A boot on your car for parking violations can get old fast. Granted, the yellow wheel clamp on your ride likely results from ignoring multiple parking tickets. However, if you’re not quick to handle the boot on your car, you might lose your vehicle to a police impound situation. So, how do you remove that pesky boot from your beloved car?
Your car’s clamp will come off after you pay your fines– but it’s not the only ‘how’ to remove a boot from your car
A “wheel clamp” or “boot” is a prohibitive device that law enforcement uses to immobilize cars. However, unlike spike strips, boots are measures that police officers typically use to inhibit vehicles from leaving after parking violations or abandonment.
Now, dear reader, we can’t condone damage to public property. And that’s precisely what the boot on your car is: public property. As such, if you find a boot on your car, the best course of action is to pay for the associated fines and citations. After you do so, law enforcement officers (LEOs) will likely remove the device and send you on your way.
However, testers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had other things to say about the dreaded boot. “Anyone with less than $30 worth of basic hand tools and enough dexterity to screw in a light bulb can probably break the boot’s grip on a car wheel in about ten minutes.”
Specifically, the MIT crowd focused on tactics beyond the boot’s locking mechanism. For instance, the so-called “boot-breakers” employed measures such as deflating the tire or defeating a simple padlock to get past the damned clamp.
Of course, a wheel clamp might not be the only measure law enforcement uses to keep you from driving away. For instance, some police departments and law enforcement agencies will use “barnacles.” The barnacles, like clamps, work to stop delinquent motorists from taking off without paying for their parking transgressions. Unlike clamps, barnacles are massive folding suction cups that adhere to a vehicle’s windshield.
As a result, drivers can’t see much out of their vehicle’s windshield. That is until they pay for their parking ticket(s). Better yet, owners can pay the fine and return the barnacle without assistance. However, like a boot on your car, you’re not going to get very far without paying the associated fines.
