After greatly reducing the practice in past years, Montreal has started using more and more wheel clamps, Le journal de Montréal reports. The devices are installed on cars belonging to driver who fail to pay their fines, and are designed to prevent the car from moving.
The City had only installed 127 clamps last year, but this year alone, over 1 400 of the devices were installed on cars to force their owners to pay backlogged fines. The City explains that a change to the civil prodecures for minor infractions forced them to install fewer clamps...
Now, the situation is "back to normal", they say, so Montrealers can expect to see more and more of the devices in the coming weeks and months.
Reportedly, the City has made over $800 000 this year alone by installing clamps, since most of the time, drivers at fault end up paying their dues.
Source: Le journal de Montréal