COVINGTON, Ky. — A driver who returned to his car to find what appeared to be a bike lock on his tire, along with a hefty fine, initially thought he was being scammed.
The incident, which occurred at a public street meter where the driver was approximately 10 minutes over his paid time, prompted the driver to call police.
When an officer arrived, the driver said he also believed the device was part of a scam and cut it off.
However, the enforcement method is actually an official practice of the Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority.
WATCH: I met with Covington's Parking Authority, which explained what happened
Kyle Snyder, executive director of Covington's Motor Vehicle Parking Authority, explained the enforcement device.
"Normally, we give a ticket," Snyder said. "If you get a handful of those, then we have to have another form of recourse."
The tire tag system was implemented as a more convenient alternative to traditional boots, which can be cumbersome and more expensive.
"(It's) less hassle for the parker," Snyder said.
The Reddit post that sparked the confusion mentioned a fine of approximately $410, but Snyder clarified that high amounts typically indicate multiple unpaid tickets.
“It's also a little scary, too, because you're not going to get a $50 fee," Snyder said. "It's going to be all the tickets that you've owed."
The Reddit post user, Snyder said, had several parking tickets on the same license plate on a previous vehicle, which carried over to the new vehicle.
"I think there's a lot of scams out there, but this one is, in fact, not a scam, and we're going to make it better," Snyder said.
The parking authority plans to improve its communication by adding clearer stickers to the devices.
"The additional sticker would make it more clear that it's actually the parking authority in the city," Snyder said.
Snyder said while traffic enforcement officers in Covington were notified about the new tire tag enforcement tool, it is possible the officer in this incident did not remember.
In response to the confusion, the parking authority said it will pause using the tire tags this weekend while it updates all driver window notes with proper stickers to clearly communicate that they are official enforcement tools.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
