Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/04/09/nypd-debuts-windshield-boot-to-trap-parking-offenders.html
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I thought “suction cups” when I saw the picture, but that’s just part of the whole system. Really quite ingenious, for a creation of Satan.
Now we wait for the LockPickingLawyer.
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I wonder if rigging up a cctv camera on the outside and screen on the inside could be cheaper than paying the fine.
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So what happens if you put a sheet over the windscreen?
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Failing to see the issue here.
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Some very clever (and hilarious) hacks in that article. I had wondered about some sort of temperature differential approach.
The device wouldn’t work in Alberta, where cracked windshields are so common that no one bothers to repair them.
Maybe I’ll just leave my windshield really dirty.
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I’ve seen a couple of ways to defeat these online, seems pretty easy to remove. Perhaps easier than the boots
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I just noticed the article @RickMycroft linked to is four years old. I wonder if the “boot” has been upgraded since then.
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Possibly, but only until you get pulled over for driving with that thing on and your car gets towed/impounded.
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perhaps upgraded but these are used in my City and if you manage to remove it without paying you get another fine for that. If you pay to have it removed and then leave it behind without returning it to the Police Station or wherever the official drop-off point is, that’s another fine.
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Hmmm…
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I’m amused by the advertising that highlights reduced human interaction as a risk-reduction feature…
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Leeching the data off the SIM is the far more serious offence here. That gets into Federal Communications hacking laws. But I mean, FAFO for sure.
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Yeah, and some cities, like Phily, will actively hunt your car. They won’t find it if it’s garaged (probably), but if you ever park in the street, having lots of tickets and especially having tampered with any kind of boot will get you immediately towed and impounded. A friend of mine found out the hard way that it’s really easy to end up with so many fines that it’s cheaper to surrender the car.
Are the fines a regressive punishment that impact people with lower income much more severely? Definitely. But that said, pay your parking tickets instead of getting crafty if you want to keep your car.
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I wonder if they used off-the-shelf hardware for the barnacle with wifi that could be switched on? Turning it into an open access point would be fun, without the risk of cloning the SIM card.
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Chicago will do sweeps of O’Hare airport parking and boot cars that have unpaid tickets. Some cars will sit booted for months. Anything to make a buck.
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our fave low-tech workaround was shared by a user who found out his campus only had 12 wheel boots to go around and bought and illegally parked 12 scrapyard cars that could be “sacrificed” so everyone else could park however they wanted.
Now that’s what I call dedication. 
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