In just the first day of booting vehicles with unpaid parking citations, the Portland Bureau of Transportation caught four alleged offenders who owed a total of $25,026.
While the owner of the pictured Shelby Mustang accounted for more than half that number at $15,956, the first car to have actually been booted was a Volvo V70 with $3,000 in unpaid parking tickets.
As reported by the Oregonlive, Portland launched its booting program Wednesday in an effort to collect the $7.5 million in unpaid ticket fines. In order to be eligible for booting, vehicles need to have at least six citations where the fines have doubled because of nonpayment.
Car owners can either pay the fines directly or set up a payment plan with the Multnomah County Circuit Court, after which the boot can be removed from their vehicle within an hour, according to the city.
This law came into effect on August 3rd, 2016 when the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) received authority from the City Council to “immobilize” vehicles for booting. What this means is that instead of the city towing your car straight away, they will leave it there with a boot on for up to 36 hours, giving people the chance to see a judge, pay the fine or set up the previously mentioned payment plan.
Furthermore, the PBOT will not boot vehicles on Fridays in order to allow car owners to contact the Court during normal business hours without having to wait until the following week for their vehicle to be released.
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