Do you know what I hate? Being booted. In the previous post we talked about parking meter Fines and now it's been reported that in Melbourne, Australia drivers that don't pay their fines could find their car wheels clamped. Armed with clamps, teams of Sheriff's officers will prowl the streets and car parks on the lookout for serial fine dodgers. They will check car registration details looking for drivers with Unpaid Fines for such offences as traffic offences, parking tickets and public transport fare evasion and clamp offender's vehicles, then wait for the drivers to return. They will carry Eftpos machines so defaulters can pay on the spot to have their cars released. Driving licences and car registrations will also be suspended.

The report said that 1 out of 5, that's 20% of Victorians don't pay their outstanding matters when they fall due and that these sanctions are directed at them....why that's staggering stats and so I guess the State has invested in lots of wheel clamps and wheel clamping will be widespread. Fine dodgers' vehicles could be clamped anywhere!

Some Questions:

• What do you think about this type of law for the collection of unpaid fines?
• Is this a draconian, heavy handed Government approach?
• Has or does this hard-line approach to the collection of unpaid fines happen in your part of the world?
• A quick search shows that drivers will face clamping for past offences in London, The Times, November 17, 2005
• Has your car ever been booted? As it was invented in Denver, Colorado one of the first cities to use them, the wheel clamp, at least in the United States came to be known as the Denver boot, or simply "boot". In France the colloquial name of the wheel clamp or Denver boot is the "sabot de Denver".

Credits:

• The Hate: Dennis H, Melbourne, Australia
• Denver Boot pix: Michael, Chicago