Woman Gets Ticket While Stuck in Traffic

OSLO, Norway (Sept. 3) - Renathe Opedal was hopelessly stuck in traffic during rush hour when an overeager attendant slapped her a $73 parking ticket.

Opedal, 32, couldn't believe it, took the case to court and won.

"I'm really glad I won," she said by telephone on Friday. "But it took much too much time and energy. I'm glad it's over."

On March 26, traffic had backed up in the southern town of Kristiansand during rush hour and Opedal's car got stuck in the middle.

According to the ruling by the Kristiansand District Court, the city parking attendant misunderstood the situation and thought Opedal had caused the traffic jam by parking illegally.

The court ruled that the traffic attendant was wrong, annulled the ticket, and ordered the traffic department to pay Opedal $585 in costs.

"Parking companies do some pretty strange things sometimes," said Opedal. "They should have ... come to their senses. Instead, we had to go to court."

Kristiansand is on Norway's southern tip, about 175 miles south of Oslo.