High-Tech Parking Boot Gets Ticket Scofflaws Back In The Driver's Seat

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The bad news is you've got a parking boot on your car. The good news? You can take it off yourself.

Officials with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) debuted their new Smart Boot technology that allows parking scofflaws to unlock the driving prevention system once they've paid their fine.

Starting Friday, L.A. will become of the few U.S. cities to use the high-tech tire boot as part of a nationwide customer service-driven pilot program, according to officials.

Simply by paying a citation via phone and typing in a code, drivers can take off the boot without waiting for transportation officers to do so.

The self-release boots take anywhere between five to 10 minutes to remove once violators have paid their ticket, according to KNX 1070's Cooper Rummell.

Parking boots are typically deployed by LADOT when a vehicle has five or more unpaid parking tickets. Vehicles are usually not released until all unpaid citations and fees are paid.