It used to be that when people were caught driving without a license or registration in Philadelphia, they might get a ticket and be sent on their way. Now, many will get a ticket and lose their car. And be hauled into the local police station. And be forced to pay any outstanding traffic and parking fines. And present proof of license, insurance and registration.
Only then will they be able to trek to a city impound lot in a remote corner of South Philadelphia to liberate their vehicle.
The city is getting serious about illegal drivers.
Prompted by a 1996 state law that allows cities to impound illegal vehicles, Mayor Rendell yesterday announced details of a six-month pilot program that will hold cars hostage until the owners show they are licensed and registered.
It will stretch the Philadelphia Parking Authority's already overworked fleet of 17 tow trucks. It will also force police officers to spend valuable minutes baby-sitting the cars on the side of the road until the tow trucks arrive.
But city officials say it is worth the sacrifices. Traffic tickets are too often ignored in Philadelphia, some say. Yanking cars away is an enforcement tool with far more bite.
``We want vehicles to have proper registration and licenses to operate on the streets of Philadelphia,'' the mayor said at a news conference in City Hall. ``If the vehicles are not properly registered and the owner doesn't have a license, those vehicles are subject to impoundment, confiscation and sale. And that will be the driving force here to improve safety.''
And, because proof of auto insurance must be presented before a vehicle is released, the policy will have the effect of pulling off city streets some of the estimated 130,000 cars being driven without insurance.
City Councilman James Kenney said the program would send the right message to residents who keep up with their insurance premiums and paper work while others drive illegally at no cost.
``For a decade and a half we've allowed people to do whatever they want to do with impunity: drive uninsured; drive unlicensed; drive unregistered,'' he said. ``You have a middle-class family who pays their bills, and raises their kids right, and does without, and pays $3,000 a year in insurance. Then you have a 20-year-old kid driving around, and his penalty is a ticket that he laughs at and rips up anyway. You have to get these people off the road. They're reckless and dangerous.''
