Death Risk 2
Incompetent ProPark Staff
As a benefit of working for Dietz and Company Architects employees are provided with an annual parking pass at Springfield ProPark. As a requirement of my job I came in late in the morning and I would remain late into the evening in order to provide computer support during non-business hours. For vehicles that are parked at the ProPark parking lot that do not have annual parking passes, they receive a parking ticket if they are there after business hours. Occasionally, when I returned to my vehicle late, I would have a parking ticket on the windshield, even though I had an annual parking pass. In this case the procedure was to submit the tickets with a form verifying your annual parking pass number in order to have them administratively removed from the system. A simple procedure, though irritating due to the frequency at which it occurred. Also a procedure that can cause legal problems when it fails.
Threat to Driver’s License
I didn’t realize the legal weight of these tickets until my driver’s license renewal was denied because of a failure to get one of these tickets out of the system. I brought this to the attention of my boss, Jebb Dennis, who told me that all I had to do was fill out the form and submit the ticket, which I had already done and the ticket had not been taken care of. I was unable to resubmit the ticket because I had not made a copy of the ticket before I handed it in with the form the first time I had submitted it and no longer had the ticket number. Because my boss was not willing to assist me in getting this straightened out, I paid the $55 (fine plus penalties) ticket so I could have my drivers license renewed.
More Incompentence
One evening, upon returning to my vehicle, I discovered the attendant placing a ticket on my vehicle and I said to him “You’re putting a ticket on my car even though I have a monthly pass decal.” and he said, “Just fill out the form and put it with the ticket in the slot as you exit.” I filled out the form, signed the ticket, and tore them up into small pieces and dropped them into the box. I was frustrated at having been given yet another ticket in error, and I didn’t want to pay any more tickets or to have them on my driving record.
Suspicions Vandalism
The next evening when I left work, I noticed a terrible clanking noise underneath my car when I moved my vehicle from the parking space in the ProPark garage. I stopped the car and checked around but was unable to determine the source of the noise. I continued on my way, returning home on the highway, and the noise worsened finally resulting in my right rear wheel coming off of my vehicle at highway speeds. Thankfully I was able to get the vehicle off the highway without causing a collision or rollover. I later understood that what lifted the rear of my vehicle up and dropped it so violently was my tire passing under my rear bumper.
Resulting Damage
Once my truck was stopped and I was able to compose myself enough I had to walk on a dark highway in winter to retrieve my wheel from the highway and to walk to the next exit to call for a tow truck. The next day my mechanic told me the lug nuts on the right rear wheel had been loosened and that driving on them had caused the rim to be mushroomed out and the studs to break. Further damage was done to the braking system of the vehicle when it hit the pavement, the resulting repair bill for the wheel and other damages totaling over $640.00. Months later the right rear spring on my vehicle let go. The center leaf spring had been broken and slid out of its mount. My mechanic told me that this spring broke when the wheel came off my truck. This repair cost me $440.00.
Saving my Job
I told my boss about the incident the next day and he asked me what I thought had happened. I told him that I was sure that the wheel had not been unbolted on my drive in to work, so it must have been unbolted while parked in the garage. I was reluctant to get into specifics due to his previous instructions about not wanting to hear about what happens at the garage so I only mentioned that I was continuing to receive tickets when I came back to my vehicle late at night.
Incompetence ———->>>
