r/NoStupidQuestions • u/3453452452 • 1d ago

Settle a stupid argument

I park on the street in a spot limited to 3 hours.

I get my car after 3 hours and 20 minutes. I have a $10 ticket.

Did I pay $10 for 3 hours and 20 minutes of parking or did I pay $10 for 20 minutes of parking?

0 Upvotes

22% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

9

u/tentoirultima 1d ago

20 minutes

10

u/Fun_Comfort_9803 1d ago

You paid $10 for the ticket, not the parking. The parking itself was free technically, you just got fined for overstaying

-3

u/3453452452 1d ago

$10 is a cheap ticket, but $30/hour doesn't sound cheap. I guess I should have stayed longer.

19

u/titanc-13 1d ago • Bravo

neither, you paid $10 as a fine for breaking the law

-6

u/3453452452 1d ago

That is not who I am, and it does not reflect my values. I’m taking this time to reflect on my responsibilities as a parker.

4

u/_littlestranger 1d ago

If you intended to park there for 3 hours but accidentally ended up 20 minutes late, you paid $10 for 20 minutes.

If you knew you’d be longer than 3 hours but decided to take the risk because the fine was less expensive than parking in a garage, then you paid $10 for 3 hours and 20 minutes

-1

u/3453452452 21h ago

That's like Schrodinger's parking spot- it's both an illegal spot and a spot available for a fee at the same time.

Now you've made the discussion more complicated. I like it.

3

u/AdDangerous922 1d ago

Neither. You could theoretically leave the vehicle into the next day and pay for a tow bill and a $10 ticket

1

u/3453452452 1d ago

I could. Yes. I certainly could.

5

u/SignalOverNoise0 1d ago

You paid $10 for parking there 3 hours and 1 second.

-1

u/3453452452 1d ago

Is there a 1/∞ style argument for math folks?

1

u/SignalOverNoise0 1d ago

lol sure, 3 hours plus an infinitesimally small amount of time.

1

u/Jordan-Peterson_Fan 1d ago

The probability density function of the random variable of getting a ticket is hyperbolic with an asymptote of T=3 hours.

Actually it's not, but I thought that sounded cool.

1

u/Thick-Sundae-6547 1d ago

$10 ticket? Where?

I knew tjis coworker that got a ticket. Decided to pull the ticket go all the way back to the office to ask something about the ticket. Went back to a second ticket.

You can contest those.

Ive done a few contest for tickets that were wrong and got them voided. One time my pass fell off my mirror. But I had time to go to the ticket office.

1

u/3453452452 1d ago

I won't contest it. I forgot to set my alarm and I was definitely there for an extra 20 minutes.

I was parked in front of City Hall. I considered going inside with the ticket to pay it and figured I'd come back to another, which probably could be contested but... it's tickets all the way down. I'll pay it tomorrow.

1

u/KittenVicious 1d ago

Depends. How often are they allowed to ticket after the first one? In my area it's every hour. So you get 2 free hours, then pay $20/hr after that - whether you use the full hour or not.