Box blockers beware

Drivers who find themselves stuck in an intersection are in for a forceful reminder that it’s a bad idea to “block the box,” if Governor David Paterson signs a bill which recently passed both houses of the state legislature.
If signed into law, the provision would add obstructing an intersection to the list of parking violations for cities with a population of 1 million or more.
Up until now, “blocking the box” as it is commonly called, was a moving violation, meaning that only a Police Officer or Traffic Enforcement Agent could issue a summons for the violation. The fine is $90 and conviction results in a penalty of two points against the operator’s driver’s license.
Under the new provision, all of New York City’s 2,800 Parking Violations Bureau (PVB) agents could issue a summons for the offense. Although a PVB ticket would not impose the two point license penalty, the fine is even higher - a whopping $115, according to the legislative memoranda in support of the bill.
In addition to increasing the number of enforcement agents by almost eight times, it eliminates the necessity of obtaining the driver’s information. As city drivers are all too aware, PVB agents are equipped with scanners which read vehicle information off the registration sticker.
When pre-programmed for a specific violation, the scanners can produce a virtually perfectly filled-out, virtually unchallengeable ticket in seconds. Even better for the city, parking violation fines go into city coffers.
Excited city officials are lauding passage.
“Just two years ago we counted more than 3,000 cars ‘blocking the box’ over a nine hour period at 10 different intersections in Manhattan. Not one of those drivers got a ticket for breaking the law,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer.