Dear Street Smart: Recently we tried to...

Dear Street Smart: Recently we tried to report what appeared to be a drunk driver in a pickup truck, but were unable to get two digits of the license plate because it was partially blocked by a pipe rack.

Since then, we have observed hundreds of vehicles with damaged or dirty plates and others blocked by hitches or steps. Also, hundreds of vehicles have no front plates.

What laws and penalties apply to these infractions?

Roger Wing, Reseda

Dear Reader: In California, the law requires license plates to be completely visible. That means every letter and number must be readable, said Officer John Baby of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.

Drivers whose plates are even partially blocked can face a so-called “fix-it” ticket--meaning they need to correct the problem, but don’t end up with a black mark on their driving record.

And, Baby added, plates must be affixed to both the front and back of a car.

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Dear Street Smart: My question deals with how to fight an out-of-state parking ticket.

My mother is a resident of Illinois and received a parking ticket in Woodland Hills in March. When she went to pay the ticket, she told the clerk that she wanted to fight it.

But since she was returning to Illinois in three weeks, the clerk told her to pay the ticket and write to the court to explain the ticket. If she won, the clerk told her, the $30 would be refunded.

She lost, but a letter said she had the right to appeal, which she did. This time, she enclosed evidence and a photo of her car’s handicapped license plate.

To this date, she has not received a reply.

I tried to call courts in Van Nuys and Los Angeles as well as the parking enforcement office. Nobody knew anything about the case. I was told that the appeal process requires a fee of $25 and that a driver must appear in person or the case is closed.

My stepfather is on dialysis and after his sessions he is too weak to walk to the apartment without help. My mother was helping him. That’s why the car was parked illegally for a minute.

Gary Rohde, Van Nuys

Dear Reader: Unfortunately, there is little left to do except chalk the incident up as experience. We took your case to Los Angeles parking enforcement officials who said it was highly unlikely that you would win an appeal.

The reason? Handicapped plates do not allow drivers to park where and when they please. The plates permit drivers to park in handicapped spaces, but drivers must still observe other laws--such as not parking in red zones--and abide by all restrictions.

“That is a limitation on handicapped privileges that a lot of drivers do not understand,” the parking official said.

Since you did not send in the $25 to file an appeal, your case file is probably floating unattended somewhere in the bureaucratic fog of the Los Angeles Municipal Court system.