Charlottesville, Virginia city council members are expected later today to close a long-standing loophole in the city code that allows parking ticket recipients to avoid paying fines. Those who appeal the ticket to the General District Court and fail to appear in court on the appointed date suffer no consequences. Instead, the ticket is simply dismissed.

"There was no penalty for not coming to court and not paying the ticket," Charlottesville Police Sergeant Michael Farruggio told the Daily Progress newspaper. "The number of people that have gotten out of paying parking tickets over the years is quite substantial."

City council members will modify the city code to pronounce anyone who fails to appear at an appeals hearing to be automatically guilty. The city will also seize the vehicles belonging to anyone with three unpaid parking tickets.