(KCPW News) If you haven’t paid your parking tickets in Salt Lake City, your car will soon be at risk of getting a SmartBoot. The yellow devices come with a phone number to call, requiring drivers to pay a $191 fine, enter a code on a keypad, and remove it themselves. Salt Lake City Police Captain Carroll Mays says it’s much cheaper than having your car impounded.
“I receive calls all the time; people are very upset when their vehicle gets impounded for outstanding tickets on a Friday evening, and I tell them, well you can’t have it back until Monday, that’s the earliest we can accept payment, the earliest you can get the car back. So this, 24/7, you can get your car back in ten minutes,” said Mays.
Currently, the city impounds vehicles after six unpaid tickets, but under the new plan, any driver with two or more is at risk of getting the SmartBoot. The city says there are more than 3,500 cars that could be booted when the system goes live on March 23rd.
Salt Lake City Councilman Carlton Christensen says the new policy is a fairness issue.
“Clearly, we weren’t pleased with the large amount of outstanding debt owed to the city, and we also think this will hold people more accountable in that same light,” he said.
Drivers will have 24 hours to remove the boot from their car before it gets towed.
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