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Illegally parked cars are now getting hit by this dystopian windscreen barnacle

14 points by dmitrygr 2y ago

MarkusWandel 2y ago
Sure beats the tow mafia. Friends were fined and towed for reasons that were clearly invalid (parking restriction signs went up after they had parked, and within their legal 3h window). The city invalidated it without argument and cancelled the fine. But the tow mafia got to keep their tow/impound fee.
superkuh 2y ago
Run the defroster for 15 minutes then used a credit card to release the suction cups. Students figured this one out many years ago when they first came out. ref: https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnacle-parking-boot-skip-fines-and-get-free-internet https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnac...
- ortusdux 2y ago
  From the article: "Barnacle Parking has since upgraded the design of its device, with its latest generation featuring a suction engine that constantly adjusts PSI based on ambient temperature"
  - 1123581321 2y ago
    That statement from the company is definitely not the final word! Seems like the delta between the air temperature sensor and the suction could still be exploited. If there is one sensor for each suction point, maybe mess with the temperature and the air intake for the pressure relief. (I’ve not seen one in person and am just interested in the hacking for fun aspect.)
    - kirth_gersen 2y ago
      What about just applying a defensive coating of an oil to your windshield. Maybe WD-40 or graphite lubricant. I imagine that'd make it pretty hard for the thing to stick. Or perhaps clear lamination strips in parallel rows thick enough to keep it from achieving suction. There are so many plausible physical protection measures against this intrusive obnoxious device. Even better, how about skipping spending money on barnacles and instead spending it expanding parking so that there is less incentive to park illegally? I will never understand the fixation on punishment over solving the underlying problems that cause misbehavior.
- diffxx 2y ago
  Or maybe don't park illegally.
  - kirth_gersen 2y ago
    I've attended four different colleges in several different states and I've never seen a college campus with enough parking. They manufacture this problem and then profit off of it. Students are a captive market. They have to attend class and end up playing musical chairs looking for a parking spot. It's absurd and yet another example of predatory behavior. And it's wild to see so many comments that just blames the victims without any deeper thought on the subject.
    - hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
      A feature not a bug of American gotcha capitalism that goes unchallenged because Americans are wimps and worried they might be labelled "communists".
- neilv 2y ago
  I would suspend or expel those students. Not for the hacking, but for the sociopathic way that hacking was applied, and the halfwit quotes.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
psunavy03 2y ago
I realize that there's often a bunch of petty bullshit involved in parking enforcement. But can we just acknowledge that calling parking enforcement "dystopian" is perhaps just a bit overwrought?
- ysavir 2y ago
  Yeah. I actually really like this solution. No damage to the car, quick to apply, quick to resolve. When my car got towed in NYC, getting it back took several days and with an additional cost of a couple hundred dollars. The barnacle would have been an incredibly easier, simpler, and cheaper outcome. At least I assume cheaper, but maybe the manufacturer charges additional fees on top of the fine (and now _that_ would be dystopian). It's also avoids the panic of looking for your car only to have it not be where you left it. My car was towed due to registration issues, not illegal parking, but it was enough of an experience where I can easily see the merit of the barnacle.
- kirth_gersen 2y ago
  Agreed. Dystopian is too far. However, I do think that college parking is low-key a predatory racket. Students are a captive market and the school supplies the parking. They know the enrollment numbers, they make you buy a parking permit, so they know how many spots are needed. Somehow though, there are never enough parking spots. I think it should be illegal for schools to issue tickets for parking (outside of handicap spots, the middle of the road, fire lanes, etc) until they can prove that there is a legal spot for every permit they issue. Otherwise, they are incentivized to issue more parking permits than there are spots which is clearly setting up many students to be in an impossible situation.
neilv 2y ago
How is this dystopian? I sorta get the potential (technology-automated bureaucracy), but... If we use "dystopian" for this, what word do we use for dystopian things that are a billion times worse?
- anotherhue 2y ago
  Shareholder value?
fanf2 2y ago
This article describes a few ways to defeat a barnacle https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnacle-parking-boot-skip-fines-and-get-free-internet https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnac...
drewcoo 2y ago
Because the best solution is to try to keep the cars in their illegal parking spots. This is the dumbest thing since providing newly painted large swaths of wall in response to taggers.

14 points by dmitrygr 2y ago

Sure beats the tow mafia. Friends were fined and towed for reasons that were clearly invalid (parking restriction signs went up after they had parked, and within their legal 3h window). The city invalidated it without argument and cancelled the fine. But the tow mafia got to keep their tow/impound fee.

superkuh 2y ago

Run the defroster for 15 minutes then used a credit card to release the suction cups. Students figured this one out many years ago when they first came out. ref: https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnacle-parking-boot-skip-fines-and-get-free-internet https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnac...

ortusdux 2y ago
From the article: "Barnacle Parking has since upgraded the design of its device, with its latest generation featuring a suction engine that constantly adjusts PSI based on ambient temperature"
- 1123581321 2y ago
  That statement from the company is definitely not the final word! Seems like the delta between the air temperature sensor and the suction could still be exploited. If there is one sensor for each suction point, maybe mess with the temperature and the air intake for the pressure relief. (I’ve not seen one in person and am just interested in the hacking for fun aspect.)
  - kirth_gersen 2y ago
    What about just applying a defensive coating of an oil to your windshield. Maybe WD-40 or graphite lubricant. I imagine that'd make it pretty hard for the thing to stick. Or perhaps clear lamination strips in parallel rows thick enough to keep it from achieving suction. There are so many plausible physical protection measures against this intrusive obnoxious device. Even better, how about skipping spending money on barnacles and instead spending it expanding parking so that there is less incentive to park illegally? I will never understand the fixation on punishment over solving the underlying problems that cause misbehavior.
diffxx 2y ago
Or maybe don't park illegally.
- kirth_gersen 2y ago
  I've attended four different colleges in several different states and I've never seen a college campus with enough parking. They manufacture this problem and then profit off of it. Students are a captive market. They have to attend class and end up playing musical chairs looking for a parking spot. It's absurd and yet another example of predatory behavior. And it's wild to see so many comments that just blames the victims without any deeper thought on the subject.
  - hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
    A feature not a bug of American gotcha capitalism that goes unchallenged because Americans are wimps and worried they might be labelled "communists".
neilv 2y ago
I would suspend or expel those students. Not for the hacking, but for the sociopathic way that hacking was applied, and the halfwit quotes.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

psunavy03 2y ago

I realize that there's often a bunch of petty bullshit involved in parking enforcement. But can we just acknowledge that calling parking enforcement "dystopian" is perhaps just a bit overwrought?

ysavir 2y ago
Yeah. I actually really like this solution. No damage to the car, quick to apply, quick to resolve. When my car got towed in NYC, getting it back took several days and with an additional cost of a couple hundred dollars. The barnacle would have been an incredibly easier, simpler, and cheaper outcome. At least I assume cheaper, but maybe the manufacturer charges additional fees on top of the fine (and now _that_ would be dystopian). It's also avoids the panic of looking for your car only to have it not be where you left it. My car was towed due to registration issues, not illegal parking, but it was enough of an experience where I can easily see the merit of the barnacle.
kirth_gersen 2y ago
Agreed. Dystopian is too far. However, I do think that college parking is low-key a predatory racket. Students are a captive market and the school supplies the parking. They know the enrollment numbers, they make you buy a parking permit, so they know how many spots are needed. Somehow though, there are never enough parking spots. I think it should be illegal for schools to issue tickets for parking (outside of handicap spots, the middle of the road, fire lanes, etc) until they can prove that there is a legal spot for every permit they issue. Otherwise, they are incentivized to issue more parking permits than there are spots which is clearly setting up many students to be in an impossible situation.

neilv 2y ago

How is this dystopian? I sorta get the potential (technology-automated bureaucracy), but... If we use "dystopian" for this, what word do we use for dystopian things that are a billion times worse?

anotherhue 2y ago
Shareholder value?

fanf2 2y ago

This article describes a few ways to defeat a barnacle https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnacle-parking-boot-skip-fines-and-get-free-internet https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/students-defeat-new-barnac...

drewcoo 2y ago

Because the best solution is to try to keep the cars in their illegal parking spots. This is the dumbest thing since providing newly painted large swaths of wall in response to taggers.