Woman ticketed for leaving car windows open on hot day
Parked car with windows down on hot day no joke to RCMP officer
By Walter Cordery, Nanaimo Daily NewsSeptember 28, 2012
A RCMP cruiser is shown in this file photo. Photograph by: Jonathan Hayward , CP
Tara Ludvigson thought somebody was playing a practical joke on her last week when an RCMP officer walked into her workplace and tried to give her an $81 ticket because she had parked with her windows open.
"I looked around and wondered where the 'Candid Cameras' were," the Woodlands Secondary School office worker said.
It was a hot day and Ludvigson parked where she normally does, so she left her windows open. The Nanaimo Mountie later came into the school asking who drove the blue car next to the school liaison officer's parking space.
Ludvigson, who has parked at the same place for approximately seven years, told the officer it was her car and he wrote her a ticket for leaving her vehicle "unsecured."
"I said, 'What?' and he told me I was in violation of Section 191, subsection 2 of the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act," Ludvigson said. "That's when I really became upset."
Ludvigson asked the officer why it was illegal to park with her windows open, indicating she'd never heard of anything like that before.
"He told me ignorance of the law is not an excuse."
The officer then pointed out that her doors were unlocked.
"I said, 'if I'm leaving my windows open, why would I lock the doors?' I've been parking in the same spot for years and when the weather is hot, I leave my windows open. I have never heard of anything so ridiculous."
Section 191, subsection 2 of the motor vehicle act deals with leaving parked vehicle and states:
(1) A motor vehicle must be equipped with a lock or other device to prevent the unauthorized use of the motor vehicle.
(2) A driver must not permit a motor vehicle to stand unattended or parked unless the driver has:
(a) locked it or made it secure in a manner that prevents its unauthorized use, and
(b) if the motor vehicle is standing on a grade, turned the front wheels of the vehicle to the curb or side of the highway.
Ludvigson previously owned a convertible and can remember leaving her rag top parked in public places with the roof down with no repercussions. "To me, that's a lot less secure than leaving your windows down."
The officer eventually changed the ticket to a warning and Ludvigson will not be fine.
Woman ticketed for leaving car windows open on hot day |
