Reagan Airport - "Refuse to Move" Citation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP said they were “standing” in the designated pickup area, so not actually sitting in their car? And I know standing is sometimes a term used for parking, but maybe it really means OP was away from the car here? Maybe trying to spot the grandmother? As much as people are making light of the security issue, I imagine coming across an empty car is a double no no, so cop was probably pretty angry if that was the case.

"Standing" is the official term for essentially parking, but waiting in your car. It doesn't mean "standing" like on your two feet.

Standing or stopping is when the vehicle is stopped or off but the driver is still in the vehicle. Parking is when the vehicle is stopped or off, but the driver leaves the vehicle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP said they were “standing” in the designated pickup area, so not actually sitting in their car? And I know standing is sometimes a term used for parking, but maybe it really means OP was away from the car here? Maybe trying to spot the grandmother? As much as people are making light of the security issue, I imagine coming across an empty car is a double no no, so cop was probably pretty angry if that was the case.

"Standing" is the official term for essentially parking, but waiting in your car. It doesn't mean "standing" like on your two feet.

Standing or stopping is when the vehicle is stopped or off but the driver is still in the vehicle. Parking is when the vehicle is stopped or off, but the driver leaves the vehicle.

Yes, that's...exactly what I said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP said they were “standing” in the designated pickup area, so not actually sitting in their car? And I know standing is sometimes a term used for parking, but maybe it really means OP was away from the car here? Maybe trying to spot the grandmother? As much as people are making light of the security issue, I imagine coming across an empty car is a double no no, so cop was probably pretty angry if that was the case.

"Standing" is the official term for essentially parking, but waiting in your car. It doesn't mean "standing" like on your two feet.

Standing or stopping is when the vehicle is stopped or off but the driver is still in the vehicle. Parking is when the vehicle is stopped or off, but the driver leaves the vehicle.

Yes, that's...exactly what I said.

No, you said half of it. I expanded it to be more clear. The PP you responded to, didn't seem to know the difference, so I spelled out both terms, not just one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Had incredibly rude parking officer at Reagan Terminal 1 issue "refuse to move" citation - was standing in designated pick up area, elderly mother was walking out of building (accompanied by grandchild who went in to get her) but took few minutes walking around to get to car. Officer wrote ticket while elderly mother in sight because we weren't doing immediate pickup - we were there for less than 3 minutes total and there was literally no one else there. Total power move, called for her supervisor, she blatantly lied about how long we were there (she said 10-15 minutes) and supervisor sided with her.

My question is: do I have to pay this (live and registered in Virginia)? And has anyone else dealt with this?

Poor parking officer, to have to deal with people like OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a dashcam.

Aren’t those illegal in Virginia??

No. The things people make up on this site…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe the OP. Friend was once written a ticket when BLOCKED IN by other cars.

If you are there long enough to be blocked in then you're there too long.

DP. It doesn't sound like you've been to a busy airport recently. You can get blocked in literally AS you are pulling up.

That said, I think OP is FOS and deserves the ticket.

Only if you pull too far in and the other cars pulling up after you sit around for loo long. You’re part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

Buddy, you're lucky you didn't get dragged out of that car, cuffed on the curb, and searched the vehicle down to the wheel wells.

WTF were you thinking? DC's primary airport is a terror target.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe the OP. Friend was once written a ticket when BLOCKED IN by other cars.

If you are there long enough to be blocked in then you're there too long.

DP. It doesn't sound like you've been to a busy airport recently. You can get blocked in literally AS you are pulling up.

That said, I think OP is FOS and deserves the ticket.

Only if you pull too far in and the other cars pulling up after you sit around for loo long. You’re part of the problem.

No. The people stopping and loading 3 rows away from the curb (and blocking in rows 1 and 2) are the problem. If there isn’t space, don’t just make space by stopping in a traffic lane.

[Anonymous]

I am the Traffic Control Officer Supervisor who handled the complaint. The passenger was blocking a bus stop and was there an inordinate amount of time. She was asked to pull up, which she refused to do. She was asked to loop around, (5 minutes or less), she was told the first hour of parking in the garage was free. At no time was any of our traffic officers or myself rude. Furthermore, an eyewitness corroborated the traffic officer's account of the incident. At that time, the complainant brought up a race issue. Most of our TCOs are African American and blamed the incident on race. The complainant also said that the witness and the traffic officer were friends. I can assure everyone, they absolutely do not know each other.

Traffic at DCA is close to a saturation point. We understand concept of picking up and dropping off passengers and the officers are allowed reasonable judgement to get that accomplished. It's a tough balancing act and I am always open to suggestions on improving the process. Thanks for the comments.
Josep Klein
TCO Supervisor, DCA
[e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meanwhile, last week at Dulles, my DD dropped me off. I immediately got out of the passenger seat and she popped the trunk and I got fussed at while pulling my bag out. Maximum 90 seconds. No hugs, last minute instructions.

I got home and at the arrivals pickup was three deep with cars parked there the entire 20 minutes it took DD to get from the cell phone lot to arrivals pickup— because three lanes of traffic were parked. Some with their cars turned off. One person in front of me was next to the curb and appeared to be napping. It was a zoo, and there was zero traffic enforcement. I saw no police in 20 minutes.

So, apparently at Dulles, departures is a car bomb scene waiting to happen, while it could never happen at arrivals.

Don’t be an A-hole and hang out at arrivals OP. Circle or wait in the cell phone lot. And YES, pay the ticket. It’s a post 9/11 security related offense at an airport in DC near the Pentagon. It may take a while, but having it outstanding will catch up with you. Don’t have it be something like getting flagged at security when you fly out of Dulles.

Pro tip: when the arrivals level at Dulles is that packed, the departures level is almost always empty. Last couple pickups I have done at Dulles it has been like that, and I had the arriving person go upstairs and picked them up on the departures level with zero delay or hassle. Heavily recommend

Noooo. Don’t share our secret.

Oh my goodness, you just brought back a fond memory! My dad was with Eastern Airlines so we all flew frequently as college and grad students (employee “space available” passes). We never checked luggage because we never knew which airport we’d end up in the region. Dad way back in the 70s (I’m at the tail end of a large family) had us coming out to Departures when we landed. Of course, this had to be coordinated in advance pre-cell phone. When we were trying to depart from wherever, there was always a bank of pay phones at the gate and once everyone was boarded and seated on the plane (or if there were lots of available seats), the agent would give us the nod and we’d phone home to say we got on the flight and confirm our “Arrival at Departures” strategy.

BTW - airport ticket writers were darn aggressive back then too. We were always circling when trying to meet someone. Eventually you would have to park, walk in and have them paged on a “white courtesy phone.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the Traffic Control Officer Supervisor who handled the complaint. The passenger was blocking a bus stop and was there an inordinate amount of time. She was asked to pull up, which she refused to do. She was asked to loop around, (5 minutes or less), she was told the first hour of parking in the garage was free. At no time was any of our traffic officers or myself rude. Furthermore, an eyewitness corroborated the traffic officer's account of the incident. At that time, the complainant brought up a race issue. Most of our TCOs are African American and blamed the incident on race. The complainant also said that the witness and the traffic officer were friends. I can assure everyone, they absolutely do not know each other.

Traffic at DCA is close to a saturation point. We understand concept of picking up and dropping off passengers and the officers are allowed reasonable judgement to get that accomplished. It's a tough balancing act and I am always open to suggestions on improving the process. Thanks for the comments.
Josep Klein
TCO Supervisor, DCA
[e-mail]

Team Joseph!

No sympathy for you, OP. I wish they had impounded your car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the Traffic Control Officer Supervisor who handled the complaint. The passenger was blocking a bus stop and was there an inordinate amount of time. She was asked to pull up, which she refused to do. She was asked to loop around, (5 minutes or less), she was told the first hour of parking in the garage was free. At no time was any of our traffic officers or myself rude. Furthermore, an eyewitness corroborated the traffic officer's account of the incident. At that time, the complainant brought up a race issue. Most of our TCOs are African American and blamed the incident on race. The complainant also said that the witness and the traffic officer were friends. I can assure everyone, they absolutely do not know each other.

Traffic at DCA is close to a saturation point. We understand concept of picking up and dropping off passengers and the officers are allowed reasonable judgement to get that accomplished. It's a tough balancing act and I am always open to suggestions on improving the process. Thanks for the comments.
Josep Klein
TCO Supervisor, DCA
[e-mail]

Wow, thank you for this! Mr. Klein, you exemplify transparency in service. I’m impressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the Traffic Control Officer Supervisor who handled the complaint. The passenger was blocking a bus stop and was there an inordinate amount of time. She was asked to pull up, which she refused to do. She was asked to loop around, (5 minutes or less), she was told the first hour of parking in the garage was free. At no time was any of our traffic officers or myself rude. Furthermore, an eyewitness corroborated the traffic officer's account of the incident. At that time, the complainant brought up a race issue. Most of our TCOs are African American and blamed the incident on race. The complainant also said that the witness and the traffic officer were friends. I can assure everyone, they absolutely do not know each other.

Traffic at DCA is close to a saturation point. We understand concept of picking up and dropping off passengers and the officers are allowed reasonable judgement to get that accomplished. It's a tough balancing act and I am always open to suggestions on improving the process. Thanks for the comments.
Josep Klein
TCO Supervisor, DCA
[e-mail]

Team Joseph!

No sympathy for you, OP. I wish they had impounded your car.

Same here, but really I want to know how on earth this thread came to the attention of MWAA police, and why they decided to publicly comment on it. Very unusual!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the Traffic Control Officer Supervisor who handled the complaint. The passenger was blocking a bus stop and was there an inordinate amount of time. She was asked to pull up, which she refused to do. She was asked to loop around, (5 minutes or less), she was told the first hour of parking in the garage was free. At no time was any of our traffic officers or myself rude. Furthermore, an eyewitness corroborated the traffic officer's account of the incident. At that time, the complainant brought up a race issue. Most of our TCOs are African American and blamed the incident on race. The complainant also said that the witness and the traffic officer were friends. I can assure everyone, they absolutely do not know each other.

Traffic at DCA is close to a saturation point. We understand concept of picking up and dropping off passengers and the officers are allowed reasonable judgement to get that accomplished. It's a tough balancing act and I am always open to suggestions on improving the process. Thanks for the comments.
Josep Klein
TCO Supervisor, DCA
[e-mail]

Team Joseph!

No sympathy for you, OP. I wish they had impounded your car.

Same here, but really I want to know how on earth this thread came to the attention of MWAA police, and why they decided to publicly comment on it. Very unusual!

Usual (but good!!) to respond, but I’m suee why you’re surprised that they’d hear about it. You're on DCUM after all, why not MWAA?

[Anonymous]

*unusual to respond, I meant