The Washington Times today carries news that will surely embolden area drivers and challenge District parking authorities.

According to DMV statistics, of the 87,694 parking and moving violations contested through April, 43,631 — 49.7 percent — were dismissed while 44,063 were upheld. The great majority of the tickets dismissed — roughly 33,000 of them — were for minor violations like parking at an expired meter or parking in a reserved or illegal space. Not surprisingly, this isn’t anything new for the District. In 2006, 43 percent of contested tickets were tossed; in 2007 it was 55 percent. By comparison, New York’s highest rate was 39 percent and it now averages 22 percent.

The timing of this news really couldn’t be worse for District officials. Hoping to raise some additional revenue and help close the city’s $800 million budget gap, Mayor Adrian Fenty has instituted a beefed-up parking enforcement program that will see more parking control officers and stricter enforcement of a myriad of parking rules and regulations. The plan is estimated to raise over $20 million in FY 2010.

If the District’s parking adjudicators aren’t busy enough already, they could well expect a whole lot more work in the coming months — especially from out-of-state drivers, who make up 70 percent of the 1.5 million tickets issued annually. Heck, I’ve never contested a ticket in my life, but I may as well start now. From the look of it, the odds aren’t bad.

Picture snapped by fdmount