightening $350 or more. And there’s nothing you can do. If you can try to tell the judge that you moved, he’ll just say:
“You should’ve changed your address.”
Scary.