Heck of a thing happened today here at my community college, A guy that was in my diesel class found a boot on his car. He usually parks on the street and walks in since he doesn't have a parking permit. Today he brought some tools and didn't feel like carrying a 50 pound tool box all that distance, so he parked in back right by the diesel shop. He didn't even bother to stop at the guard shack for a token to open the gate so he pulled up right behind a guy that did and drove in before the gate could close. A couple hours later he finds a boot on his car and sticker that says he's got a $50 fine. He walks off to the security office to talk his way out of the fine. Meanwhile, a couple of us are standing around the boot since non of us had seen a boot up close before. One of the guys puts his foot on the boot and it slides down about 3". It didn't take us very long to get the idea to just pull it off of there. We go back in the shop and come back with jack and jack up one end. After stomping it and kicking it a couple of times it fell off and we left it laying next to his car. When he finally comes back with the guard, the guard is left wondering how the boot got off. There was no damage to the boot or the car. To make a long story short, theres no point in putting a boot on a mechanics vehicle, especially when its parked next to a fully equiped shop. Because we of all people know how to remove one.

Also we could have just wheeled over a cutting torch and cut it off, cut the lock with bolt cutters or pryed it off with a couple of prybars, but in this case we didn't have to .

 

What's a "boot" (besides something you wear on your feet?)

 

A boot is properly termed a Vehicle Immobilization Device. It attaches around a wheel and has what amounts to a big chock on it to prevent the vehicle from moving. Commonly used in parking enforcement.

 

I see boots on cars around here all the time, probably on college kids cars. The city's pretty strict about parking, which makes having a driveway at my apartment so valueable. Its tough, the street on which you have a permit gets filled up and you have to park somewhere else, then bam, you get a ticket. If you get one ticket and find your car again, they boot it. After 24 hours and you haven't paid the fine after getting booted, the car is towed. Towing and storage fees ensues.

I think it would be kinda hard to cut one off with a torch without destroying the tire.

 

Car and Driver had a couple of mentions and a short article about this fellow in England who cuts the boots off with a chainsaw based cutoff saw. The guy hates the boot so much he just goes around and cuts 'em when he sees 'em.

I suppose you could do such a thing, but then they SWAT team would show up and burn you out as a result, so it's probably better to not park where you could get booted, pay your tickets, pay your registration etc etc.

 

Too bad you couldn't take the boot and somehow put it on the sec. dudes car and jam/weld the lock so he couldn't get it off. Just Kidding!!! My Bad.

It is best to follow rules/regs/laws. Cheaper in the long run Always. (99.9%)

 

Technically at least in the state of washington, there is no legal way that anyone can "boot" a vehicle. Immobilizing a vehicle with a boot is considered impounding a vehicle in place and only a licensed tow truck operator and do impounds. Furthermore, tow truck operators are not even allowed to do impounds in place and must tow a vehicle if it is to be impounded. There is also a law against tampering with a vehicle and immobilizing a vehicle with a boot counts as tampering.
There was an article a couple days ago in the paper on this very subject. It said that some of these guys puting boots on cars have been ordered to remove them by cops. The state of washington even filed a permanent injuction against a San Diego based parking enforcement company working here in washington placing boots on cars. There is even a bill in the works to ban booting.

Actually with the one we saw, it would have been pretty easy to cut it off with out doing any damage to the car or the wheel and tire. The lock looked pretty strong, but a pair of 42" bolt cutters would made quick work of that anyway. In this case, we just jack up one end and kicked until it fell off. Guard was pretty suprised when he saw his boot laying the ground intact with no damage. Haha!

 

best one I heard was a fellow was from out of town visiting, and the local police booted his car, well he picked the lock took it to the police station, and booted one of the cop cars then filled the lock with epoxy. It was funny in that they claimed there was no way to tamper with them or get them off so don't try, well he didn't damage it getting it off wonder how they got it off the cop car since it can't be tampered with

 

I'd like to see someones car that got the boot jack their car up, slide what amounts to a strong skateboard or the like under the booted tire/wheel, lower it and drive slowly away and finally cut off the boot . I doubt the person that put the boot on would find this too funny but oh well, LOL! Better yet, find their personal car and apply the boot.

I like the booted cop car, LOL!!!!

 

i think boots are retarded. I haven't seen any here in NC, just tickets out the rear. they really don't seem like they would be that hard to get off, esp. since you jsut kicked it off. thought they were supposed to be tougher? the skateboard idea would be good, just as long as it's not a drive wheel and you don't have to turn. I think you should have put it on a security guys car, lol, that woulda been too funny. did ya'll get in any trouble for taking it off? What did the guard say when he saw it off the car?

 

Why not just make up a fake boot? Maybe even what looks like a parking ticket to stick in the windshield to go with it? Hey, the possibilities here are endless...

 

That could get you shoot around here

 

I was thinking for your own car. Park it, boot it, go about your business

 

We used to do that sort of thing with parking tickets on campus...they came in bright yellow envelopes, so once you got one you'd just keep the envelope and put it back in your window whenever you parked anywhere suspicious...but then the parking ***** caught on and started checking the envelopes, and now they're too cheap to even use the envelopes! I guess getting one's 400+ lb fat hiney up off the moped to check an envelope is entirely too much exercise.

 

What does a parking permit cost at the college?