No one likes to return to their car and find that it’s been immobilized with a boot. You know, those things that clamp to your tires and prevent you from driving away. Unfortunately, many jurisdictions use these devices to “persuade” a driver to pay their unpaid parking tickets. They’re also becoming steadily used as a means of discouraging car owners from parking their car in a private lot. Generally, the boot works like a charm, because those boots are hard (nearly impossible) to get off. Hmmm. Makes you think, doesn’t it? If you can’t get a wheel boot off without considerable effort on your part then a thief will likely have the same trouble. Eureka! Car theft problem solved!

Personal tire immobilizers (a.k.a. boots or tire clamps) are becoming increasing popular with car owners, as an effective deterrent to car thieves (or teenaged drivers who like to borrow the family car without permission). Boots come in a variety of bright colors, styles and sizes that will fit most vehicle tires. Some boots come with optional spikes which will puncture the tire, in the event the thief (or teenager) is dumb enough to try to drive it away. Their portability is an added benefit, since they’re not specific to a single car and are ideal for a driver with a rental or a borrowed car.

Their obvious visibility is also an important consideration - the person sitting on the ground with a hacksaw, blithely sawing away at a locked boot, will likely draw unwanted attention from passers by. Installation takes only a minute or so, and removal (provided you’ve got a key) takes seconds. Bottom line: Don’t lose your boot keys. And if you do, better have a copy of your car’s registration handy.

So, the next time you spot a car with a boot on one of its tires, instead of immediately thinking, “poor unlucky slob,” consider that it might, in fact, be a “pretty smart guy.”