195 replies to this topic

[jefferson l.o.b sergeant]

A thread named after me, It's about damn time!

Now to a bit of local politics.

Starting tomorrow EMPEROR Bloomberg saw fit to bring booting to NYC. This is going to be a war in the streets as people are already strapped and having their cars booted may be the tipping point.

If you a see breaking news flash on your TV from NYC it may very well be because of this!

[Rory Abel]

A thread named after me, It's about damn time!

Now to a bit of local politics.

Starting tomorrow EMPEROR Bloomberg saw fit to bring booting to NYC. This is going to be a war in the streets as people are already strapped and having their cars booted may be the tipping point.

If you a see breaking news flash on your TV from NYC it may very well be because of this!

Not going to happen.

The worst effect this might happen is that Parking Wars is be filmed here.

[Ogul]

Starting tomorrow EMPEROR Bloomberg saw fit to bring booting to NYC. This is going to be a war in the streets as people are already strapped and having their cars booted may be the tipping point.

I don't see how this would be a problem, your car would only get booted if you park illegally.

[Jim Ohara]

I never understood why cars should be booted. It's really stupid. Effectively it's a ticket, but it keeps the obstruction in place rather than letting the car drive away when the owner returns. Making everyone wait for a tow truck to come pick it up and take it away. Causing more traffic problems.

If you want to raise the fine just raise the fine. Booting is moronic.

The more I see of Bloomberg the less I like. he strikes me as a power mad idiot who has his head up his ass.

[jefferson l.o.b sergeant]

Not going to happen.

The worst effect this might happen is that Parking Wars is be filmed here.

Spoken like someone who doesn't live in or frequent the urban areas of NYC.

I don't see how this would be a problem, your car would only get booted if you park illegally.

That's not how it works, Ogul.

If you owe over $350 in parking tickets you can be booted on any public street.

You are wrong here, Ogul.

Don't fight it. You. Are. Wrong.

[Ogul]

I never understood why cars should be booted. It's really stupid. Effectively it's a ticket, but it keeps the obstruction in place rather than letting the car drive away when the owner returns. Making everyone wait for a tow truck to come pick it up and take it away. Causing more traffic problems.

If you want to raise the fine just raise the fine. Booting is moronic.

Well yes, but it's simpler than just towing it directly, and how I understand it is that if the car is booted, it never has to be towed, it just stays in place until the tickets are paid, and then they can remove it on site. If all they do is keep piling up tickets then people could still just not pay them. People being able to "just drive off" would be exactly the sort of problem that I would expect booting to fix. If it wasn't a productivity and cost saving move, why would they do it?

That's not how it works, Ogul.

If you owe over $350 in parking tickets you can be booted on any public street.

Yes, as you should be if you rack up $350 in parking tickets, what's your point? If you don't want to get booted then all you need to do is not rack up $350 in parking tickets, which is not difficult to do if you just don't park illegally.

You are wrong here, Ogul.

Don't fight it. You. Are. Wrong.

That may well be true, but if so you aren't really making your case. What, exactly, is the problem here for law abiding citizens who don't acquire parking tickets, or that pay them off before they reach that threshold?

[jefferson l.o.b sergeant]

Yes, as you should be if you rack up $350 in parking tickets, what's your point? If you don't want to get booted then all you need to do is not rack up $350 in parking tickets, which is not difficult to do if you just don't park illegally.



That may well be true, but if so you aren't really making your case. What, exactly, is the problem here for law abiding citizens who don't acquire parking tickets, or that pay them off before they reach that threshold?

The problem Ogul is that this is the most densely populated region in America. You have a power mad moron in the form of Emperor Bloomberg who has arbitrarily created a myriad of useless parking regulations as a cash-grab. Working class people who are being laid off by the thousands shouldn't be forced to do without a car unless they pay some trumped up tickets.

Basically, they are taking a population with a limited amount or parking and limited income and using it as a base to get free cash.

It is absolutely perverse and I think it will get ugly.

[Chewy Sun]

The whole point of parking fines is to encourage the availability of parking spots. Booting cars, especially in commercial zones, pretty much destroys the point of parking fines.




Chewy....................................................................i'd have no problems with booting in the residential areas, but booting cars in commercial zones is complete folly.

[Jim Ohara]

Booting cars is a way to get more revenue without having to pass laws increasing parking violations. A parking ticket might be $100, but a boot and a tow and then a release is more like $500.

If you pile up parking tickets you eventually go to court, then jail, and have your wages deducted. There is a process. Booting is just bullshit.

[Johnny Henning]

Westley Clark, oh how the mighty have fallen...

Somewhere, everyone that served under him is laughing their ass off.

Now if they sent the stars on actual missions, I would watch the hell out of it.

If only Oliver North could come on as guest commander every once in a while.

North: Private Cain. Front and Center!

Dean Cain: Sir! Yes, Colonel, Sir!

North: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is...

Opens envelope.

North: Assassinate Iranian President Ahmadinejad!

Cain:... What? Seriously?

[garjones]

Booting is just bullshit.

I agree, they should clamp them instead.

[Jacowboy (Jonathan)]

Booting is just bullshit.

Actually, I'm for booting.... as long as they boot the intended offender's car in a non-disruptive/blocking place.

And of course it's just a way of getting easy money off of lazy/bad drivers... And unless you lived in a corruption-riddled city (which New York isn't), people should get fined and severly inconvenienced for driving and parking like shmucks. Heck, some people might even decide to get rid of their cars... We can all hope

[Ogul]

The problem Ogul is that this is the most densely populated region in America. You have a power mad moron in the form of Emperor Bloomberg who has arbitrarily created a myriad of useless parking regulations as a cash-grab. Working class people who are being laid off by the thousands shouldn't be forced to do without a car unless they pay some trumped up tickets.

One would almost think that you weren't a fan of Bloomberg. Out of curiosity, which parking regulations in New York do you believe are "trumped up?"

Booting cars is a way to get more revenue without having to pass laws increasing parking violations. A parking ticket might be $100, but a boot and a tow and then a release is more like $500.

why would you boot and tow? That just seems like a waste. If you're going to tow, tow, the boot would be superfluous. You should only boot cars that you intend to leave in place.

[Jim Ohara]

If a car is getting a ticket isn't it usually parked somewhere it's it supposed to be? So why would you clamp it and leave it there? How do you boot an offending car so it's not offending?

[Ogul]

If a car is getting a ticket isn't it usually parked somewhere it's it supposed to be? So why would you clamp it and leave it there? How do you boot an offending car so it's not offending?

Well, if a car is where a car is never supposed to be, like against a fire hydrant or something, then you just tow it, right away. If a car is going to get a ticket, it's more often because it's where it shouldn't be under those circumstances, like in front of a parking meter that hasn't been paid into. If people paid the meter like they were supposed to then they wouldn't have gotten a ticket. If they pay their tickets in a timely fashion then they apparently won't get a boot. If they pay off their tickets in a timely fashion after that then they shouldn't get towed.

It's a fair, three step process. Step one, the penalty is purely financial. "You have done wrong, and thus it should cost you some money." Step two, the penalty is one of opportunity. "You ignored the financial punishment, thus we should remove your ability to drive the car at all." Step 3 is one of seizure. "You are apparently ok with not being able to move your car, so we will move it for you." At any point in the process you're given the option of stopping the chain. Jeff is insinuating shenanigans in how these tickets are handed out in the first place, but so far without backing that up with actual examples.

[garjones]

Jeff is insinuating shenanigans in how these tickets are handed out in the first place, but so far without backing that up with actual examples.

To be fair it is his thread, I think that means he can make the rules.

[David Meadows]

I agree, they should clamp them instead.

I don't know. I think it would be hilarious if the government paid some blokes to go round kicking hell out of illegally parked BMWs.

You've almost got a fully-formed reality TV series right there.

[jefferson l.o.b sergeant]

Well, if a car is where a car is never supposed to be, like against a fire hydrant or something, then you just tow it, right away. If a car is going to get a ticket, it's more often because it's where it shouldn't be under those circumstances, like in front of a parking meter that hasn't been paid into. If people paid the meter like they were supposed to then they wouldn't have gotten a ticket. If they pay their tickets in a timely fashion then they apparently won't get a boot. If they pay off their tickets in a timely fashion after that then they shouldn't get towed.

It's a fair, three step process. Step one, the penalty is purely financial. "You have done wrong, and thus it should cost you some money." Step two, the penalty is one of opportunity. "You ignored the financial punishment, thus we should remove your ability to drive the car at all." Step 3 is one of seizure. "You are apparently ok with not being able to move your car, so we will move it for you." At any point in the process you're given the option of stopping the chain. Jeff is insinuating shenanigans in how these tickets are handed out in the first place, but so far without backing that up with actual examples.

The New York Post exposed internal documents detailing that the booting program is a means of getting more money from NYC drivers. The boot and the resulting costs will cost more than just a tow. Look it up. You obviously aren't a New Yorker if you don't know about the "Shenanigans".

Here is an example.

A NYC MTA bus is about 48ft long, now guess how long a bus stop is. Answer, a bus stop can be the length of an ENTIRE BLOCK or up until the next posted sign. So if you park 50, 60, 70 ft from the bus stop you can still get a ticket for bus stop obstruction. You call that a legitimate violation?

[Ogul]

The New York Post exposed internal documents detailing that the booting program is a means of getting more money from NYC drivers.

So? There's nothing inherently insidious about that. Most fining systems are a way of getting money, and so long as it's managed fairly, there's no problem with that. The state needs funding, and it's easier to raise and more efficiently collect fines from rule-breakers than it is to raise general taxes on everyone.

A NYC MTA bus is about 48ft long, now guess how long a bus stop is. Answer, a bus stop can be the length of an ENTIRE BLOCK or up until the next posted sign. So if you park 50, 60, 70 ft from the bus stop you can still get a ticket for bus stop obstruction. You call that a legitimate violation?

It does seem a bit loosely defined, but now we both know that and won't park near a bus stop. A bus is probably difficult to move into those spaces, so having some extra room to maneuver isn't bad idea in and of itself. The problem here seems to be more one of proper labeling. They should definitely have painted curbs or a clear "end of bus stop" sign up. Personally, the lack of parking meters would clue me in. If you find a free parking space in a city, it almost certainly isn't a parking space.

[jefferson l.o.b sergeant]

So? If you read the article it clearly shows that the Mayor has been touting the program as a "Cheaper" option than towing. It is an outright lie which is proven by the internal documents. You like fraud on the part of your mayor, I don't.