Stop the windfall for Boston tow-truck operators
By adamg - Wed, 10/24/2007 - 11:21am.
When it comes to street-sweeping tows, Jimbo says enough is enough - he urges residents to show up at a City Council hearing at 6 p.m. this coming Monday at City Hall:
... Should we really be penalizing people this much because they forget or don't know about street cleaning? Towing should be reserved for people who block hydrants, driveways, handicap ramps or who double park and leave the car. The hassle of retrieving one's car and paying $130 for the fine and the tow are exorbitant compared to the infraction. Raise the price of the ticket, but don't tow the car.
| 
| 
Then...
How does he propose they clean the street?
Duh.
I agree, raise the price of
I agree, raise the price of a ticket to $130. You'll see alot more people being remided fast what days they sweep!
(they don't always tow, they do always ticket)
Sometimes, they do neither
Depends on the neighborhood: Nobody moves their car on my block; nobody gets ticketed. Of course, that might be why, come March or April, our neighborhood streets look like they belong next to a beach.
You made laws, sign them, enforce them ... NO FAIR!
Cry me a river. Perhaps I should put that roadkill on his trunk lid? All the DunkinDetritis in his front entry?
When are all these Massholes going to *get* the idea that laws apply to them? "Forgot or didn't know"? Oh please - I suppose all the asshats cutting through my neighborhood at high speed "forgot or didn't know" that a red octagonal sign with white letters spelling STOP means they have to do that! Gee, soo much to forget or not know when you have/drive a car.
Grow up already!
that's not what he's saying
He's saying the law should be changed. Ya know, like in a democracy. He's saying the current law isn't working, it should be improved.
And no one is put in any danger here, unlike in your totally unrelated example. And the roadkill? that usually gets cleaned up seperate from the street sweepers.
That said, I think the towing is necessary to keep the streets clean - but $130 plus the price of a ticket is excessive. the towing companies are likely making a killing here.
And no one is put in any
And no one is put in any danger here
Either you have not lived here very long or don't walk around outside much at any time of year. "Other services" take care of road kills. Really? Haven't seen them in Charlestown.
If we get an icy winter, you will understand how all the street crap, leaves, and ever popular "right to litter" add up to flooded streets that freeze into dangerous skating rinks (or form ice-rimmed puddles that force jumping or wading). Sand and leaves build up and form bad traction areas, like the one my MIL slipped on and busted her ankle.
Oh, but having a car makes you special because your parking convenience is more important than the safety of all users of municipal infrastructure.
Roadkill
I actually had some experience with this.
I worked for the Public Works Department, back around 1980, for one summer. My job was sweeping streets - with a push broom, no truck. Occasionally, I would be pulled off of that duty to take a truck out and pick up a dead animal.
So far as I know, we only picked up those dead animals that had been complained about by somebody. I mean, we didn't just cruise looking for carcasses. If a call came in reporting a dead dog on Shawmut Avenue, I'd drive over there, scoop it up with a shovel, toss it in the back of the flatbed truck, and bring it back to Frontage Road for disposal.
By the way, insofar as the sweeping was concerned? I swept, then put the trash in a large trash bag, leaving same in the gutter for a truck to pick up later. I had instances where people parked their cars RIGHT ON TOP of the trash bags. Idiots.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
'Possum Jerky
I reported a dead 'possum on Medford St. in mid-August.
I then went on vacation.
When I came back it was road jerky. They finally cleaned it up just before school started.
Maybe they just cleaned it up when the huge dead goose was in the middle of the road? Dunno. Dead birds get all the attention these days.
Perhaps they can't afford a Suldog equivalent to respond to carrion calls anymore.
The laws apply to me
But I inconveniently have to contend with a human brain that occasionally forgets which side of the street I parked on after a long, difficult day at work and four hours' sleep.
If you ever forget your keys somewhere, I assume you'll look at yourself in a mirror and think, "Gosh, I sure deserve to be stuck in this snowdrift and arrested for loitering while unable to enter my home. Serves me right for thinking I could get back into my house without keys!"
Why are you driving in that state?
Being sleep-deprived is as bad as being drunk, according to studies of reaction times and responses necessary for safe driving.
I realize that the T doesn't go everywhere or run at all hours, but consider calling a cab if you are that far gone. "Oh but I was impaired when I drove in" isn't going to buy you much sympathy.
What planet are you on, SwirlyGrrl?
Good grief. It was a RHETORICAL DEVICE. Is it a totally foreign concept to you that sometimes people with perfectly good intentions, particularly if they've had a long day or something, might just plain forget something mundane like the Boston street cleaning schedule?
That aside, you didn't actually respond to what I said in the slightest, you just went off on a nutty tangent, as if I said "boy, it's tough to remember street cleaning after I've taken six hits off the crack pipe before getting behind the wheel with my three-year-old nephew strapped to my hat."
Oh, and
by the way: I thought it was pretty obvious that the four hours' sleep was what would have happened *after* I got home the previous day, thus making it difficult to wake up and remember that I was in a street cleaning zone. Not that I for some reason slept for four hours prior to driving home. Next time I'll spell it out more slowly.
Huh?
We must be operating on different wavelengths. You have the right to be pissed off if you get a ticket but that doesn't mean you should also think that the law, rather than your mistake, is to blame. I don't really follow your second comment, but if you're saying that the next time I get a ticket (or towed) for parking in a tow-zone you assume I'll look at myself in the mirror and say "nice work jackass," then you assume correctly. I won't be happy about the ticket but I will know its my fault. That's because I'm an adult and I take responsibility for the things I do and then I change my behavior if I don't like the results. Try it, you will be happier with the world.
Not very sympathetic
I agree that the ticket amount should be raised instead of towing, but only so the fine goes entirely to the city rather than the tow company. I have lived in places where they clean the streets twice a week and managed to move my car every time (in a neighborhood notorious for having no parking). If you can't remember to move your car so they can clean the street that's your problem. Your neighbors don't deserve dirty streets just because you wanted to sleep in. Either learn to move your car or, god forbid, get rid of it and take public transportation or use Zip Car.
Zip car looks like a good
Zip car looks like a good idea until you realize you'll need to get separate liability coverage for yourself and others on top of their rates, membership, and fee's.
Then it's not such a hot idea compared to owning a used vehicle (still better then new).
sleep in????
I'm afraid it's often not a case of merely sleeping in. Some people have a bit more going on in their lives from time to time than to recall which side of the street they parked on and whether that side is a tow zone on the 1st and 3rd or 2nd and 4th. Congrats to you for being one of those who is above all of that! You're my hero.
I really hope you're not so
I really hope you're not so bad as to forget your mothers birthday too...
Responsibilitywhat?
So, part of having a car is taking responsibility for parking it legally. If it's too much work to remember which side of the street is which, then buy a parking space, park in another part of the city, or don't have a car. It isn't like it's your god-given right to park anywhere you want. By parking on property that isn't yours, you agree to their rules. What's next, complaining about getting fired because you were too busy to write down your work schedule?
Plus, you can even sign up for handy e-mails each week to tell you to move your car.
http://bostonsweeper.boston.com/
Easy fix to this problem
The city should start street sweeping (and ticketing) at 10 am instead of 8 am.
Other things you should not complain about
In the workplace:
- Being forced to work 80 hour weeks for minimum wage
- Being verbally abused by your manager
- Any sort of harrassment
- Being subjected to second-hand smoke
- Bear traps
By choosing to work there, you agreed to their rules, including the bear traps!
At home:
- Lack of sufficient heat
- Lack of sufficient water
- Lack of floor
By choosing your apartment, you agreed to their piss-poor management!
...And I could go on.
Furthermore, Eeka, the point is not that it should be okay to park your car where it's not legal to park it. The point is that, for example, it would not be fair if the punishment for parking in a street cleaning zone involved, say, removal of a limb. Or kidnapping of one's firstborn. There's such a thing as a reasonable punishment that fits the crime, and towing my car to Eastie and making me pay $130 to the towyard and $50 to Boston is WAY too harsh.
Huh?
It sounds like what you are saying is that the penalty should be less painful, but if that happened, would it be as good a deterent as it is? Getting towed sucks, no argument there, but that's why you only get towed once and then you move your car every other time, right?
I just don't get the rest of your points. You chose where you work and you chose where you live. Some of the things you listed above aren't "unfair" but rather illegal so you don't have to suffer them at all. Not sure I understand the analogy to getting towed because you didn't move the car.
When I still had a car in Somerville ...
the fine for a street-sweeping ticket was something like $20 or $25. It wasn't enough to make me pay careful attention; I just paid 3 or 4 such tickets each year.
These days it's a lot higher, and some towing occurs. I hope I'd pay more careful attention now (but I no longer have the car).
Break your mother's back ... or leg
If you ever saw a 65 year old woman break her ankle slipping in a large pile of slippery leaf muck because the street sweepers couldn't clean an area because some self-absorbed or self-martyred git parked in the way, you probably wouldn't say that a few dollars and some lost time was too big a price to pay.
After all, it cost her a bit more than your fine and tow cost you, and SHE didn't even ignore or forget the rules!
Self-righteous much?
Better make sure you never accidentally drop a tic-tac on the sidewalk -- there are 65-year-old mothers of seven lurking around every corner, just WAITING to slip and fall to their deaths!
My POINT is that I'm exactly as likely to forget to move my car if it's a $40 fine or if it's $200, a tow, and being beaten over the head with the handbags of 65-year-old women who've recently slipped on piles of slippery leafy muck. A $40 fine is *plenty* to make me really want to remember to move my car. I JUST FORGET OCCASIONALLY. IT'S AN EASY THING TO FORGET. End of story. And for me, having a car is a necessity (though I'm sure you can find some convoluted reason I could do without my car in favor of bicycles, public transportation and pure unadulterated love of the world) and I can't afford a $300-a-month parking space.
Cost of having a car in the city
My MIL can't afford thousands of dollars in medical and rehab expenses either - most people can't.
If you don't like it, do what Ron did - get rid of your car.
hmm.
disregarding the fact that you missed the part where I said "having a car for me is a necessity", I'll just ask:
Does your mother-in-law know you're dragging her into arguments to shore up your Real Person With Real Problems cred?
C'mon, stick to attacking the argument...
> Does your mother-in-law know you're dragging her into
> arguments to shore up your Real Person With Real Problems
> cred?
Are her interactions with her mother-in-law any of your business?
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
MIL - reread her post
she was the one who brought up! which i thought was strange too.
Riiiight...
She brought up her mother-in-law's injury, probably because she thought it was a good illustration for the point she wanted to make. Her interactions with her mother-in-law unrelated to this story have nothing to do with this discussion and aren't any of y'all's business.
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
thanks for proving my point
exactly... it's not her right or business to introduce her mother-in-law's financial difficulties and medical problmes to an internet message board.
Details have been changed
and she wouldn't give a shit anyway.
No...
...since you know nothing about whether her MIL gave her permission, none of it's any of your business. It's between her and her MIL.
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
that's not why I got rid of my car
I did not get rid of my car because of parking tickets.
I got rid of it because one day I found that it could not go over 50 mph on I-93 in New Hampshire. When I took it to the shop, they told me it was unsafe to drive and would be too expensive to fix. So I junked it. Hey, I got almost 18 years out of it.
But you didn't get a new one
I didn't say that you got rid of your car because of ticketing - although Somerville has gotten pretty zealous of late. I merely ponted out that you did get rid of your car, with the benefit that you don't have to deal with street sweeping.
next we'll have human brains
next we'll have human brains that forget to stop at red lights or pay for things in stores or take care of our kids. its called responsibility and there are consequences. its just like getting fined if you forget to pay your bills on time, but most people somehow come up with a solution to that.
saying your forget or dont know, especially when there are signs make me wonder what else you might ignore when it is in front of you. if there are no signs? appeal the ticket/tow and then dont park there again. that's like when you touch a hot stove and learn not to touch it again because you got burned. the fines and towing might be excessive, but if you can't learn not to get burned you got other issues.
Really?
You want to compare forgetting to move my car for street cleaning to forgetting to stop at a red light or taking care of my children?
Sigh.
This is *so* beside the point. Nobody is arguing that there shouldn't be a punishment for parking in a street cleaning zone, just that the current punishment doesn't fit the crime.
Anyway, why is it that you're so convinced the current punishment is good? My assumption is that since you don't drive a car, and it doesn't affect you, your attitude would be the same no matter *what* the punishment... it's the law, after all, so nobody has any right to disagree with it.
the problem is that just
the problem is that just because it's inconvenient and expensive you think the law should be changed. its part of being a citizen and having responsibilities and learning. do i currently have a car? no. did i used to? yes. did it ever get towed? yes. what did i do? didnt park there again. didnt fight city hall since all i had to do was listen to the rules and not think it was some big conspiracy between the city and the tow companies.
my previous rant was because if you are complaining about this simplest of tasks, remembering when to park where, what else should we not be responsible for? if this is so hard, what else cant we do? i mean its just moving your car. if your car is really a necessity, its too hard to park legally, and the cost is too much, then live somewhere else. or put a post it not on your car door reminding you.
you're conflating two things
Saying the punishment is too harsh for the violation is not the same thing as saying it's OK to park in street cleaning zones.
It's not that I think I should be able to get away with parking wherever I please. I'm a resident here and it bugs me when people park illegally, and I do my best to always obey parking regulations (and, for that matter, I drive defensively, don't tailgate, and so on...).
It's that I think it's unreasonable to tow people for parking in a street cleaning zone. Especially to tow them within 10 minutes of 8AM.
Towing people regularly for street cleaning is a new thing. Yes, the law hasn't technically changed, but the enforcement has changed. And I'm complaining about the change.
you are right dan, i did do
you are right dan, i did do that, and i apologize for mixing up your point. also, thank you for teaching me a new word. seriously, i dont recall ever hearing/reading the word conflating.
regardless, a law is a law. just because it didnt use to be enforced doesnt mean it is okay to break it. its still an inconvenience to you and that's not enough of a reason to change it. i do sympathize with people who get there car towed, it sucks, but i cant sympathize with someone who falls into that more than once, especially if they are banking on the law not being enforced.
I disagree with you, Dan.
The reason that the streets don't get cleaned or plowed many times in the wake of a heavy winter snowfall is precisely because the towing rule's not enforced, like it should be. Again, as other posters have pointed out, if you don't like the consquences of refusing to move your car before a street-sweeping or snow-plowing, alter your behaviour and comply with the ruling.
Actually
Part of the reason I'm so cranky over this issue is that one of the two times I've been towed for street cleaning (and they towed *every* car on the block, so the road was 100% clear), they didn't clean the frickin' street.
Granted, the street cleaners doing their jobs is somewhat of a separate issue, but I imagine any one of you would be similarly ticked in that situation.
actually, you are right the
actually, you are right the punishment doesnt fit the crime. a punishment is supposed to stop a person from doing that bad thing again. clearly it is not working if people keep getting towed. on the otherhand, if a street cleaner cant do its job because cars are in the way, well then, maybe if we towed them the job could get done. ticketing just leaves them in the way.
as someone else mentioned though, the real issue should be, if we have to move our cars for street cleaning then the streets should really get cleaned, not the half ass job that gets done now. that's what should be brought to city hall.
So Dan has a point?
Finally, you get to the point....
"the current punishment doesn't fit the crime"
And, yet, you miss the point.
Whoa, Dan!!
Snark
You made a very reasonable response to my bloviation there, but I was in fact being entirely snarky.
Trying to make the point that Eeka was being unreasonable when she essentially told me that since I chose to park on Boston streets, I should shut my mouth and not complain if I think the regulations are unfair.
So, I responded by taking her logic and applying it elsewhere. Rest assured, I don't really think you should shut up and take it if your boss puts bear traps under your desk :)
How's it unreasonable?
If you park somewhere that has posted hours of when you can and can't park there, it's your responsibility to abide by their regulations. If you don't agree, don't park.
If I think the garage down the street charges too much for parking, I'm not going to park there, then complain when I go to pay that they really shouldn't charge so much, and it's unfair. It was posted when I chose to park there exactly how long I could park for what price. Now, if they were charging different from the posted signs, or something, I'd have a complaint that the attorney general would probably help me with. But otherwise, if it's clearly posted when I can park there and what to expect, then by entering the garage, I'm entering into a contract. The city's property is no different. It's THEIR PROPERTY, so they get to say when and how you can park there. It's clearly posted, too.
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
Systematic Thinking
You think the fines and towing are unreasonable because you refuse to acknowledge the reasons behind them. All you can see is how YOU get nailed for not paying attention, and then you complain that the penalty is too much because you simply don't understand the consequences of having your car in the way.
The reasons the fines are high is because people won't move their cars if they are not. The reason the city tows cars is because the streets don't get cleaned if they don't. The reason the streets are swept is because builidup of trash and debris is not only unsightly and unhealthy, it leads to a number of hazardous street conditions.
The part of this you can't understand is the part that goes beyond "what about me".
No sympathy here either
Yeah, I don't think the city needs to do away with towing. In fact, I think more cars should be towed -- especially the ones parked illegally in the area around the Cambridgeside Galleria. There are signs regarding the sweeping schedule, so there's really no excuse.
My car was once towed in another municipality when I forgot to move it for sweeping. When I couldn't find my car the next morning to get to work, I realized what had happened and thought, "Dumbass." It was my fault. It's your fault.
If you want to stop something, stop those crazy announcements that parade up and down the street announcing that the cars are going to be towed.
Wait...
Yeah, I don't think the city needs to do away with towing. In fact, I think more cars should be towed -- especially the ones parked illegally in the area around the Cambridgeside Galleria.
Do you mean the area closer to North Station and the Leverett Circle (where people park illegally all the time...)? Because the Galleria itself isn't in Boston.
The PRC
I think Fornya must have been talking about Cambridge. I used to live in the PRC and there the public works department drives around the morning they do street cleaning and makes announcements over a loud speaker to move your car. Nice to have a property tax base with Kendall Sq. in it to allow you to fund this kind of thing.
It's fun to watch Cambridge
It's fun to watch Cambridge on the first day of towing season. They only clean once a month and everyone on the street gets towed. I saw them tow 15+ cars one day while I sat in my office...and that's just one block on one short street.
There are "snow emergency" towing signs in Cambridge's streets,
which used to be enforced back in the 1970's, which banned parking on one side of the street or the other during snow emergencies, when a snowstorm necessitated plowing the streets, and any cars left on that side of the street(s) would be towed. Now, because they no longer enforce those rules, people don't move their cars and, subsequently, the city often can't do a decent plowing job. If people have driveways, they should put their car(s) in the driveways. If people don't have driveways, there are garages that people can park their cars in temporarily until the stormy weather and the plowing is passed. It may cost some money, but, if people can afford to keep a car in Cambridge, they can afford to spend some money to park their car in a garage during a storm.
Uh…
Yes, I was referring to Cambridge (hence the "Cambridgeside" in Cambridgeside Galleria), and I did not think it was verboten to mention the PRC. And why is everyone so full of piss and vinegar when it comes to this neighborhood v. that neighborhood? Damn it all. WTF? Can't we just all agree that NH sucks? Anyhow, it would be woefully inaccurate to presume that everyone who lives in Cambridge is just some rich douchebag, because I don't fit that profile.
Anyhow, what a sensitive topic this towing. I hope folks are somehow able to affect a change that makes everyone happy and still gets things done.
GO SOX!!!
Jesus H. Christ
No, actually, I was just clarifying, because people were talking about Boston towing laws and referencing "the city," and then you mentioned an area that's not part of Boston, so I wanted to clarify which area you meant. I said nothing about your income, what neighborhoods are better than others, or anything else to that extent. Dayum!
Also, I think the other poster was referring to the real estate in Kendall financing the announcements, not necessarily implyinig that you had such property. Just that everyone in Cambridge benefits from the taxes paid there.
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
no joy in Mudville
Welcome to being lumped in as a rich douchebag thanks to my zip code. Oh, and I grew up in NH and I own an SUV... I'm screwed!!!
On topic, at least some of the comments were witty and clever, while others were just downright heavy-handed and added little to the discussion, per usual.
and... GO SOX!
Ewwww...
I once had something similar happen to me one fall, when I totally forgot about the street-sweeping that was to take place that morning from 8-12 noon one rainy day in late November. I came out from work to take a lunch break, only to find that my car wasn't there. It had been towed by the city of Cambridge. Mentally kicking myself for having been so forgetful, I ended up going to the Cambridge Police Station in Central Square, where I was given instructions of how and where to retrieve my car. It cost me roughly 100 dollars total, for retrieving my car and for the parking ticket, and I had to shell out the cash upfront. I ended up trekking out to a towing place out past the Fresh Pond area, near the Cambridge-Belmont line.....in a soaking rain, to boot. I certainly learned my lesson from that experience--I've been more careful since.
a simple mistake
What you have described is an innocent mistake, and not one that should be vilified as an example of an alarming pattern of behavior which may include: forgetting your mother's birthday, running stop signs, and speeding through neighborhoods with small children, as others have commented. I appreciate your calm and rational post.
Thanks, Anonymous.
n/m
To boot or to tow...that is the question
..in a soaking rain, to boot.
That sucks, but at least you were wearing boots!
Nope.
I wasn't wearing boots, but I survived.
towing
They ticket and tow for each and every single street sweeping in my neighborhood. I've been towed twice this past year. You can't count on the street actually being cleaned of anything except people's cars.
enough is enough...
Jimbo - Thanks for letting us know about the upcoming City Council hearing. The increase in towings is certainly overkill - lots of hard earned dollars into the pockets of the tow companies and out of the wallets of the working folk who could use the money for their families.
Some Notes on Street Cleaning
These are in no particular order:
1. If you have a cel phone, even a stupid cheapo one, it probably has an alarm you can set to go off on a regular date or interval. For example, you could set it to nag you before you get home from work the night before street cleaning day. Computers usually have calendar programs - I work in the city and work calendar program gives me a heads up the night before street cleaning day.
2. Most streets are not towed out every time. Many are only ticketed most weeks. The real hyperaggressive tow-truck feeding frenzies are generally held for the first couple of cleans in April, and again in mid- to late October. These are the times when they need to do the sort of intensive cleaning that demands that cars are out of the way. Sand and debris are heavy in the early spring, fall leaves build up, jam drains, and cause flooding - sometimes even house flooding.
3. If signs are unclear or unreadable, report them. Boston seems to spend more on these signs than on some pretty basic directional signage.
4. Get to know your "parking zone", not just the small area near your house. On the rare occasion I bring my car into work, I know where I can park, when, and for how long (and where the available spots are likely to be) because I don't restrict myself to a few streets. I also make mental notes when I move through the area on my bike. Walk around and do some surveilance on the signs in the area and figure out about how far you can or may have to walk.
If you are going to have a car in the city or bring one into the city and not pay for parking, you will need to put some "sweat equity" into figuring out your parking plan. There is no free lunch, and there is no free parking, either.
I'm not a car driver. I
I'm not a car driver. I don't think anyone should drive a car. I think people should move downtown and walk to work.
That being said, the towing companies have become like leaches. They make a killing off of the law, and it's just unfair. Think about this without streetcleaning and towing: for everytime you violate rule x, private company y gets z dollars. What's fair about that? Furthermore, we don't pay a cop for every criminal he arrests a criminal; we don't pay a metermaid for every ticket he/she writes; and we certainly don't pay a judge for every time he/she convicts someone!
Here's how I'd solve the problem: raise the fine, tow the cars, don't charge for the tow, and the city pays the towers by the hour (which I'm sure they're already doing on top of what the towers get for each car) from the fine.
Easier said than done, Candide.
First of all, not everybody can afford to live downtown.
Secondly, plenty of people who live in the city's residential neighborhoods and/or a bit beyond that take the MBTA downtown to work.
Thirdly, there's nothing wrong with driving to the nearest MTA station, parking, and then taking the T to work.
Next, plenty of people (myself included) are also within walking/bicycling distance of downtown, so, in the good weather I either hoof it (if you get the drift), or two-wheel it.
Not really the point, but I'll go there
Wait, I thought we were talking about towing? I made those first comments to air my bias (something more commenters on this site should do) not to make a point; the argument for urbanization over suburbanization is too long and drawn out to argue here.
But if this is where you want to go, I'll go there with you; it's slow at work. 1)if your argument is that moving downtown in too expensive, then your problem isn't with downtown itself, but with the factors that affect it's cost. 2)if your argument is that plenty of people are already taking public transportation to work, then we are getting off track on a semantical argument; I apologize that in my off handed comments I wrote "downtown" instead of "urban core" but I think I was pretty clear in my intentions. 3) if you live in a suburban or rural area, even if you commute by driving to the t, you are still having more of a negitive impact on our environment than if you lived in the city.
Making money off the law
Is one way to get the law enforced. It also shifts the burden for paying for law enforcement from the public at large to law-breakers.
I'm not an advocate across the board of this concept, so please don't get too silly with hypotheticals. I'm not suggesting anybody pay for the privilege of getting arrested.
However, those quality of life issues that police themselves might not have the time to deal with, such as blocking street sweepers, seem like pretty good candidates for turning over to the market.
In Brazil, where the policemen can be, er, notoriously corrupt, using speed cameras maintained by private companies has proved to be a better way to enforce speeding laws than letting cops pull people over. I got busted there once (go figure - they put the camera near the bottom of a hill!) and got the ticket in the mail with a time-stamped picture of my little Gol next to the speed readout. The ticket was a bummer, but I felt I was pretty legitimately busted.
It would have been much more inconvenient and potentially costly to me to be pulled over by a policeman.
I understand that all sorts of 'civil liberties' arguments that I don't quite understand (e.g. Q: What if somebody else is driving your car? A: So make them pay you back!) are preventing this in the States, but I really think it's a great idea.
Have the cops police real crime. Let the penny-ante stuff get enforced by contract. If someone was making a buck off towing some asshole who parked blocking my driveway, I could probably get him towed pretty quickly. Right now, a complaint would get handled by the first local cop who can pull himself away from doing something more important.
As Travis Bickle said, "Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets." Until then, I'm perfectly happy Joe Blowe is motivated by money to tow people away so the street sweepers can take care of it.
I like your post, but I
I like your post, but I think there are two further issues; 1) if making money off the law is a good way to incentivize (sp?) the enforcement of the law, why stop at towing for street cleaning; and 2) do we really want to create a situation where cops/towers/whoever-is-charged-with-enforcement have a monetary incentive to charge people with crimes? I think the answer has to be no. Note: in re towing, I'm not arguing that towers are breaking the law and towing people for money, I'm just arguing Gareth's point about monetary incentives to enforce the law. I think doing away with the towing fee, raising the initial fine, and paying the towers by the hour is the best strategy because, more of the money goes to the city, the towers aren't benifiting off the law, and the towers are still paid for thier work.
Who gets the money?
First of all, does the tow company get all the money or just part? I'd be happy to see the towing company get less and the city get more, but the amount has to be as high as it is because it otherwise becomes a "cost of parking" and nothing gets cleaned up.
Secondly, it isn't usually cops involved - BTD typically handles the ticket/tow operations. They are uniformed, but they aren't cops.