Philadelphia resident Brian Yan might be the recipient of a new world record. He went from parking his car to getting a ticket in under a minute. Maybe quicker.
According to his account in the Philadelphia Daily News, Yan dropped off his girlfriend, swung around the corner to park, shut off his car, grabbed a roll of quarters, got out his car, and just when he heard the beep from his alarm, he looked up to see parking-enforcement officer scribbling a ticket.
"Where did you come from?" asks the startled parking-enforcement officer, Alfred Toto.
"From the driver's seat," Yan says, trying not to sound smart-alecky. "I assume you're not giving me a ticket."
"Your meter has expired," says Toto.
"I just pulled into the spot," replies Yan, who is wondering if Toto is putting him on or maybe he's on "Candid Camera."
"Well, I've already processed the ticket," Toto says.
"You can't give a ticket to someone who's just pulled into a spot," Yan complains.
"I can't do anything about it," says Toto. "You'll get a hearing."
Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky reached out to the city's parking authority, and executive director Vince Fenerty had – justifiably – never heard of a parking ticket being issued in 10 seconds. "I don't have anyone that is that quick," Fenerty said, noting that parking officers are instructed to look inside the car and that the officer, with 14 years on the job, wasn't known for copious quantities of tickets.
Based on the Yan's story and the city's hearing process, he should be able to appeal and beat it, but in the meantime maybe a call to Guinness is in order.