The 'Boot' in Boston - Please advise

TyFenn · 04-11-2005, 01:57 PM

Hey everybody,

Hope the spring is going well for everyone.

I was talking to Lubemaster77, he suggested I solicit the advice of the board. It seemed like a good idea...

So, today, my friend borrowed my girlfriend's car and he got the boot while parked in a tow zone (good friend huh? - hahaha). Well, to make a long story short, after a little bit of effort (and the help of a 7" angle grinder - hahahaa), the boot is off.

Now here's the question, what is going to happen when she needs to register the car? Are there any other sort of implications she might face (I know the sticker says there's all kinds of trouble but so does the sticker on a mattress - ya' know)? Has anyone else on this board heard/done anything like this?

What am I lookin' at fellas?

Thanks again.

Oh, the car is being shipped to CA at any moment/day now...

Bob's Flat-Six · Bob's Flat-Six's Garage

Well, it wasn't no mattress. What did the sticker say ? Felony ?

Bob's Flat-Six · Bob's Flat-Six's Garage

Rent the movie "Cool Hand Luke" He cut the tops off some parking meters. It will give you an idea what can happen

Just kidding

bryanthompson · bryanthompson's Garage

What am I lookin' at fellas?

Federal pound me in the ass prison?

stomachmonkey · 04-11-2005, 06:17 PM

Who cut the boot off? You or your friend? And the girlfriend was not consulted first?

I gotta think the local municipality is NOT going to be pleased or very forgiving for that one.

I think instead of asking this board for advice you should be looking up the number for an attorney and really find out how deep a pile of s__t you are in and what to do about it BEFORE they come knocking.

I think Bryan may have it about right.

Scott

dtw · 04-11-2005, 06:53 PM

And people wonder why police get cynical about the public, in the face of such galloping stupidity and pig ignorance.

Dunno about Newton, but I know of one case of this happening here. The guy didn't have a record, so the court took pity on him. Misdemeanor destruction of public property with maximum fine (I forget how much), payment of all outstanding parking tickets + boot fee (lots), and replacement cost of the boot (~$750). They were nice enough to let the felony charges go.

Does someone have that great "Assclown Type R" award handy? I don't have it on this computer, but whoever pulled this jackass stunt deserves at least that much...

adamred · adamred's Garage

Were the fines that huge to have it removed?

I went back and checked the date on the post thinking maybe it was a leftover from April 1st...

Man, you just don't mess with those things....a simple $15 parking ticket in our town goes into the system so fast with full contact information, I missed placed the ticket once and didn't pay, man the courts came after me and suddenly a $15 ticket was $50 with a bench warrant, cutting off a boot can't be pretty....

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

TyFenn · 04-12-2005, 07:46 AM

so that's no one with first hand experience in this matter correct?

I think some of you might need to re-read the post a little closer as well.

Oh, nice office space reference.

vash · vash's Garage

so you didnt pay the ticket because you are moving the car to cali?

i had the exact same logic when i was younger. i got a simple illegal left turn ticket in san fran. but i was moving back to texas, and decided to toss it. wtf? never coming back, right? well, seven or eight years later, i get hired by the lovely state of california. i was sweating when i was at the DMV trying to convert my texas DL to a cali. no issues? i got off scot free? well, right up until i tried to buy california car insurance. they said my suspended license apparently had just been reinstated (hench the DMV didnt say anything). in the eyes of every insurance company, i was a brand new 16 year old driver. i got reamed yearly in BS premiums. i remember my original fine was $80. for the increased premiums, i lost thousands. i think my rates are still elevated. good luck, i now wont fight the power. too expensive.

i am guessing they suspend your GF's license.

cliff

}{arlequin · }{arlequin's Garage

first, I'd make sure the boot disappeared and wasn't lying in the spot where the car was

it's your word against someone else's... the only difference is that they wrote something in a notepad

people could be malicious and you could claim that someone must've had a thing out for you and that's why they wrote that, but that they didn't really boot the car

sadly, similar "official harassment" could happen to anyone. see someone in a car you don't like... better yet if you know something about the person... call in and report that car stolen... they'll get pulled over and deal w/ a major hassle trying to explain things....

it's a bit like a ticket in the mail... is that good enough notice? if a cop pulls you over and it was unpaid, it'll show up and he won't care about your explanation, but the truth is, it could be someone else driving your car....

i had a car booted for an unpaid tix, (correctly b/c it was overdue), then i called it in and paid by phone/credit card. They said the boot will be off by 3pm. I get home and car is gone. Towed. wtf... have to go get it etc... did anyone reimburse me for their screw up and MY towing fee??? screw 'em... the burden is on them to prove what happened.

(There's a certain *type* of an a-hole person that takes the meter maid/tow truck driver job. They are worse than lawyers

)

}{arlequin · }{arlequin's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by vash

i am guessing they suspend your GF's license.

yup. they will. that's what Mass does and they won't care if you're notified or not. They figure why waste $$ when they will catch up with you either when you get pulled over or when you show up to renew your registration.

Hugh R · 04-12-2005, 08:22 AM

I've heard that Walpole State Prison is a rough place. This is your a$$hoe (), this is your ********* in Walpole Prison ( )

bryanthompson · bryanthompson's Garage

Who exactly cut the boot off? It's not clear in your original post.

Can you explain how this whole thing went down? Was this like, a busy road? Did you gather an audience?!

stevepaa · 04-12-2005, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by }{arlequin
first, I'd make sure the boot disappeared and wasn't lying in the spot where the car was

it's your word against someone else's... the only difference is that they wrote something in a notepad

sadly, similar "official harassment" could happen to anyone. see someone in a car you don't like... better yet if you know something about the person... call in and report that car stolen... they'll get pulled over and deal w/ a major hassle trying to explain things....

i had a car booted for an unpaid tix, (correctly b/c it was overdue), then i called it in and paid by phone/credit card. They said the boot will be off by 3pm. I get home and car is gone. Towed. wtf... have to go get it etc... did anyone reimburse me for their screw up and MY towing fee??? screw 'em... the burden is on them to prove what happened.

(There's a certain *type* of an a-hole person that takes the meter maid/tow truck driver job. They are worse than lawyers )

Hum, you do something illegal, get caught, and will lie and insult the correctional officer.
Now, that's a value system we all could do without.

adamred · adamred's Garage

I just re-read, so the car and the g-f are moving to Cali? Or just the car? I assume they wrote up her license plate etc when they booted it, so I'm guessing if the g-f stays in the great state of Mass, she's more then a bit screwed....

}{arlequin · }{arlequin's Garage

the point is, it could have been booted incorrectly and the bureaucracy certainly *isn't* going to explain the error in YOUR favor....

I see plenty of "no parking" signs, mostly they warn that your car will be towed, not booted. I've never seen a "we will boot you" sign. So... why was it booted? If it was parked illegally, then ticket and tow it.

If there already were outstanding tickets on the car then a boot is warranted, but at the same time, a meter maid doesn't have the ability to check the records on the spot. So, either the car deserved the boot and was done correctly (b/c the eventually caught up w/ it), or it wasn't booted correctly and the error was *remedied*.

.... and whom did I insult? Are you or any of your acquaintances tow truck drivers or meter maids? In that case, I apologize if they fit into a rare exception of nice people. For the most part, I've seen those people get a certain sick kind of satisfaction out of what they do, and that takes an a-hole personality in my book. I've also seen towed cars get dropped b/c of an incorrect hook up, I've seen towed cars clip apexes of large street curbs b/c the cretin driving didn't know how to take a corner. I'm sorry but they have a right to *tow* the car only, not f_ _ k it up in the process. Does anyone care about that? Not from my experience.

vash · vash's Garage

i wouldnt date a metermaid; but i suppose they are a necessary evil. i am sure boston, just like san fran would go berzerk if every idiot decided that they could park anywhere they wanted. imagine the chaos.

i manage construction projects, and i dont know how many times i've had some fool will park in front of a pending operation despite the signs. i have yet to have someone towed. we have oversprayed or concrete splashed a few, but no towing. and i agree with dave. tow truck guys are not gentle.

TyFenn · 01-08-2006, 08:58 PM

saw this while looking for something else.

the car was registered in CA with no problems. License was transferred with no problems as well. Moving back to MA might be another story though...

RallyJon · 01-09-2006, 05:31 AM

Nobody asked the most important question: Was the boot put on by the municipality or a private company? Most so-called "tow zones" are managed by private towing companies and have nothing to do with local government. They catch you there, they tow or boot you, you pay them. It's a private deal.

If this was a private towing company that put the boot on your car, you did the right thing--screw 'em. If it was the local police... well, everyone else already answered that one.