Ask the Appeal: How Do I Know When I'm Supposed To Curb My Wheels?

FUNNILY ENOUGH, I just found out after posting this column that I not-so-recently received a ticket for failing to curb my wheels, which someone took off of my car so now I have to pay that ticket plus a late fee. Is it unprofessional to rant in your own column's comments? I hope not.

Actually the law does specifically state that wheels need to be curbed when the grade is >3%, not at all times:

SEC. 7.2.35. PARKING ON GRADES.

To Park a vehicle upon any grade or slope exceeding three percent without effectively setting the brakes and blocking the wheels of the vehicle by turning them against the curb or by other means. For the purpose of the issuance of a notice of violation of this Section, proof that an unattended vehicle Parked on a grade exceeding three percent was involved in a collision shall establish a presumption that such unattended vehicle was Parked in violation of this Section. (58(a))

(Amended by Ord. 287-08, File No. 081340, App. 12/5/2008)

http://www.municode.com/content/4201/14143/HTML/ach007.html

I'll call the DPT back today and ask them about that.

I received a ticket for not having my wheels curbed on a street I was sure was less than a 3% grade. So I challenged it. DPT's response was "this street has more than a 3% grade" but provided no evidence. I asked if there was a map that showed everywhere there was more than a 3% grade, so I could know exactly where to curb my wheels. I never got a response.

My guess is DPT just issues these tickets whenever they feel like, 3% grade or not.

This may seem annoying, but trust me, it's necessary. I know of more than one person who failed to curb their wheels, only to return to their car and find it had rolled down a hill, even ones that don't 'seem' steep enough.

it's esp. necessary in places where we have to park cars so close to each other inevitably there's gonna be some pushing and shoving of bumpers. I once saw a pretty bizarre case in nob hill where apparently one car had tapped another (sans curbed wheels) and the car rolled wayyyyyyy down the street, fortunately not hitting any people, but ending up hitting a stop sign (!).

It's also covered on page 50 of the CA Drivers Manual (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl600.pdf) without any mention of the grade that equals a hill. This bicycle and walking map of San Francisco (http://bit.ly/5Ra80z) shows streets with greater than 5% grade in pink to red. It would stand to reason that many of the non-pink streets would range between 3-5% grade as well. Safest bet is to just curb your wheels whenever you park the car. It's a hilly city, so probably many streets that meet the 3% threshold will seem flat by comparison.

I've seen a car with the wheel not turned, and the sfdpt officer had chalked all around it to make it clear, and the ticket said "picture on file." Contesting citations work, though.

I always curb my wheels no matter what. No sense in taking a chance. I even curb my wheels in other cities/states out of habit. It's not like it's an inconvenience.

However, I'm curious if I can be ticketed for being too close to the curb and therefore the wheels do not turn into the curb. I still turn the wheel as much as possible, but not sure if it would still work or if it would prevent me from getting a ticket.

Ether way I have never received such a ticket and I've been driving in SF for more than 10 years.

If I remember correctly, the old rule of thumb used to involve whether or not a pencil could roll downhill.

I once found grade maps from the city engineer's files online, but SFGov.org is giving me no clue as to where they might be.