Giving the Boot to Scofflaws

The Los Angeles City Council is likely to approve the purchase of 200 “Denver boots”--metal shackles that grab the wheels and immobilize the cars of scofflaws until they pay delinquent parking tickets. That is a worthy proposition.

The contraption has been used to reduce backlogs of unpaid parking tickets in cities like New York, Washington and Boston. Los Angeles stands to collect millions of dollars a year in parking fines--money that would go into the city’s general fund to pay for many services.

During the past three years, motorists have ignored $35 million in fines for tickets attached to 95,000 cars. A fraction of that money--$6 million a year, for example--would allow the city to hire 100 new police officers.

If the council and Mayor Tom Bradley give the OK, as expected, city transportation officials would scan their files, notify scofflaws and give them 60 to 90 days to settle up. Then, beginning in April, five pairs of traffic officers would boot any vehicle with five or more outstanding tickets--even if the car was parked legally at the time.

To get the clamp removed, a motorist would have to pay off all old tickets plus a $35 boot fee. If an owner did not settle up quickly, the car would be towed away, with the fee added to the other penalties. Any car on a heavily traveled street would be booted and towed away at once. The city expects that the hassle would make motorists think twice about parking illegally and ignoring tickets.

Law-abiding motorists may consider the Denver boot a draconian device for a little matter like penalties ranging from $13 to $53. But parking regulations, too often ignored by too many motorists, are increasingly important to keep streets clear, especially at rush hour, as traffic increases in congested areas of Los Angeles.