Jacksonville council looks to crack down on backed-in cars

[menace1069]

Sounds ridiculous but if it's that much of an issue why don't they just make everyone put on a front license plate instead?

That's my thought. California does it. If it's such a big deal (which it's not), then just add the front plate.

[Crabernacle]

Land of the free ?  

*Offer not valid in all 50 states. Terms and Conditions may apply.

[marksjax]

This new law could have lethal consequences.
Why you ask?
A lot of people, myself included, live where there are neighborhood children playing outside, sometimes in the street.
It is much safer for a car to exit a driveway without backing up as you may not see a child (or a pet perhaps) walking from the side into the path of your car. Back up cameras only help to some degree but are not foolproof.
You read about these tragedies every so often. Invariably the headline is: 'Car backs over a child'.
Please City Council, do not pass this legislation. If this law causes a death it will be a tragedy on so many levels and perhaps may even open the city up to a liability lawsuit from the estate of the deceased.

[jcjohnpaint]

Ya'll better watch out or that big garbage can is going to come and kick your ass. 

[acme54321]

I don't see the big deal.  There is already an ordinance that any vehicle in view from a public street has to be registered and in operating condition.   To prevent people from parking abandoned and junk cars all over their yards.  Code compliance enforces this, not the police.  The issue is that code compliance can't step foot on your property so they have to be able to verify that a code is in violation from the street unless you give them permission to come onto your property.  So park your junked cars backwards and they can't cite you.  This fixes that "loophole".  So unless you have a truly junk vehicle in your driveway that your neighbors are calling in code complaints on you don't have anything to worry about.

[The_Choose_1]

I don't see the big deal.  There is already an ordinance that any vehicle in view from a public street has to be registered and in operating condition.   To prevent people from parking abandoned and junk cars all over their yards.  Code compliance enforces this, not the police.  The issue is that code compliance can't step foot on your property so they have to be able to verify that a code is in violation from the street unless you give them permission to come onto your property.  So park your junked cars backwards and they can't cite you.  This fixes that "loophole".  So unless you have a truly junk vehicle in your driveway that your neighbors are calling in code complaints on you don't have anything to worry about.

So it's not a big deal to you? What about the people that live on private estates around Jacksonville Florida. Or gated community's shouldn't they have their vehicles parked so the JSO can review these plates also. What's good for the Goose is good for the gander? Right

[acme54321]

I don't see the big deal.  There is already an ordinance that any vehicle in view from a public street has to be registered and in operating condition.   To prevent people from parking abandoned and junk cars all over their yards.  Code compliance enforces this, not the police.  The issue is that code compliance can't step foot on your property so they have to be able to verify that a code is in violation from the street unless you give them permission to come onto your property.  So park your junked cars backwards and they can't cite you.  This fixes that "loophole".  So unless you have a truly junk vehicle in your driveway that your neighbors are calling in code complaints on you don't have anything to worry about.

So it's not a big deal to you? What about the people that live on private estates around Jacksonville Florida. Or gated community's shouldn't they have their vehicles parked so the JSO can review these plates also. What's good for the Goose is good for the gander? Right

What?  Did you even read my post?

JSO doesn't enforce this.  Code compliance does.  Code compliance doesn't do anything unless someone complains.  If you live on a "private estate" that isn't visible from the road, who cares? 

Long story short this makes a city ordinance that has been on the books for years enforceable.  IMO, not a big deal.

[johnnyroadglide]

"JSO doesn't enforce this.  Code compliance does. Code compliance doesn't do anything unless someone complains.  If you live on a "private estate" that isn't visible from the road, who cares?"
Actually thats not correct. About 60% of the cases for code enforcement are generated by officers themselves who have to be pro-active. Its part of their performance measures. Also code officers can indeed step onto your property without permission. On a direct path from the street to your front door. If the offending vehicles tag area is visible from the front door it can be cited. If its back far enough that it can't be seen from the front door it can't.

[acme54321]

OK you got me, that was an exaggeration.  From what I can tell though it depends on your neighborhood as to how proactive (or harassing) they are.  I rarely see them in my area.  Also didn't know about the path to the front door thing.  We had one tell my neighbor that unless they could see it from the street they can't do anything about it (in response to a junk car in the front yard of a house down the street).

[johnnyroadglide]

If the vehicles tag can't be seen from the street or the front door, than thats correct. They can't cite it. Anything in a backyard can't be cited, unless they get permission from a neighbor to look at it from the neighbors backyard. They aren't even allowed to look over a 6 foot fence or hold the camera over their heads and take a picture over a fence.

[coredumped]

Sounds ridiculous but if it's that much of an issue why don't they just make everyone put on a front license plate instead?

That's my thought. California does it. If it's such a big deal (which it's not), then just add the front plate.

A who will pay for that? I really don't feel like I should have to pay for them to inspect my private property ON my private property. If it's on the street that's one thing, but not on my property.

[ChriswUfGator]

I agree with you. If it's a junk car and unsightly, they can cite you for that separately. Citing you for expired registration is just a $$$$ play, that I don't think that should extend onto private property, so long as the vehicle is not causing a nuisance, or is unsightly, etc.

What's really being discussed here is MCCD wants the ability to run around collecting money for expired tags on private property and apparently finds it too much of a hassle to leave the air conditioned comfort of their city-owned vehicles to check the tag. So instead we're going to pass a law governing how people are allowed to park their cars on private property.

[acme54321]

I agree with you. If it's a junk car and unsightly, they can cite you for that separately. Citing you for expired registration is just a $$$$ play, that I don't think that should extend onto private property, so long as the vehicle is not causing a nuisance, or is unsightly, etc.

See that's the thing.  How can you fault someone for having a shitty car?  You can't.  You can cite someone for having a shitty car that's "abandoned" and undrivable.  The registration is about the only legal way to prove if a car is drivable or not.  Problem is that it's backwards in the driveway with no way to prove that it's not registered.  How else could they prove a vehicle is abandoned? 

We have a house down the road with multiple cars in the driveway (all backwards) that haven't moved in 5 years, literally.  MCCD can't do anything about it because they can't see the plates.  Coming from first hand experience with this issue, I see it as a legit solution to an ongoing issue.

[johnnyroadglide]

What's really being discussed here is MCCD wants the ability to run around collecting money for expired tags on private property and apparently finds it too much of a hassle to leave the air conditioned comfort of their city-owned vehicles to check the tag. So instead we're going to pass a law governing how people are allowed to park their cars on private property.
[/quote]
Chris, here is the reason inspectors cannot see the tags "from the comfort of their air conditioned cars". By law, an MCCD officeR cannot walk up your driveway to look at the tag on a car thats backed up IF that path is not a direct path to the front door. If the path to the front door takes theM past the back of the car then yes they can see it and they can cite it. If the back of the car is beyond that point they can't. MCCD inspectors cite hundreds of cars every month. Do a public records request and you can get the details, same as I did.

[Dog Walker]

Sounds ridiculous but if it's that much of an issue why don't they just make everyone put on a front license plate instead?

That's why states like Virginia require front and back plates.