§ 13-195. Manner of operation; use of unused parking time.

Except in a period of emergency determined by an officer of the fire department or police department or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic-control sign or signal, when any vehicle shall be parked in any parking meter space alongside or next to which a parking meter has been installed as provided in this division, the operator of such vehicle shall, upon entering the parking meter space in question, immediately deposit or cause to be deposited in such meter such proper coin of the United States as is required under this division for such parking meter and as is designated by proper directions on the meter and, when required by the directions on the meter, the operator of such vehicle, after the deposit of the proper coins, shall also set in operation the timing mechanism on such meter in accordance with directions properly appearing thereon. Failure to deposit such proper coin and to set the timing mechanism in operation when so required shall be unlawful. Upon the deposit of such coin and the setting of the timing mechanism in operation when so required, the parking meter space may be lawfully occupied by such vehicle during the period of time which has been prescribed for the parking meter zone in which such parking space is located; provided, however, that any person placing a vehicle in a parking meter space adjacent to a meter which indicates that unused time has been left in the meter by the previous occupant of the space shall not be required to deposit a coin so long as his occupancy of such space does not exceed the indicated unused parking time. If such vehicle shall remain parked in any such parking meter space beyond the parking time limit set for such parking meter space and if the parking meter shall indicate such illegal parking, then the vehicle shall be considered as being parked overtime and beyond the period of legal parking time and such parking shall be unlawful.

(Code 1977, § 15-173)