NYPD personnel deploying "Barnacles" on illegally parked cars

[u/Separate_Finance_183]

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[u/Tetsujyn]

Didn't college kids figure out how to take these off and get free sim cards?

[u/Ok_Mulberry77 → u/Tetsujyn]

Number 4 has dropped into its gate and we got it open. Let’s lock it up again so I can prove it wasn’t a fluke.

[u/BulletToof → u/Ok_Mulberry77]

LPL

[u/HookBeer → u/Tetsujyn]

Yeah, I think you crank the heat up on the windshield and then use a credit card or shim tool to break the seal.

[u/rjmdcs → u/HookBeer]

They have motion sensors and loud alarms that go off if you so much as open your door.

[u/TeetheCat → u/rjmdcs]

Its your car, who cares what sounds its making.

[u/metompkin → u/TeetheCat]

And it's NYC, nobody cares

[u/Low-Assumption7710 → u/metompkin]

Dude I live in a city of like 200k - nobody has time for that. They just ticket your ass and move on. Warrant round ups are a thing around here at least.

[u/rjmdcs → u/TeetheCat]

They use barnacles at the company parking lots where I work. I’ve never been barnacled, but if you were and tried to do anything other than wait for security, you’d end up in HR, if not fired.

[u/Paladin_127 → u/rjmdcs]

Under what conditions would an employee get “barnacled” in their own company lot?

[u/CQDerperd → u/Paladin_127]

We use them here too. The company I work at has easily 5k+ employees so we have more than 12 parking lots. Some are restricted/parking pass only/reserved etc. but a lot of the people who toe the line with arriving on time just illegally park rather than wait for the shuttle so they just use barnacles now to track the serial offenders for HR.

[u/sizeablefrontallobe → u/CQDerperd]

JFC that sounds toxic as fuck.

[u/CQDerperd → u/sizeablefrontallobe]

🤷‍♀️ when you’ve been here long enough to get your own clearly marked parking spot near the gate just to have a new car parked in it everyday you start to appreciate them I suppose. They’ve been very helpful with deterring illegal parking. Especially the people who create their own parking spots with their massive trucks and just block off a lane

[u/Rustymarble → u/rjmdcs]

I read that as being forced to work in HR and could only think that is harsh punishment! LoL

[u/juko43 → u/Rustymarble]

You replace the previous HR person, and then you are stuck till someone else parks wrong and replaces you, continuing tge cycle

[u/TeetheCat → u/rjmdcs]

Thats crazy. Sounds like a very oppressive environment to work in.

[u/scaierdread → u/rjmdcs]

Okay, it's winter in NY, your care is barnacled. Are they going to do shot to you for getting in your car and turning the heat on?

[u/vickipaperclips → u/rjmdcs]

Yeah, that sounds about right for a company willing to give parking violations to its own employees

[u/i_sell_you_lies → u/rjmdcs]

That's why you gotta go in through the sunroof

[u/TheCrazyWulf → u/Tetsujyn]

I would imagine the penalty of that would be very high. It's not like taking it off would erase what you owe

[u/Darg727 → u/TheCrazyWulf]

I've never heard of anything making the taking off illegal. You still owe the ticket, but get out of all the secondary fees and likely markups going through the 3rd party payment center.

[u/DiegesisThesis → u/Tetsujyn]

I assume the cops putting one on also record your license plate/VIN so if your car disappears and it's left in the road, they still charge you the fee (plus extra penalty for removing it).

[u/outer--monologue → u/Tetsujyn]

Yes, they're very easy to remove.

Turn on your heater full blast for 15 minutes expands the windshield enough to get a thin object like a credit card under it and break suction.

Can also carry extremely small bits made for drilling glass and just put one in the middle of each cup and break suction, then immediately fill hole with epoxy resin. Problem solved.

[u/aspie_electrician → u/outer--monologue]

Iirc, they also took the SIM card out, put it in a phone and got a free mobile hotspot out of it.

[u/juko43 → u/outer--monologue]

Ngl i would rather just pay the fine then to drill holes in my windshield lol

[u/FragrantExcitement]

Need to get the camera a bit closer

[u/Inside-Ear5077 → u/FragrantExcitement]

Bro filmed this like he was trying to avoid getting caught parking illegally too.

[u/NinjaTEK7 → u/Inside-Ear5077]

They made her turn the key again for a close up she went too fast totally unprofessional actress missing her cues from the director.

[u/Bubby_K → u/FragrantExcitement]

That always reminds me how the general public went from shoulder cameras to hand cameras to phones, and the news/media kept the giant shoulder mounted cannons

[u/FromMyTARDIS]

Ace Ventura my way out of that nonsense

[u/SimilarStrain → u/FromMyTARDIS]

I guarantee there's at least one person that'll just kick off their windshield and rather pay for a new windshield than pay a parking ticket.

[u/ImWithKong → u/SimilarStrain]

Would be less effort to try to pry that thing off then kick out a windshield. Source I’m in auto glass. Windshields are strong and the glue is stronger.

[u/xxboywizardxx → u/ImWithKong]

The barnacles are suctioned on, they’re equally difficult to remove.

[u/talldata → u/xxboywizardxx]

Easy to remove, set air/windows heater to max wait 30mins and a credit card under to scrape.

[u/Wyevez → u/talldata]

Barnacles hate this one trick!

[u/Lafondx89 → u/talldata]

A credit card isnt long enough, the suction part is like 8 inches away from the edge

[u/lilbitAlexislala → u/Lafondx89]

Ruler???📏

[u/Cute_Conclusion_8854 → u/lilbitAlexislala]

Machete

[u/xxboywizardxx → u/talldata]

I’ve watched several people do that and fail 😂

[u/SadUnderstanding7019 → u/xxboywizardxx]

They've been removed by covering them in aluminum foil until the signal is blocked.

[u/jellyhessman → u/xxboywizardxx]

Couldn't you just drill in to the center of them with a normal drill?

Worst it would do would make a little mark on the glass, and the suction would die immediately.

[u/cwx149 → u/xxboywizardxx]

When they were new they were ridiculously easy to remove idk if they've gotten better

[u/ImWithKong → u/xxboywizardxx]

I haven’t seen one of these in person, is it active suction with a fan? Or does it just suction on and maybe something long and skinny can get between the window and the suction cup? I use suctions cups every day in autoglass

[u/Nobody6269 → u/ImWithKong]

It's gotta be auto suction like the more expensive ones right? That turn back on when they start lose suction

[u/ImWithKong → u/Nobody6269]

I would think so, but I’m not sure. A cold day could defeat it if it’s not actively keeping suction

[u/castrodelavaga79 → u/xxboywizardxx]

Can you not just stick a sharp thing thru whatever the suction device is?

[u/ipdar → u/SimilarStrain]

There was a thread on this a while back, but my favorite way to remove them was just turning on the windshield defroster.

[u/PartTimeJunkie412 → u/SimilarStrain]

Damn that's a good idea! I wonder if they take your license plates though. Because then you'd be out a windshield and have to pay the ticket LOL

[u/ChainedBack → u/PartTimeJunkie412]

Of course they will. In case you damage/steal it.

[u/AngryCrustation → u/FromMyTARDIS]

Those barnacles also seem incredibly easy to get rid of. I haven't tried it but there's no way a giant suction cup can be that difficult.

Do they also run your license plate so they can charge you for running without paying or throwing that big yellow Tupperware into a ditch or did they just go full on stupid?

[u/Eman_Resu_IX → u/AngryCrustation]

They record the license plate when they write a paper ticket, why would this be different?

[u/that_dutch_dude → u/AngryCrustation]

A 10 second search on this platform will youeld several ways of getting them off.

[u/tyjasm → u/AngryCrustation]

We had them at my college years ago. They have GPS and tamper detection alarms.

This is an alternative to putting a boot on the car. The boot requires someone to come out and take it off. With the barnacle, you can call and pay off your tickets over the phone and they will give you a code you can type into the barnacle and it will release. The driver would then have like 2 days to return the barnacle to the police station.

So it's easier for the police because they don't have to send someone out to take off the boot, and easier for the driver because they don't have to wait. If they find their car barnacled, they can call and pay and be ready to drive in like 5 minutes

[u/ToastyMustache → u/FromMyTARDIS]

You can get them off by running the defroster at max for like 15 minutes

[u/Sunkinthesand → u/FromMyTARDIS]

This was what i came her for...

Booo no gifs allowed :(

[u/Lucky_Development359 → u/FromMyTARDIS]

Lahhhh hoooo saaaa herrrrr...parking enforcement.

[u/ZombieAppetizer]

"You can't park your car here. So as punishment we're going to make sure you can't move it and it stays here longer."

[u/Salt_Cauliflower_922 → u/ZombieAppetizer]

These immobilization devices are not used for single parking violations on that day. They’re used when a vehicle is identified that has accrued $350 or more in prior fines.

[u/SinoSoul → u/Salt_Cauliflower_922]

Only $350? Isn’t that just 3 tickets these days? I haven’t gotten a manhattan parking ticket in well over 2 decades (knock on wood)

[u/BiscuitTiits → u/SinoSoul]

I'm not from the area, but where I'm from its about the same. But they just wait there and tow anyone that has a buildup around that amount.

It's easy to pay here though - tickets can be paid online right away and are half price if paid in the first week.

[u/Salt_Cauliflower_922 → u/BiscuitTiits]

The NYPD tows a lot, too. I guess they also use these Barnacle things as a visual deterrent/warning to everyone else who might see them.

[u/Salt_Cauliflower_922 → u/SinoSoul]

Yep. The most common tickets south of 59th Street these days are $115 and $65. And it could actually just be one ticket that ends up getting you, because late fees start adding up after 30/60/90 days. Then, after about 100 days, the ticket enters official legal judgment, adding a 9% annual interest rate to the total balance.

[u/DasArtmab → u/Salt_Cauliflower_922]

And that’s cheaper than a parking lot in many places

[u/SinoSoul → u/Salt_Cauliflower_922]

I used to see someone in Battery park city, and it was literally like paying for sex cause legal overnight parking was damn near impossible.

[u/SoggyNoodles5511 → u/SinoSoul]

depending on where you park you can get 430$ parking violation for 1 ticket.

I got a friend who got that. Why you ask? He had 3 inch of his car in a ''handicap parking zone''. There was 3 spot available and 1 in none hadicap.
He tried to take the none handicap spot, but 3 inch of his car was over the line.
He was in a residential district, arriving a 11 pm, leaving a 8 am in the morning. He got his ticket a 7 am in the morning.

The 3 handicap parking spot were still available the whole time.

he tried to contest it. Took him 1 year and 4 months to eventually get his hearing. He ended up avoiding the ticket, but had to pay 113$ in administrative fee.

Now just thinking if he had that stupid barnacle, he would have gathered far more ticket on this one.

[u/ToothySeagull → u/SoggyNoodles5511]

To be fair, 3 inches over the line can be the amount it takes to prevent someone deploying a wheelchair ramp from the back of a van. Any infringement of a handicap accessible parking spot is disabling. No matter how rushed or pressed you are, it's a dick move and the fine should have stood.

[u/Full_Guard → u/SoggyNoodles5511]

Those bastards! Everyone knows that handicap people don’t go out at night!

[u/st96badboy → u/SinoSoul]

A City Council Bill proposes a pilot program to scale civil fines—including parking tickets—based on individual income levels. So it could easily be just one ticket if they do this.

Policy groups and city officials have debated converting a portion of New York's 3 million free street-parking spaces into metered or peak-pricing. Increasing your chances of getting three tickets in a short period of time.

[u/PerfectPenguino → u/SinoSoul]

How many tickets do you usually get before you decide to start paying them?

[u/SinoSoul → u/PerfectPenguino]

A 2024 multi-city study published in ScienceDirect confirms that parking tickets heavily cluster in lower-income and minority neighborhoods, reinforcing the reality that municipal fines disproportionately burden the poor:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275124004438

[u/Karn_Gentrified → u/SinoSoul]

We had sanders at CU. He would park his cars ANYWHERE he pleased on campus.

Some spots were just more expensive than others. He literally joked about it being a “fee” to park in the places he did.

[u/Pretty_Shine_4457 → u/Salt_Cauliflower_922]

In Aus they’ll just freeze all your bank accounts until you pay up if you take too long.

[u/-rose-mary- → u/Pretty_Shine_4457]

How are you supposed to pay if your funds are frozen?

[u/st96badboy → u/Salt_Cauliflower_922]

Wait a couple years.. it will be for one or two parking violations.

When they started booting cars in Chicago they claimed it was for only the worst offenders citing some people that had 500 parking tickets... Then it went to only if you have over 10..Now it's 2. That's how the government implements laws.. gradually so people don't freak out about it.

[u/Salt_Cauliflower_922 → u/st96badboy]

This started in NYC in April 2024. It’s been a couple of years.

[u/teeejaaaaaay → u/st96badboy]

To be fair, the city of Chicago does not own the parking of the city as they leased it out to a company for one of the most terrible deals in history.

[u/bc_gamez → u/ZombieAppetizer]

Jokes on them, the car is stolen and ditched.

[u/mighty__ → u/ZombieAppetizer]

It has to bring inconvenience. Car has already violated the rule. The fact that it will drive off 2 mins later doesn’t change a thing. Next time driver will do the same.

With this in play, he will think three times next time. And to drive away he will have to pay the fine.

[u/ShoddyTerm4385 → u/mighty__]

I live in a place where these don’t get used. We just get parking tickets. People that are idiots about parking accrue alot of tickets. When it’s time to renew your license plate, buy a car, etc., those tickets will come back to bite you in the ass. It’s pretty effective. I still see some assholes, but not many.

[u/Nir0star → u/ShoddyTerm4385]

What do you mean? They don't get a license plate? Or they only have to pay once they get their plate? In my country when you don't pay it directly when receiving the ticket, they will find just file a lawsuite against the car owner and then you also have to pay that additionally to the fee you would have in the first place.

But in the end, if you pay, its just an expensive parking ticket, so rich people can be assholes and still park wherever they aren't towed...

[u/information_knower → u/mighty__]

or he will drive around with his head out the window.

[u/Evil_Judgment → u/information_knower]

Ace Ventura was my first thought.

When home drill trough the body to break the vacuum.

Don't forget to recycle.

[u/Remarkable_Peach_374 → u/Evil_Judgment]

Is it not just like... Suction cups against the glass? Just stick something under it.

[u/chupacabrajCT → u/information_knower]

Worked for Ace Ventura

[u/Ostentatious-Otter → u/information_knower]

Place Gopro connected via bluetooth to car roof. Operate car like video game.

[u/Unusual_Sector_6624 → u/mighty__]

I don't get people, it's the usual "everyone parks where they want, people are assholes" vs "are these guys really hurting you? Cops are assholes"

[u/graywolfman → u/Unusual_Sector_6624]

I recently posted in a local area about cars parking in a bike lane that is so small, they also take up part of the street. A truck was also simultaneously parked on the curb, in the bike lane, and in the right traffic lane because it was so wide.

One guy said: "who cares? Bikes don't use the bike lane, anyway!"

Well, how fucking can they if the lane is blocked by cars??

[u/Utaneus → u/Unusual_Sector_6624]

What is it about there being 2 opposing opinions on something that makes you not get people?

[u/ExtendoArmCannon → u/ZombieAppetizer]

Tow trucks exist

[u/DragonMord → u/ExtendoArmCannon]

This and the classical boot are usually the first step to a tow truck, its deployed on cars with multiple tickets to keep it there until a tow truck does arrive, as they can sometimes take a while.

[u/dougisnotabitch → u/ExtendoArmCannon]

Don’t know specifically about nyc but plenty of metro cities have enacted “predatory tow” legislation that makes it more difficult for police to tow vehicles. 

[u/Puzzleheaded_Dog630 → u/ZombieAppetizer]

Reminds me of that story about the old guy that didn't want the utility company working in front of his house so he shot their tires out...

[u/VoidTwinkle → u/ZombieAppetizer]

It's about making money from fines as opposed to making things easier for others.

[u/lluciferusllamas]

Dont worry, soon enough they'll just demand access to your car's operating system as a condition for the "privilege" of driving.  Then they just cut your privilege until you pay.

[u/SafeModeOff → u/lluciferusllamas]

This is 100% going to happen as soon as they can pass some bogus laws to get older cars off the road

[u/RandomLifeUnit-05 → u/lluciferusllamas]

I'm sure everything is in place for this to happen.

[u/-non-existance-]

I'm not sure how I feel about Barnacles vs the Boot. The problem with these devices is that you have to account for the lowest common denominator of offender, namely the kind of moron who would try to drive around with one on.

When it comes to the Boot, they just damage their own car and are slow, but the Barnacle makes the person a legitimate hazard on the road since they can't see.

Honestly, I think the better solution would be to find a way to lock their steering, that way it mitigates the amount of stupid they can do. However, I don't know of a way to do that without opening the car.

Edit: For all the people who keep replying with Jim Carrey driving with his head out the window, you are the lowest common denominator I was talking about.

[u/Awkward_Bad8773 → u/-non-existance-]

Head out the window like Ace Ventura

[u/MeatyMcWagon → u/Awkward_Bad8773]

"Nobody wants to play with me!"

[u/neryen → u/-non-existance-]

I think my problem with both the boot and the barnacles is that it doesn't treat the root problem, and in fact makes it worse.

A car parked where it shouldn't be parked is now immobilized and will remain in the problem location.

Towing is really the best solution, as it removes the vehicle and punishes the offender with requiring to pay the fine to get their vehicle back. It also doesn't create a hazard on the road when people try to circumvent the immobilizations.

[u/zarroc123 → u/neryen]

These type of parking enforcement devices aren't supposed to be penalties for "parking in the wrong place". It's an eventual penalty for unpaid parking tickets or other non-moving violations.

At least in my city, if you are parked illegally but not impeding anything, you just get a ticket. If you're parked illegally in a way that impedes, you'll just get towed. If you ignore the tickets, you become bootable, and then you can get a boot the next time the city identifies the vehicle, whether it's legally parked or not.

You can't just park in an ambulance bay blocking necessary traffic and then the city is gonna come and boot your car in place, worsening the problem.

Also, the city next to mine uses the barnacle, and if someone tries to drive with it on, it makes a VERY loud alarm sound and I'm pretty sure notifies the police. So I don't think there's a huge risk of people driving around with them on

[u/NotElizaHenry → u/neryen]

I’m pretty sure boots are used on cars that have unpaid parking tickets over a certain amount/timeframe. I see legally parked booted cars all the time.

[u/LargePrompt5840 → u/-non-existance-]

Why would anyone drive with it. Just kick the windshield out and call in claim. 

[u/Ky_zx10r → u/LargePrompt5840]

Alot easier to turn the heater on and use a credit card to break the seal, itll then pull straight off.

Ive had to do this twice now. A private security company bought these and its actually illegal for them to use, just no one has done anything about it yet.

[u/clintj1975 → u/Ky_zx10r]

Barnacles live in the ocean. Just saying.

[u/mcduff13 → u/Ky_zx10r]

If memory serves, they have a cellular modem in them to trigger the unlock, so they have (or used to have, maybe) a sim card in them. A sim card that has a high data cap.

There maybe stories on these internets, of folks poping out the sim and using it for free data. Not that I'm recommending anything.

[u/nostradumbass7544678 → u/mcduff13]

Sort of like the office building in my town, that was never locked, and had a regular phone with long-distance access in the elevator? (yes, this was a loooong time ago)

[u/Sentarry → u/mcduff13]

Alright, let me drive to New York and park illegally in this specific area shown in the video for my free data. Life hack!

[u/Ira-jay → u/LargePrompt5840]

See you’re thinking logically. “I can’t drive well if I can’t see so it’s more optimal to find a way to improve my vision”

There are legit dumbasses who will think “I can drive we’ll drive with this thing on” and will try. You’re right, logically nobody should try to, but there are people who do not apply logic

[u/meh_69420 → u/Ira-jay]

Just hang your head out the window

[u/arctic11z → u/meh_69420]

If it works for Ace Ventura, it works for me!

[u/Fly_throwaway37 → u/meh_69420]

Oh ew chitty chitty bang bang chitty chitty bang bang chitty chitty bang bang hey oh!

[u/IDrankLavaLamps → u/Ira-jay]

My friend drove with one on. Made it home too while speeding. Still broke his windshield trying to get it off

[u/DoturdGrump → u/LargePrompt5840]

can of compressed air with the little hose upside down, freeze the cup unevenly pop

[u/Magnus462 → u/LargePrompt5840]

Everyone laughed at me when I installed a periscope in my car.

[u/One-Geologist3992 → u/LargePrompt5840]

Easier than that, defrosters on high heat for a while then credit card on the edges and it will pop right off

[u/Oo__II__oO → u/LargePrompt5840]

Jeep drivers must love this. Fold that windshield forward and deal with it later. Heck, you could keep parking with it in place in prime parking spots, just by folding the windshield back up.

[u/bkempton → u/LargePrompt5840]

Just hang your head out the window, simple

[u/KinkyAsexuaI → u/-non-existance-]

Came here to say this. Someone's gonna drive it like that and kill someone

[u/Worried-Criticism]

Dumb question…did clamping stop working or something?

Assuming the issues with removal aren’t true (I’ve heard differing accounts), was this necessary?

[u/porktf2 → u/Worried-Criticism]

Barnacles are used because its faster and easier to put on. They're also supposed to be able to be removed by drivers, when they pay the ticket and receive a code that you put in the barnacle that'll release the suction

[u/JellyfishConscious → u/porktf2]

Then what, what do they do with the barnacle

[u/asclepius_auroch → u/JellyfishConscious]

Idk what it’s made of but it’s probably really expensive and has something valuable, so it’d be mine now.

[u/DiegesisThesis → u/asclepius_auroch]

Ah yes, they'll never be able to figure out who stole it, the perfect crime!

[u/bryberg → u/JellyfishConscious]

Return it to whatever address you are told to within a certain amount of time or receive another fine.

[u/Ok-Professional-1911 → u/Worried-Criticism]

Wheel locks are super easy to unlock. There are tons of videos on how to do it. Looks like these use a different locking mechanism

[u/Mobile_Morale → u/Ok-Professional-1911]

These are easier to get off. A flat head screw driver will do it. It's just a suction cup and you only need to break the suction.

[u/Infinite_Position631]

cue the video of the guy driving down the road with his head out the window because this is blocking his windshield.

[u/pew_pew420420 → u/Infinite_Position631]

cue Ace Ventura

[u/Ok-Jellyfish6010]

Free internet with its sim card

[u/teddybundlez]

What’s cheaper? A new windshield or the ticket?

[u/supervillaindsgnr → u/teddybundlez]

The cops wrote down the license plate of the offending vehicle. So even if the barnacle is removed from the windshield, they still have to pay their original ticket. If it is removed without paying, the penalty will be higher.

[u/DanGleeballs → u/supervillaindsgnr]

It's different when it's police because they can trace the owner of the car.

Privte parking control companies (in my country) don't get your details. They can't get the address of the owner from the car reg, so you can cut off their clamps and they can't do much about it.

[u/Playful-Platform-231 → u/teddybundlez]

Well if you have $0 glass coverage on your insurance policy then well you know.

[u/Salt_Cauliflower_922 → u/teddybundlez]

Paying the fines and removing the Barnacle legally is significantly cheaper than replacing the windshield, and it avoids a potential arrest.

[u/Traditional-Handle83 → u/teddybundlez]

Whats funny is you just need to find a replica key and unlock it then either leave it on the ground or find a po car and place it on the windshield as a uno reverse card.

[u/RoabeArt → u/Traditional-Handle83]

Sounds beautiful, but definitely don't try it. These things have motion detectors and cellular/GPS transmitters on them that phone home their location, and they'll instantly squeal on you if you try to mess with them. Then your parking ticket gets a bonus of extra charges.

[u/Steve_at_Werk → u/Traditional-Handle83]

Not even, fire up the car, put the defrosters on max and it'll pop free in a few minutes 

[u/Pavlovs_Human]

I don’t understand why this shit even exists. Like tow the fucking thing if it’s not in a spot it’s supposed to be. Tow companies would be fighting each other to be the police’s go to tow truck company’s.

It always reminds me of the joke in “It’s always sunny in Philadelphia” when they are trying to decide how to deal with the RV caravan that has parked in front of their bar.

“Let’s slash their tires!!”

“Slashing someone’s tires to make them leave doesn’t make any sense!”

[u/BadMeatPuppet → u/Pavlovs_Human]

Towing someone in dt nyc takes forever, especially depending on the time of day. It also disrupts traffic. It's also less about wanting them to move and more about wanting them to pay. Some people (usually businesses) in nyc will rack up tens of thousands in parking tickets.

[u/Knight618 → u/BadMeatPuppet]

Tow at owners expense is usually the default

[u/all_scotched_up]

SafeLite repair, SafeLite replace

[u/el_grande_ricardo]

That's the difference between city and rural areas.

In the city, this prevents the car from moving.

In the country, this just causes the driver to lean his head out the window.

[u/ifUSeeMeTakeYourMeds]

Not relevant but interesting trivia

Barnacles have some of the longest penises in the animal kingdom compared to their size,

[u/dhprod]

wonder if they’ll do this to the dozens of nypd cars parked illegally every day around the city. doubtful.

[u/HansWilsdorf]

lol now add a boot too! 😂

[u/sparesomechange20]

Good think my drivers window rolls down "ACE" :)

[u/RimkeV → u/sparesomechange20]

ALRIGHTY THEN!

[u/CaseyIsTired_]

I've heard they're fairly easy to remove, and they have a Sim card with unlimited data inside

[u/Responsible-Leg-712]

I dunno man, but “Barnacles” sounds so cheesy. 🤣

[u/yaekoblue → u/Responsible-Leg-712]

lets change to name to facehugger

[u/chris5070 → u/Responsible-Leg-712]

sounds fishy to me.

[u/Massive-Cover7769]

Yaknow there was a story about these with someone taking out sim cards from them (unsure if these too have them) and they got like free datas or some sh for a while.

[u/Correct-Junket-1346]

Old AF footage, Panasonic haven't done good recording cameras since 2004

[u/meme_tenretni]

Oh well am driving like Ace Ventura then

[u/415gladstone]

The official method is to scan the code, go to the site, pay the fine, enter the provided code, drop the barnacle off at a designated drop site to get the deposit back. Unofficially, run the defroster on high for 20 minutes, causing the air in the suction cups to expand, then slide a credit card under the cups. It's probably best to return the barnacle to avoid having to pay for it.

[u/No_Carpet_5897]

Camera men when the task requires no camera men

[u/HoikDini]

Never understood the advantage of preventing a driver from moving a car that's illegally parked vs just towing the vehicle to a yard. I know tow operators who could have that thing gone faster than that cop installed that device...

[u/AnAncientBog → u/HoikDini]

Sure. I weap for the dirtbags tow operators who lost out on stealing an extra thousand bucks off a regular person.

This way the fine goes to the city instead of a bunch of criminals.

[u/tallman11282 → u/HoikDini]

AFAIK these sort of things are only used on cars that already have a bunch of unpaid parking tickets and are there to keep the driver taking off before the tow truck can get there.

[u/Artemis_SpawnOfZeus → u/HoikDini]

Cause it disproportionately damagea poor people.

Like, one tow can be fucking life ruining if you dont have money.

If you cant make the impound fee, then you owe storage charges each day, and interest. It compounds fast and stupid.

[u/PeterDTown → u/Artemis_SpawnOfZeus]

Fair point, but at the same time if a car is illegally parked and therefore somehow in the way, preventing it from being moved is counterintuitive.

[u/-UncreativeRedditor- → u/Artemis_SpawnOfZeus]

Don’t they similarly have to pay to remove a boot?

[u/Usual_Award]

Someone is going to figure out how to take this off and it will start with soapy water and a windshield drill bit.

[u/ElephantRedCar91]

There’s a way to sweat them off with the defrosters 

[u/scriptingends]

There will be a service that removes them for $50 advertised within days. That’s the Free Market!

[u/QuixOmega]

I don't understand how this solves the problem. The cat is still there, do they not tow?

[u/hooplafromamileaway]

Any law for which the penalty is a fine is a law that exists only for the poor.

You shouldn't park like an asshole, sure; but this doesn't solve anything but the local PD's question of, "How do we hit quota this month?" If parking there was REALLY an issue, they'd have towed the vehicle.

[u/but-I-play-one-on-TV → u/hooplafromamileaway]

Fuck that. 

I live in NYC and our city can't function with cars parked like assholes all the time. Bus lanes are blocked, streets aren't sweeped, fire lanes are blocked, EMS vehicles can't get through the streets. It's all well and good to have these moral stances but the reality is the city doesn't function if drivers decide they don't need to follow rules

[u/kabloomz → u/hooplafromamileaway]

You are prob not from NY and video doesn't show context.

The barnacles replaced boots which are much harder to put on not to mention take a longer time. These devices aren't put on because someone parked out of place temporarily. Usually it's because they have been a nuisance for a long time or haven't paid their tickets.

They do tow vehicles. These barnacles saves time and resources when it takes forever for tow truck to arrive. One or two police officers and vehicles have to wait by the car being towed while the PD tow truck navigates thru shitty NY traffic which could take hours for a tow.

Imagine tax on the poor of $400+ vs $100. Tow would cost tow fee + ticket + storage + cost for the person to get to the tow yard.

[u/Bender_2024 → u/hooplafromamileaway]

Nobody is getting this kind of treatment for a expired meter or parking in front of a hydrant. This is obviously a repeated offender with a couple dozen parking infractions. This allows the cops to make the car undrivable in only a couple min. They can then leave the scene instead of waiting for the tow truck.

[u/seamustho → u/hooplafromamileaway]

I totally agree. Working in San Fran they are fuckin vultures. God I hate that city with a passion.

[u/Blaizefed → u/hooplafromamileaway]

Are you proposing jail time for parking violations?

[u/propergreased → u/hooplafromamileaway]

There’s countries where the fine is proportional to your income, former Toronto maple leaf Leo komorov was fined 40000 for two speeding tickets in Finland

[u/The_Demosthenes_1 → u/hooplafromamileaway]

Would you be OK with progressive fines?  Zuckerberg would be hit with a $1,000,000,000 parking ticket because he could afford it?  Reasonable?

[u/firesoups → u/The_Demosthenes_1]

You’re thinking too rich. Zuckerberg and Bezos aren’t driving around manhattan and parking on the streets.

[u/Dr0110111001101111 → u/firesoups]

Finland uses the system. Back in 2001, the CEO of Nokia got a speeding ticket worth over $100k

[u/iamworsethanyou → u/Dr0110111001101111]

He was charged 25 years ago and we're still talking about it. Typical Nokia

[u/Spiritual_Wall_2309 → u/hooplafromamileaway]

All parking violations are issues. And this is why the fine is for.

First there are not enough tow trucks to tow these many violations. And then you don’t have many places to hold them. And do you really want to tow cars away when you can just print a fine at much easier rate.

Such a weird way to make the situation even worse.

[u/Unusual_Sector_6624 → u/hooplafromamileaway]

Even rich people hate paying fines and dealing with cops. Like now he have to wait 30 minutes? 1 hour to be able to use his car and have to pay a fine.

[u/Dull_Astronomer_3778]

Stuff like this is a waste of money to me. The cost to manufacture, store, and deploy has to be greater than the cost to just ticket and collect.

[u/Silverleaf_Halfmoon → u/Dull_Astronomer_3778]

I agree that this is excessive. But I don't think they just throw these on every illegally parked vehicle. That's probably reserved for folks that don't pay the fines.

Ticketing is the easy part... it's the collecting where the system breaks down and you need to implement other ways to enforce.

[u/originalmango → u/Dull_Astronomer_3778]

Barnacles, boots, and towing are for car owners you can’t collect from because they refuse to pay. You can ticket them every day for months and they ignore them.

[u/SuperBarracuda3513]

Somewhere, somebody on YouTube has a video on how to remove this “barnacle”

[u/Eustacebagge3 → u/SuperBarracuda3513]

Good ole metal coat hanger or kind of thin metal stock to poke at the suction cup and release it.

[u/afn45181]

You know some fool will just drive with his or her head out do the window or if there is a sun roof, you know what to do…. 😂 Nee Yorkers are much clever than this…. They had Seinfeld to credit them with ingenuities.

[u/ThiqCoq]

Am I the only one thinking that a whole bunch of barnacles from the sea are going to just stick to the windshield? Lol I don't drive much tbh lol i thought it was a briefcase of barnacles. She was going to unlock and deploy onto the windshield.

[u/Superdupericecream → u/ThiqCoq]

There are dozens of us!

[u/idkidd]

“This is the Lockpicking Lawyer and I’ve got an automotive puzzler for you today…”

[u/ApatheticAbsurdist → u/[deleted]]

Working as intended. NYC, specifically Manhattan, has the best mass transit in the nation (I know in the US that’s not saying much, but it’s leaps and bounds above others) and the highest density of people. If they aren’t going to ban cars completely they should make an effort to not make it easy.

If you need a car for security or something, fine. But expect it to be more expensive and less convenient than taking the subway, and expect there to be more rules to follow, like not parking in a bike lane and paying parking meters.

[u/00eg0 → u/ApatheticAbsurdist]

Only 3 cities in the world have 24 hour rail service; Chicago, Copenhagen, and NYC. At a global scale NYC has a fairly good system.

[u/Chaosr21 → u/00eg0]

I have noticed EU as a whole tend to close things down at night and everyone sleeps. While here in the US there's many night shift workers and many stores/fast food were 24hrs until COVID

[u/Creech-Chong-1000 → u/[deleted]]

Yes! That is the point.

[u/aquaman67 → u/[deleted]]

Or maybe just park where you’re supposed to. Either works I guess.

[u/better-off-wet → u/[deleted]]

Great there’s like 1 billion trains you could take

[u/You-Asked-Me → u/[deleted]]

To be fair, I don't really like driving in Manhattan.

[u/Responsible-Leg-712]

Call it Barnaclep to go with Clamp then invent another one and call is a Starfishp