In a somewhat alarming development for Parking Professionals across the country (and especially in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee) the Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that physically chalking the tires of cars represents an unreasonable search which violates a motorist’s Fourth Amendment rights. This means that cities in the four states must stop physically chalking motorists’ tires.
I’m not a lawyer and won’t profess to fully understand the ruling, but there is an interesting analysis from a USC Law Professor, Orin Kerr (https://reason.com/2019/04/23/chalking-tires-and-the-fourth-amendment/), which suggests that “electronic chalking” is acceptable and won’t run afoul of this ruling.
I don’t know when enforcement officers first started physically “chalking” vehicles, but it likely predates the invention of the parking meter. However, “electronic chalking” has been available for over three decades at least since CivicSmart’s legacy company, Enforcement Technology, introduced the earliest version of the AutoCITE handheld in the mid-1980s.
So, if “electronic chalking” has been around for so long, why are so many cities, towns and villages dependent upon sticks of chalk? Well, I suspect there are several reasons:
Cities still issue tickets by hand
Cities have basic electronic handheld software that doesn’t support “electronic chalking”
Even with electronic chalking capabilities, it can be time-consuming for officers to enter license plate numbers and, if required, manually enter the location of the tire valve for one or both curbside tires
With part-time officers or officers nearing the end of their shifts, electronic chalking isn’t productive because when the device is returned to the office, the officer’s “electronic chalks” aren’t shared with their colleagues.
So, if “physical chalking” has been disallowed and “electronic chalking” has been inefficient, how can cities manage their on-street parking and encourage turnover?
Fortunately, CivicSmart’s AutoISSUE Handheld Enforcement Software can help.
Hundreds of cities use our AutoISSUE software, and our latest version includes a License Plate Recognition (LPR) engine that automates “electronic chalking” by simply pointing the handheld at the license plate.
Within a second, the plate is read and the location is captured.
This “electronic chalk” is wirelessly available on all of the city’s handhelds and if any officer previously chalked this vehicle, the officer who just scanned it will immediately be notified.
Whenever any officer scans the plate again, the previous “electronic chalk” will be visible to them so “end of shift” inefficiencies disappear.
The “electronic chalks” can be automatically shared between handhelds and vehicles outfitted with Mobile LPR systems. This maximizes enforcement efficiency and public safety since vehicles don’t have to block traffic to issue tickets since their chalks appear on every officer’s handhelds.
So if you are thinking about upgrading your handhelds today (or don’t have any yet), please contact CivicSmart to learn more about our AutoISSUE solution and how it can fit your needs.
But CivicSmart’s innovative offerings to help cities address the “death of chalking” don’t end with our AutoISSUE handheld software.
Our Vehicle Detection Sensors determine when a vehicle enters and exits a space and are accurate enough to be used to enforce time-limit parking without the need for chalking. So if your city wants to manage time-limit parking AND provide motorists with a website and app showing them where they can find a vacant space right now, our sensors could be a perfect fit. Our sensors can also read an electronic tag which can be issued in place of permits to increase enforcement efficiency.
Our sensors and tags are force-multipliers in increasing your enforcement efficiency:
The sensors avoid the need to visit the vehicle twice to enforce, and
The electronic permits avoid the need to check permitted vehicles entirely and focusing enforcement in vehicles parked in violation
And if you’ve considered installing parking meters instead of time-limit parking and this ruling may push you over the edge, you’ll be happy to know that our Liberty Next Gen meter can be configured in a number of ways to fit your budget:
LNG Coin-only Meter (upgradeable to accept credit cards in the future)
LNG Coin-only Wireless Meter (our coin-only meter can wirelessly communicate coin payments and outages in real-time at a fraction of the cost of a credit card meter)
LNG Single-space Smart Meter (accepts credit/debit cards and sends information to our backend system in real-time)
LNG Dual-Space Smart Meter (manages two spaces with an easy to understand screen and a 6-button keypad for the motorist to select the Left or Right space)
LNG Multi-space Smart Meter (if you only want to accept credit/debit cards and mobile payments and don’t need a full-featured multi-space kiosk, our small footprint meter is an ideal fit)
The CivicSmart Family of LNG Meters are the most innovative, affordable and flexible meters on the market and will fit your City’s needs now and into the future.
So, if tire chalking has been a key component of your parking management program and you’re feeling a little lost today, don’t worry. There are an array of affordable “Smart Parking” solutions designed to fit your City’s needs.
Give CivicSmart a call and we’d be happy to discuss them with you.
(414) 877-5481 x1