Forget about wheel lock. Something worse is coming
The American startup Barnacle Parking is trying to prove that classic wheel locks are inconvenient, which will affect both law enforcement officers and drivers. He proposed an alternative a few years ago, but finally managed to test it in action.
A wheel lock is undoubtedly one of the most effective methods of forcing the driver to contact the appropriate authorities. But isn't it possible to come up with something better in this case? The American startup Barnacle Parking argues that better things are coming.
The Barnacle lock is installed not on the wheel, but on the glass, for which it uses very strong vacuum suction cups, the equivalent of which is to be a mass of 453 kg. In the creators' opinion, this solution is much more convenient for officers, as they do not have to perform any additional activities, but only place the device on the front windshield of the vehicle and activate it using the application.
It will also be more convenient for the drivers themselves, who do not have to wait for the patrol to arrive to remove the blockade. All they need to do is visit the appropriate website, pay the fine, and they will receive a code to remove the block. Then you should throw the equipment into the nearest mailbox and you can move on.
The authors assure that they are prepared for attempts to evade the applicable procedure. If someone tries to remove the Barnacle lock by force, they will hear a loud alarm, and if they leave it in a random place, the operator will easily find the loss thanks to GPS – we read. Moreover, the equipment is said to have an extensive offense monitoring module.
By entering the website, the driver will find out what exactly he has done and will obtain evidence in the form of photos. The system will also record, again using GPS, where exactly the incident occurred.
The Barnacle lock was presented already in 2020, but only recently did the New York Police decide to test it as part of a pilot program. Apparently it turned out so well that the manufacturer launched mass production and wants to introduce Barnacle to other states, and ultimately also outside the USA.
An interesting fact is that the previous tests failed for a very prosaic reason. Well, a student took out the device and stole the SIM card inside it. However, the equipment has been improved and, according to the NYPD, it now works as it should,
