Have you got many parking fines accumulated? Then, this will be of your interest. The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) has proposed a new rule that would allow them to immobilize vehicles of drivers with a high number of unpaid parking tickets.
Even though the rule hasn’t been approved yet because it needs approval from the city council, CARTA has already submitted the proposal. They expect this rule to be accepted by April 22, so let’s find out more about it, shall we?
The CARTA rule
The rule proposed by CARTA wouldn’t affect every driver with small fines, this is just for those who have accumulated fines (mostly drivers with 100 or more unpaid fines).
According to Charles Fraizer, CARTA CEO, this measure would give CARTA the power to collect all those unpaid fines and fulfill its mandate. The rule would allow the organization to immobilize vehicles of drivers with large unpaid balances, ensuring that they pay what they owe before being allowed to use their car again.
Frazier clarified that the initiative won’t start with drivers with only 3 unpaid fines, but with more serious cases and work backward. It’s important that this point is very clear, because they don’t want every driver panicking over this when they shouldn’t.
Why is CARTA doing this?
During a board monthly meeting, chairman of the CARTA board Jogan De Nysschen explained that the organization has been operating with a financial deficit, which means they are losing money. Some factors leading to this situation are:
- Frequent leadership changes.
- The end of emergency ARPA funding.
- Missed revenue during peak seasons, such as the Incline.
- Many unpaid parking tickets.
Fraizer wanted to make sure everybody understood that the new rule aims to protect the organization’s revenue and make sure drivers follow parking rules.
How vehicles would be immobilize
If everything goes well and the rule is approved, the proposal includes a grace period so that drivers can pay their fines before their vehicle is immobilized. Basically, no driver will be immediately affected, they would have some time to resolve their unpaid fines. To have a clear idea of how the process would work, here’s the order of the steps CARTA would follow:
- CARTA identifies drivers with 100 or more unpaid tickets.
- Drivers are given time to pay their outstanding balances.
- If payment is not made during the grace period, a boot device could be placed on their vehicle until they pay what they own.
The “boot” is a direct way to enforce payments, while the grace period gives drivers a fair chance to settle their accounts before facing physical restrictions on their vehicles. This approach balances enforcement with fairness.
To sum up
If you’re sitting on a pile of unpaid tickets, now is the perfect time to take action. Staying on top of your payments not only helps you avoid a booted vehicle but also keeps the community’s transportation system running smoothly. With this measure, which seems kind of like a wake-up call, CARTA wants everyone to play fair and follow the rules now because that can save you a lot of trouble later.
If you know a friend or family member who has been accumulating unpaid parking fines, you should warn them about this possible rule, so that they can start doing something about it just in case this CARTA rule is approved.
Now, what do you think of this possible measure? Will it be effective and drivers would start paying more attention when parking because they just want to avoid this situation? We’ll have to wait and see what the city council says about this proposal.