The Silver Spring Penguin

Unpaid parking tickets could add up to a big tab and a boot on your front tire, a department of public works program proposes.

The program, which appears in MoCo exec Ike Leggett’s proposed budget but hasn’t yet been approved by the county council, could pad the blow of having a car towed, parking chief Rick Siebert told Silver Spring’s urban-district advisory committee Thursday.

Currently, a car pegged to three unpaid parking tickets is hauled off, leaving its driver wondering what happened to his or her ride, Siebert described. (MoCo considers a ticket delinquent after 15 days.)

If approved, the proposed program would give that car the boot — a device that locks onto a tire, thus immobilizing it on the spot (left). The scofflaw then could phone a county contractor, who would provide a code that unlocks the boot.

But that secret code comes with a price: full payment of the outstanding tickets (payable by credit card) plus a $115 boot fee, Siebert said. Also, the driver must return the boot to the county within one day, or else face additional fines.

Prince George’s County has been using boots to nab scofflaws since January, The Washington Post reported. In that jurisdiction, two unpaid tickets at least 90 days old will get a car the boot. According to Siebert, PG County hauled in $60,000 during the program’s first week.

Montgomery County’s department of public works requested $100,000 in the 2009 budget to cover the proposed program’s start-up and administrative costs, Siebert said. The department also wants to increase the $10 fee that the county collects each time a car is towed.

While scofflaws could get the boot, downtown drivers who park in tow-away zones will still be towed, Siebert warned. That translates to a $110 tow fee, the citation for illegal parking, a schlep beyond the Beltway to the impound lot, and possible storage fees if the car isn’t retrieved immediately.

Oh, and the initial confusion of why your car isn’t where you left it.

Photos: (top) Kicking tires won’t get you the best car, according to Edmunds.com. It also won’t get rid of those parking tickets. (left) A SmartBoot keeps a car from rolling anywhere. Courtesy of PayLock.