Honolulu, HI

While not law yet, if you have three or more unpaid parking violations, read on because you could be affected by this proposal! In an effort to handle unpaid tickets and possibly even scenarios where car owners lack insurance, the City Council is reviewing a proposal that would allow police to place the “Denver Boot” on personal vehicles.

The Denver Boot is a metal locking device placed on one wheel that prevents the car from being driven. Vehicle owners can remove the lock by paying their tickets. After paying with a credit card, owners would be given a code that unlocks the boot and they would also be responsible for returning the metal boot within 24 hours.

You know, on the surface, this all seems like a good idea. After all, the states that are currently using the boot are reporting that they are collecting money from outstanding parking fines due to the use of the boot. That sounds great!

But here are some other considerations.

(1) The boot is huge! After all it’s supposed to go around one tire. I just have this image in my mind where the person who has the boot on their car may not be physically capable of safely taking the device off the car. What then?

(2) The boot is also nearly $600. Now, that’s a lot of money. Maybe we’ll get a discount if we buy in bulk…

(3) The boot is a public display of my inadequacies. Everyone is going to know the law regarding the boot and they will know that if the boot appears on my car, I have at least three outstanding violations. Sure I did something wrong, but don’t I have privacy rights?

(4) What if there’s an emergency that I need to deal with and without access to my car, the challenge could be life threatening? Now this will probably never happen, but in the instance it does happen, I can assure you that the last thing people will look at is the original reason the lock is on in the first place (i.e. – unpaid parking tickets).

(5) My car is my personal property. Who will be responsible for theft or damage to the car?

Well folks, I need to clarify that this isn’t law yet. It’s still just a proposal that is in review. But like I said yesterday, we need to think about the kinds of decisions that are being made that affect our lives. We need to start thinking about the kind of information that is being presented to us and most of all, we need to start taking ownership of the islands we call our home.

unpaid parking violations, Denver Boot, metal locking device