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.
Hey, where are you going?
I'm going to traffic court.
I got a parking ticket, and I'm going to fight it.
How much was the fine?
It was only $40, but it's not the money.
It's the principle of the thing.
Why?
Weren't you parked illegally?
No, I wasn't.
The street I live on has metered parking from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After 6, you can park there with a permit.
Well, I parked my car at 7.30 p.m., and I have a permit, but I still got a ticket.
Did you display the permit clearly?
It isn't expired, is it?
Yeah, it's clearly displayed, and it's good until June 2007.
Well, it sounds like you have a good case.
Are you representing yourself, or did you hire a lawyer?
I'm going there by myself.
Wish me luck.
Good luck.
If the judge locks you away, I promise to visit you in jail.
Thanks a lot.
I'll remember that.
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 F-I-G-H-T.
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 dialogue begins with Eric saying that he is going to traffic court.
The court, C-O-U-R-T 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 C-I-V-I-L court are for things like lawsuits when you hit someone's car and they sue you S-U-E.
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 P-R-I-N-C-I-P-L-E 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 P-R-I-N-C-I-P-A-L.
And that sort of principle is... 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 P-A-L.
And when it is spelled P-L-E, it's an idea or a... a value or some idea that you believe in.
In school, the principal is the director or headmaster or leader of the school.
In most American schools, this person is called the principal, and that's spelled P-A-L.
Mindy asks why Eric wants to fight the parking ticket.
She says, weren't you parked illegally?
Illegally, of course, I-L-L-E-G-A-L-L-Y.
Illegally is not legally.
And Eric says no.
The street he lives on has metered parking.
Metered parking, M-E-T-E-R-E-D, 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 one hour of parking.
But if you are in a very busy area, it could be $1 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, M-A-I-D-S, because they were mostly women.
A maid is another word for a woman.
And a meter maid was someone where 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, E-N-F-O-R-C-E, a law, usually we use that expression with a 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 and 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 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 is 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 has metered parking from 9am in the morning to 6pm in the afternoon.
After 6, he says, you can park on the street with a permit.
And a permit P-E-R-M-I-T is something that gives you permission to park somewhere, and Some streets are so busy that only if you live on that street can you park there at certain times.
That's true on many streets here in Los Angeles.
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 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, D-I-S-P-L-A-Y, 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 E-X-P-I-R-E-D, 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 we say 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.
C-A-S-E 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 the.
You are your own lawyer, you could say, but most people would hire a lawyer, and a lawyer is, of course, L-A-W-Y-E-R.
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, 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, L-O-C-K, 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.
Hey, where are you going?
I'm going to traffic court.
I got a parking ticket and I'm going to fight it.
How much was the fine?
It was only $40, but it's not the money.
It's the principle of the thing.
Why?
Weren't you parked illegally?
No, I wasn't.
The street I live on has metered parking from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After 6, you can park there with a permit.
Well, I parked my car at 7.30 p.m. and I have a permit, but I still got a ticket.
Did you display the permit clearly?
It isn't expired, is it?
Yeah, it's clearly displayed and it's good until June 2007.
Well, it sounds like you have a good case.
Are you representing yourself, or did you hire a lawyer?
I'm going there by myself.
Wish me luck.
Good luck.
If the judge locks you away, I promise to visit you in jail.
Thanks a lot.
I'll remember that.
The script for today's podcast was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
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, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2006.
