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Parking Tickets and Driving Records

Whether you live in the United States or Japan, every driver in the world knows how much of an inconvenience parking can really be. And with that said, we’ll have a hard time believing you if you say that you’ve been driving for a couple of years but have never had a parking ticket to your name.

Parking tickets are one of the most common violations that drivers throughout the world face. But in case you really are a responsible driver and didn’t know, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about parking tickets and driving records in this blog.

What is a parking violation?

In simple terms, if you park in an unauthorized way or in a restricted area, you have committed a parking violation. If you end up committing a parking offence, there is a high chance that you will be given a parking ticket. While it is possible for you to appeal against the ticket if you feel like it was given to you without reason, it is recommended that you pay the fine.

There are a number of reasons why you can get a parking ticket. Some of them are:

  • Parking on a pavement or sidewalk
  • Double parking
  • Parking in a spot where you are not allowed to park like in front of someone’s driveway
  • Parking in areas that are closed for cleaning
  • Parking in construction zones
  • Parking without special permits where applicable

What are driving records?

As the name suggests, driving records are records kept by the Department of Motor Vehicles for every licensed driver in the country. These driving records do not only contain a large amount of personal details of every driver, but they also contain information about the registration of the vehicle.

The driving record with the Department of Motor Vehicles has information about drivers that goes back at least three years. A good driving record can come in handy for quite a number of reasons and can also help you save money on insurance and other costs.

Do parking tickets appear on driving records?

Fortunately for many, parking tickets don’t appear on driving records.

 

But that still doesn’t mean that you can put off paying them. The fines on unpaid parking tickets can accumulate pretty quickly and they can be even more of an inconvenience if they are put on the back seat for a long time. Additionally, if you delay paying your parking ticket fines for too long, chances are that they will be reported to the DMV and you could end up facing serious consequences.