NYC is among the municipalities that are currently testing this device on vehicles that are illegally parked and/or that have a large number of unpaid fines.
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Why did they change devices?
Ever watch that TV show Parking Wars? It takes a long time to attach a boot and in the meantime, the person doing the booting is at risk of being attacked by angry vehicle owners. Amazingly, the boot is not noticeable to some people and so they also have to put a warning note on the windshield taking additional time and resources. If the owner decides to drive off with the boot, severe damage can result from the actual boot. Here, if the owner decides to drive off, any damage is a direct result of their actions versus the barnacle. This also looks harder to defeat. Lastly, the barnacle can be released by the owner after paying the fine. No need to deploy and wait for a release team to go to the site. Appears superior in many ways. Time will tell…
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All-in-all, a lot less labor is involved with the use of this device. It is much quicker (and cleaner) to attach this thing to a windshield, as compared to attaching a boot to a wheel. And, because the owner is responsible for removing it (and returning it to a secure lock-box), the municipality doesn’t need to send their employee to the offending vehicle a second time to remove it.
Overnight–and longer–parking of 18 wheelers in residential areas is the prime reason for the use of the Barnacle in NYC.
Ever see those bullet hole stickers for glass?? I see a new easily removable crack windshield sticker on the market soon… lol
Seems like a pretty good idea though…
Very interesting!
Well what’ll they think of next in their pursuit of crime?
Just do a search for:
> How to remove barnacle from windshield without paying
And you’ll get lots of hits.
It looks straightforward to remove.
Interesting idea, but it seems like the suction cups could be pretty easily defeated if you had the right tools/chemicals/etc. Is such a complicated gadget really needed for parking enforcement? A simpler sol’n, if folks don’t pay parking tickets, they aren’t allowed to register their car or renew their driver’s license. And they get an arrest warrant, & if stopped for any minor violation, may find themselves in the local holding cell.
My college friend bragged about getting one parking ticket after another parking on campus. His theory was that b/c they were given by the campus police, not the regular police, they were not enforceable. His theory was quickly disproved at the next class registration session. He wasn’t allowed to register for any classes until he paid the tickets.
In the metro they can’t stop them for minor infraction like old plates, lights out. Seat belt etc. they were getting too many with warrants for arrest. Discriminatory.
I’ve only seen the Barnacle used in private lots, where that approach wouldn’t be an option.
I imagine people would still drive with it on and remove it later, and not deposit into a bin. Head out the driver window, look above or below it etc.
Well, you can just put on one of those windshield tare-offs that Nascar uses. LOL
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Apparently, they are constantly innovating the Barnacle. If you read their site, the latest versions have incredibly loud alarm sound that goes off if you disturb it. It also has tracking. If you damage it or don’t return it, they simply keep the $450 “deposit” that has also been added to your ticket. When you pay the fines, including the “core charge” on the barnacle, they refund the core part only after you return the unit to the drop-off receptacle.
All the old tricks people figured out about how to defeat it back around 2020, those have been mitigated by design changes. There is a reinforced ring around the cups that can’t be pried up, using the defroster won’t affect the adhesion…etc. And, there is a loud alarm that will sound for a long while if its motion detectors sense any movement of the unit. So if you pry on it or drive off with your head out the window, it’ll be blaring an alarm the whole way.
No doubt a decent bit of thought and engineering went into it. And they keep innovating to make it better…The one thing they say will work against it is to smear lard on the windshield. But then, you wouldn’t be able to see to drive then either 
I keep thinking, with all that suction force holding a rigid structure to the center of the glass panel with thermal stress. Also, just the weight of the unit on the glass alone…I wonder how many broken windshield claims might result- warranted or not.
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