If you read the general internet it's all mobbed up guys stealing cars from law-abiding single mothers for no reason at all but then again if I believed the general public about parking violation enforcement here in germany I'd come to the conclusion they're the new jews.

So how bad is that whole privatized towing / enforcement thing, really? Is there an actual problem beyond "it's a private company" or is it mostly carbrain tears?

  • SpiderFarmer [he/him]
    ·
    3 months ago

    Story time: A local towing company is used rather extensively by a slumlord in town. When people raise too much of a stink about mold or rates going up, he'd call to have their cars illegally towed. It's not like someone making ~30k a year can do much about it. To add to this, that towing company is outfitted like a goddamn fort and upon retrieving your car you have to sign a document that absolves you from any attempts to sue or say anything particularly libelous (true) about the company.

    As an added note, as ridiculous as carbrains are, capitalism has also made it so stuff like reliable parking and reasonable fines can be hard to come by in parts. If this was paired with better bus and train infrastructure, I wouldn't say a word.

    One final note, there's a cheeky little tune about towing companies called Lincoln Park Pirates.