DMV eliminates fighting tickets in person

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles plans to eliminate the option of fighting a parking ticket in person at its adjudication services office, proposing to move strictly to mail or e-mail complaints as the number of citations is expected to skyrocket.

The District writes roughly 1.5 million parking tickets annually, though that figure could soar next year once the Department of Public Works implements its street-sweeper camera program.

With the onslaught coming, the DMV has decided to phase out in-person parking-ticket adjudication, in favor of mail and e-mail, by December 2008. The walk-in service has been available for years at 301 C St. NW and was used by thousands of people in fiscal 2007.

“Doing so would reduce wait times for customers with transactions that require them to visit a DMV service location,” according to the agency’s fiscal 2008 planning documents.

Customers will also be able to contest parking tickets “by submitting an e-mail with all necessary evidence.”

A key member of the D.C. Council immediately criticized the idea as “outrageous” and a violation of due process.

“[The DMV finds] it an enormous inconvenience to have to have to deal with citizens who want to contest their parking tickets,” said Council Member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety and judiciary committee. “And that’s a fundamental right under the Constitution. They will just provoke another fight in front of the council.”

Citizen activist Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, took issue with the plan as “both politically unwise and frankly unfair.”

“As an attorney, I have an immediate questioning reaction to that because a lot of these tickets may appear to be minor; however, some of them are not,” said Ward 1 Council Member Jim Graham, who has oversight of the DMV. “And certainly with anything that isn’t minor, I would want to have the opportunity for an in-person hearing.”

More than 54,100 parking tickets were contested in person in fiscal 2007, and another 78,286 citations were fought by mail, DMV spokeswoman Janis Hazel said.

Public Works spokeswoman Linda Grant said the so-called “sweeper cams” are expected to increase the number of parking tickets in the first year by about a third, or roughly 400,000 citations.

mneibauer@dcexaminer.com

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