Parking cars has never been more difficult till now. The rise of carjacking and burglary is alarming. This has led to the construction of parking lots in grocery stores, schools, hospitals, banks, and other organizations.
However, while the erection of parking lots is a good development, its purpose has been abused in recent times. But the question is, can you get a ticket in a school parking lot?
Yes, you can get a ticket in a school parking lot if you don’t have any business to do in the school and park your car for a long hour or overnight. You can also get a ticket if you park in a place labeled for the disabled when you are clearly not disabled.
Who Has the Right to Park in the School Parking Lot?
A school’s parking lot is designed to be used by the staff and students of the school. This is where they park their cars, trucks, or other vehicles. The school buses are also parked here.
Generally speaking, members of the public are only allowed to make use of the school’s parking lot when they have a business to do in the school.
For instance, the guardians or parents of students of schools might use the parking lot when they drop off their kids at school. When they want to pick up their kids after school, they also use the parking lot.
Parents and guardians can also use the parking lot when they want to see teachers or the principal or other staff of the school.
Also, visitors can make use of the school’s parking lot when they have business in the school. For example, a visitor that wants to make inquiries about the facilities or programs of a school Can make use of the parking lot when he wants to visit the school.
So what this means is that only people that have business in the school’s compound have the right to make use of the school’s parking lot. It is not a public parking space.
Can You Get a Ticket in a School Parking Lot?
You can certainly get tickets in a school parking lot. Many people believe that they can’t get tickets in privately-owned parking lots.
Well, that might be true in some cities and states but it is not always the case. Parking tickets are certainly different from traffic tickets so it is understandable.
For instance, if you do not park appropriately or you park in a place labeled for the disabled when you are clearly not disabled, you can be issued a ticket.
If you also park your vehicle overnight where you’re not supposed to, you may be ticketed.
It is not uncommon to see people being issued traffic tickets even in parking lots, if you drive under the influence and you are caught, you can be issued a ticket there.
If you hit another parked car and you run away and are caught, you can be issued a ticket. It is possible for you to get a ticket when you cause an accident and you attempt to flee the scene.
Another instance where you might be ticketed is when you drive out of a parking lot and you do not signal before making a turn.
Many people get away with this because road patrol officers will not be staying at the exits of parking lots of airing to catch offenders. So it is a normal thing for people to not be ticketed for that.
Why are Parking Lots Important in Schools
In a school, parking lots will offer the following benefits:
1. Increased Safety for Staff, Students & Visitors
Everyone has safety on their mind. Drivers, riders, and other vehicle users.
- No one wants to get hurt or harmed in their car
- No one would love for their cars to get stolen when parked
- No one would love for their cars to get rammed into or hit by other cars when parked.
Now, how does a parking lot in a school offer safety to its users?
With the rise in car theft and carjacking on the rise, many people find it difficult to leave their cars unattended with valuables inside.
With the use of a school parking lot, staff, students, and visitors of the school will have increased confidence in the safety of their cars. It comes with an added layer of protection for all of them.
They know that security guards are in the parking lot as well as CCTVs so it reduces the rate of criminal acts.
2. Effortless Integration
Modern-day parking lots now come with improved technology. There are systems to uniquely identify every car using license plates.
With such technology in schools’ parking lots, it is easy to integrate with the school’s database.
For instance, staff and students of a school can register their car plates into the parking lot database so that when they need to enter the parking lot, the system recognizes them and grants them entry without hassles.
This is a very good innovation and a way to reduce the time associated with vehicle checks before gaining entry into parking lots.
3. Easier Supervision
Every parking facility is at risk of criminal threats in form of burglary. Because cars are in there, along with possible valuables, and the car owners are most likely not in the cars, hoodlums, and thieves see it as the perfect opportunity and place to carry out heinous activities.
The management of a school must have been thinking about how to secure the cars and vehicles of their staff and students while also maintaining convenience.
With the use of technological features and systems in a school’s parking lot, you stand to get increased privacy, safety, and security. The supervision of the parking lot is made easy.
There are some features such as SMS alerts that alert the management when things like unauthorized access and security breach occur in a parking lot. With this, security can be deployed to the scene of the breach immediately.
Supervision of a school’s parking lot is also made easy with the use of Closed Circuit Television Cameras. The use of CCTVs allows you to monitor the entirety of a parking lot remotely.
You do not need to walk around the parking lot from time to time because you have a camera there and you can always watch the events in the parking lot in real time.
4. A Possible Source of Income
If needed, probably on weekends and during school holidays, the school’s parking lot can be used to generate income from time to time.
It can be turned into a commercial parking lot. Vehicle owners are always willing to pay a little amount to secure their valuables and cars.
5. Stress-free Maintenance
The continuous maintenance and care of a parking lot are easy. The school is able to effectively manage and carry out dutiful maintenance on parts of the parking lot that need care.
When Should You Use School Parking Lot?
You should only make use of a school parking lot when you are a staff, student, visitor, or guardian of the students in the school.
Is it Illegal to Hang Out in a School Parking Lot?
No, many schools do not permit loitering or hanging around in the parking lots. The school’s parking lot is designed to be used for parking cars owned by people that have businesses in the school. Anybody other than them is not permitted and is subject to fines.
Can You Park in a Public School Parking Lot Overnight
No, you cannot. You are not allowed to leave your vehicle in the parking lot of a school for long people talk less overnight. In many cases, the school will employ the service of staff or police to issue you a fine you have to pay.
Some schools don’t have that time though. Your vehicle will be towed to another facility at your expense. You know the stress that comes with retrieving your impounded vehicle, right?
School parking lots are not Walmart parking lots where you can park overnight and may not have any issues. Please take note of that.
Final Thoughts
A school parking lot is as important as the school building itself. More vehicles and valuables have been secured since its development.
However, if you commit a parking or traffic violation in a school parking lot, you can be ticketed. To avoid this, stay away from offenses and be on the good side of the law.