Uniontown Officials To Continue Photographing Parked Cars To Mark Time After Court Ruling On Chalking Tires
UNIONTOWN (KDKA) -- A recent U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stated towns, cities and municipalities that mark a car's tire with chalk and record the time is the same as putting a GPS on a car, and you need a warrant for that.
But what about taking pictures of the car's tires to see if they have overstayed their welcome?
That's what Uniontown officials do.
"No, there's no difference. It's the same as chalking," Lamont Furnace resident Georgina Hough said.
"I don't think there's any difference," Uniontown resident Donald Stillwagon said.
Uniontown officials, however, think what they do isn't chalking at all and the court ruling isn't applicable.
"I don't think they're listening to federal law," Hough said.
Everyone KDKA spoke to says this has nothing to do with chalk marks on tires or pictures of valve stems. They think it's all about one thing and one thing only.
"If they want revenue, they're gonna get revenue, one way or the other," Stillwagon said.
"It's like anything else. It's a money maker," Rob Bealko, of Dunbar, said.
In fact, the lower court ruled that marking any vehicle is an act used by law enforcement to keep the public safe, and parking tickets don't fit the bill.
"But, you know, the law changes so much. It's kind of hard to keep up with what's going on half the time," Bealko said.
That being true or not, Uniontown says they're gonna keep snapping pictures and printing them for parking violators, for the time being.
"You just have to go along with it and don't stay any longer than you're supposed to," Bealko said.