Lots and lots of people aren't paying any attention.

[MineralMan]

It's true. Here in St. Paul, MN, where I live, the city declares a snow emergency whenever three inches of snow or more accumulates during a storm. It happens like clockwork. Three inches falls and there's a snow emergency. Residents are supposed to get their cars off the street so the plows can clear the streets. The pattern of plowing hasn't changed in the 8 years I've lived here.

If you don't move your car, it gets ticketed and towed. Getting it back costs you about $200. That's a lot of money, I think.

So, every time there's a snow storm, literally hundreds of cars get towed. Snow storms aren't surprises here, really. They get pretty reliably predicted and those predictions appear on every news program on the TV and radio, along with newspaper reports. We even get phone calls and emails from the city announcing these snow emergencies.

And still, hundreds of cars are towed after each storm. My nearby neighbor had her car towed. She has a garage. She has a driveway. All she needed to do was to put her car in the garage or just on the driveway. The car runs. I even told her that it looked like we'd get about six inches of snow the afternoon before and that she might want to move her car. The city called and emailed announcing a snow emergency, even before the snow fell. It was in the news on every channel, and on every radio station.

Her car got towed. It cost her about $200 to get it back. How does such a thing happen?

People aren't paying attention.

[davsand]

1. Two statements to consider: 1. Stupid is legion. 2. Stupid should hurt.

With those two statements in mind, stories like what happened to your neighbor are a lot less surprising...




Laura

[Brickbat]

2. It's sad, because I remember people being proud of their city's ability to plow out after a storm.

I got towed once in Minneapolis during a snow emergency, but it's because I couldn't get my car started. I left it, hoping for the best that I could get it out in the morning, but the city had quite kindly taken care of it for me by that time. I knew it was coming, and knew that they had to do what they had to do.

This was before the days of email and texts, too -- if it snowed, and you lived in the cities, you knew the plows were coming and you'd better get out of the way.

[MineralMan]

3. Yes. I feel very badly for people who have a disabled car and can't get it moved.

I also feel badly for people who don't have any off-street parking, and have to juggle cars around the plowing schedule. I can't feel badly, though for people with a driveway, a garage, and a running vehicle who get their car towed. I just can't. All I can do is shake my head sadly and slowly and wonder how they manage to survive.

[shraby]

4. Here where I live in Manitowoc co., Wis., there is an ordinance in place from late November

to some time in the spring..I'd have to check to see when, that no cars can park on the city streets after 11:00 p.m.
Better have them tucked in for the night by then or you'll get ticketed if there's snow or not.
I think first time is a warning, then they play for keeps.