جنگ بر سر بلیط پارکینگ

Fighting a Parking Ticket

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 143: Fighting a Parking Ticket.

You’re listening to English as a Second Language Podcast episode 143. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

This podcast is about trying to get out of or fight a parking ticket. Let’s get started!

[start of dialogue]

Mindy: Hey, where are you going?

Eric: I’m going to traffic court. I got a parking ticket and I’m going to fight it.

Mindy: How much was the fine?

Eric: It was only $40. But it’s not the money. It’s the principle of the thing.

Mindy: Why? Weren’t you parked illegally?

Eric: No, I wasn’t. The street I live on has metered parking from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. After 6, you can park there with a permit. Well, I parked my car at 7:30 PM and I have a permit. But, I still got a ticket.

Mindy: Did you display the permit clearly? It isn’t expired, is it?

Eric: Yeah, it’s clearly displayed and it’s good until June 2007.

Mindy: Well, it sounds like you have a good case. Are you representing yourself or did you hire a lawyer?

Eric: I’m going there by myself. Wish me luck.

Mindy: Good luck. If the judge locks you away, I promise to visit you in jail.

Eric: Thanks a lot. I’ll remember that.

[end of dialogue]

The title of this podcast is “Fighting a Parking Ticket.” A “parking ticket,” of course, is what you get when you are parked illegally – your car is parked illegally. And to “fight (fight) a ticket” means to protest and try to avoid paying the parking ticket, the fine that comes with the ticket. And that usually means talking to a judge. And the dialog begins with Eric saying that he is going to traffic court. The “court (court) system” is another name for our legal system where you have judges and there are different kinds of courts. There are criminal courts and that’s for people who have robbed someone or murdered – those crimes go to criminal court and then there is civil court. And “civil (civil) courts” are for things like lawsuits – when you hit someone’s car and they “sue” you (sue) – they “sue” you – meaning they demand money from you. Well, traffic court is a little different. Traffic court is just for dealing with problems, crimes, and fines that are related to the driving of a car and parking is part of that. So, if you have a parking ticket and you want to fight it, you would have to go to traffic court – the court that handles or the court that deals with that issue.

Well, Eric says he got a parking ticket, which we know is a fine that you get for doing something wrong. He says, “He’s going to fight it.” Mindy asks, “How much was the fine?” And the “fine” is the money that you pay to the government. Usually it’s the city government but it could be whatever local government is there. Well, the fine is the amount he pays and Eric says the fine is “only $40,” meaning he doesn’t think it’s very expensive. It’s “only $40.” He says, “But it’s not the money. It’s the principle of the thing.” “It’s the principle” (principle) of the thing – meaning it’s not the money but it’s the idea that he was right and not wrong and so, he wants to show that he was right. A “principle” is an idea – usually something that you believe in – a “principle.” There are two words in English that sound the same – “principle.” It can also be spelled (principal), and that sort of “principal” means the primary or first. So, if you said, “The principal reason why I am going is because I need money.” Well, that would be the first or most important reason – that’s “pal” and when it is spelled (ple) it’s an idea or a value or something that – some idea that you believe in. In school, the “principal” is the director or head master or leader of the school. In most American schools, this is called – this person is called the “principal” and that’s spelled (pal).

Mindy asked why he wants – Eric wants – to fight the parking ticket. She says, “Weren’t you parked illegally?” “Illegally,” of course, (illegally) – “illegally” is not legally. And Eric says, “No.” The street he lives on has “metered parking.” “Metered parking’ (metered) is a street that has, you can guess, parking meters, and parking meters are those little machines that you put money into. Here in Los Angeles, it costs maybe – depends on where you are, but most parking meters are 50 cents or a quarter for 1 hour of parking. But if you are in a very busy area, it could be a dollar or $1.50 for one hour of parking. In many American cities, parking is a big way that the local government makes money.

So, there are special police officers that are – they’re not police officers – they’re special employees of the police department that give parking tickets. And these are sometimes – well they used to be called “Meter Maids.” “Meter Maids” (maids) – because they were mostly women – a maid is another word for a woman. And a “Meter Maid” was someone – were women who went around and checked the meters – took the money out of the meters and so forth. But now, the name that we give them – the people are part of what is called “Parking Enforcement.” “Parking Enforcement” – “to enforce (enforce) a law” – usually we use that expression with the law – “to enforce a law” – means that the government or the police will punish you if you don’t follow the law. There are many laws. Not all of them are enforced, meaning the police don’t arrest people for everything they could.

Los Angeles, like many cities has many parking meters and that’s how it makes part of its money. Well, Los Angeles in particular has a very difficult – in some areas – rules and regulations for parking and they change. Different days, you can park on certain streets at different times and it can be very confusing to someone. There are sometimes three or four different signs that you have to read to figure out whether it’s okay to park there on that day at that time. Well, going back to the story.

Eric says that he lives on a street that have metered parking from 9AM in the morning to 6 PM in the afternoon. After 6 he says, “You can park on the street with a permit.” And a “permit” (permit) is something that gives you permission to park somewhere. Some streets are so busy that only if you live on that street can you park there at certain times. That’s true in many streets here in Los Angeles. Of course, everyone has a car in Los Angeles so that’s another reason why they want to limit the parking to people who live in that area. And so, they give you a permit which you put in the window of your car so that the police or the traffic or parking enforcement, rather, knows that you have permission. Eric says he parked his car with his permit but he “still got a ticket,” meaning he got a ticket nevertheless. Even though he had a permit, he still got a ticket.

Mindy says, “Did you display the permit clearly?” meaning did you put it so that they could see it. “To display” (display) means to show someone, to make sure that it can be seen. She asked if the permit was expired and when we say something has “expired” (expired) that means it is no longer any good. You can no longer use it. Eric says, “It was clearly displayed,” and that the permit “is good until June 2007.” When something “is good until” a certain date or time, we mean that it is still okay. It is still – you can still use it until that time.

Mindy says that Eric has a “good case.” A “good case” (case) means that he has a good argument, a good chance of winning. She asked if he is representing himself or is he hiring a lawyer. “To represent yourself” means that you go to the court, in front of the judge by yourself and you tell the judge directly and you are your own lawyer, you could say. But most people would hire a lawyer. And a “lawyer” is, of course, (lawyer) the person who argues your case, argues in front of the judge – tells them why you should be let free or in this case, why you should not have to pay the ticket. Eric then tells Mindy, “Wish me luck,” meaning wish that I – tell me that I have good luck or hope that I have good luck – wish me luck. Mindy says, “Good luck. And if the judge locks you away, I promise to visit you in jail.” “To lock (lock) someone away” means to put them in prison, to put them in jail. Mindy, of course, is making a little joke.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue this time at a native rate of speech.

[start of dialogue]

Mindy: Hey, where are you going?

Eric: I’m going to traffic court. I got a parking ticket and I’m going to fight it.

Mindy: How much was the fine?

Eric: It was only $40. But it’s not the money. It’s the principle of the thing.

Mindy: Why? Weren’t you parked illegally?

Eric: No, I wasn’t. The street I live on has metered parking from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. After 6, you can park there with a permit. Well, I parked my car at 7:30 PM and I have a permit. But, I still got a ticket.

Mindy: Did you display the permit clearly? It isn’t expired, is it?

Eric: Yeah, it’s clearly displayed and it’s good until June 2007.

Mindy: Well, it sounds like you have a good case. Are you representing yourself or did you hire a lawyer?

Eric: I’m going there by myself. Wish me luck.

Mindy: Good luck. If the judge locks you away, I promise to visit you in jail.

Eric: Thanks a lot. I’ll remember that.

[end of dialogue]

The script for today’s podcast was written by Dr. Lucy Tse. We thank her, as always, for her work. Remember to visit our website at www.eslpod.com for more information about this podcast.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. We’ll see you next time on ESL Podcast.