From Denver to the World: The History of the Wheel Clamp

Any driver who has lived or parked in a big city has probably gotten a parking ticket at one point in time. I know that I have gotten a handful over the years, and I always pay them because I was, admittedly, in the wrong.

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Big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and other major metropolotian areas across the globe all seem to have one thing in common. Plenty of cars, not enough parking spaces.

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Sometimes people park in no-parking zones, double park, or park in handicapped spots when they are not supposed to. This usually ends up with the driver of that car getting a parking ticket. Sometimes, the penalty can be worse, with a parking boot or getting the vehicle towed.

A Colorado Invention That Changed Parking Enforcement

Recently, I discovered that one of these things that can immobilize a car for an infraction was created right here in Colorado. You may not see them very often in our state, but they are used in nearly every major city on earth, and it was invented in Denver in the 1940s.

Created by Frank Marugg, the wheel clamp, originally known as the auto immobilizer, became a global tool for stopping cars that had violations from being driven off. Most of us know it as a parking boot, but it does have another nickname, the Denver boot.

The Denver Boot Goes Global

According to Wikipedia, the Denver Police Department was the first to use the wheel boot on January 5, 1955. Use of the boot 70 years ago yielded over $18,000 in fines being collected in the first month of use.

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The next time you see one of those bright yellow clamps on the wheel of a car, just remember: it all started in Denver.