Drivers falling foul of Irish parking rules will have no sympathy for the residents of one Illinois city, where the fine for non-payment of fees has just been quadrupled to 63c ($1).
The increased fine in Sycamore, Illinois, is still the cheapest in the US. 'We were the cheapest fine at a quarter, and at a dollar, we still can't find anyone cheaper,' police chief Don Thomas told Illinois' Daily Chronicle.
A report on parking fines found that the average fine in the state is €3.17, which compares to €34 in Chicago.
And despite the fact that the fine has been less than a postage stamp for years, some people still come to Sycamore's police station to complain about getting a ticket, Mr Thomas said.
‘They gripe about the quarter, and I'm sure they'll gripe about the dollar,’ he said. ‘Most argue it's not fair they got a ticket for not feeding the meter after two hours.’
Giovanni Serra, the city's parking enforcement officer, told the paper he writes an average of 30-35 tickets a day, often to the same cars over and over.
But drivers have no excuse for not paying for parking, as the rates are also the country's cheapest.
The charge at the Sycamore's 360 meters is five US cent for an hour, and 10c for two hours. Some of the meters take a 25c coin, which buys 12 hours of parking time.
