NYPD Barnacle Boot Targets Violators Of Unpaid Tickets
Watch out New Yorkers. This barnacle really sucks. The new NYPD Barnacle Boot targets violators of unpaid parking tickets. You know who you are.
Here in Boston there is nothing worse then arriving at a public destination late for an important meeting, and not getting the parking right. You find yourself scrambling to figure out the parking meter. Then the meeting goes well, you forget about the meter, and times runs out. Your great day is diminshed, because when you come back to your car, you find that dreaded ticket on your windshield. Because you had a great meeting, you blow it off, throw the ticket into the glove box to deal with it another day. There’s only one problem. This process is repeated over and over and over.
Massachusetts Towns Boot Law
Because we live in Massachusetts, and because of all of those unpaid tickets, at the worse possible time, you find the boot, on your car.
If you live in Cambridge and if and you have five or more unpaid parking tickets that are more than 21 days old, your car is eligible to be booted. If you get booted, you have to pay a $50 dollar fee, as well as all of the outstanding fees. Reportedly the city will remove the boot 90 minutes after the fees are paid. If it’s after 7pm, they will remove it the next day. If you don’t pay within three days of your car getting booted, it will be towed. You can pay on-line or by using an app. But, you are still stuck for 90 minutes, if in fact they will come out that fast to remove the boot.
NYPD Barnacle Boot Targets Violators
Now in New York, there’s a faster way to get unbooted.
The NYPD Barnacle Boot targets violators now in New York. It’s a device that attaches to the perps windshield, using suction-cup like “barnacles.” The device is big enough that it obstructs the drivers view, so like the traditional boot, you can’t drive away. Add to that, with a traditional boot, you can deflate your tire and remove it. The Barnicle Boot, is not removable, unless you pay. The Barnacle Boot comes with a bar code that you can scan with your smart phone. By paying your fine instantly, the boot technology unsucks the suction, releasing the boot from your windshield, allowing you to drive, right away. The final step is dropping off the Barnacle Boot a the nearest receptical.
But if you try to pull an Ace Ventura and drive away unpaid with your head out the window, The NYPD has news for you. According to MSN.com:
Any driver who tries to pull an Ace Ventura and drive with the device attached while hanging out the window will suffer a blaring alarm and can be tracked with GPS, the company noted. Drivers will also have to pay a $200 deposit for the device that they’ll get back when they return the device to a drop box.
The devices are already being used in some city’s, including Greeley, Colorado, and Charleston, South Carolina, and by some parking companies and universities.
