If you're wondering about what a Yellow Zombie is, it's the affectionate name by which some Vancouverites call the City's beloved parking enforcement officers, the guys who zap cars with tickets for "bylaw violations". At $25/hour I'm sure they wouldn't mind such a cute name. :) A friend of mine got ticketed last week for stopping less than 6 meters within a crosswalk, since he doesn't carry a ruler in his pocket. There was no "no stopping" sign, nor a line drawn in the corner, and he was a comfortable distance from the crosswalk. There was nothing to indicate to him that he was not supposed to stop there. This is the kind of stupid violation ticket that you should be able to successfully defend in a competent court of law. However, mark the words "competent court of law"... About 6 years of ago Vision's city council abolished the traffic court system and replaced it with an "adjudicator". If you want to dispute a bylaw violation ticket, you have to go before an adjudicator who is not a judge and who doesn't have the authority to listen to extenuating arguments or to reduce penalties. 90-percent of the time this ritual results in rubber-stamping the ticket, which by that time comes with a $25 fee plus 3 times the penalty amount you could have paid if you didn't dispute it. This system naturally increased city revenues so they could be squandered on useless projects. The problem is, this whole process is said to be in violation of the Charter of Rights, but who is listening? If we have the power we will restore the traffic court system in Vancouver.