Poor parkers afflict every city, both small and major. Whether it’s a minivan crashing through a Starbucks window, or something more benign like plopping down a foot away from the curb, the onslaught of terrible drivers can seem overwhelming. In fact, it can even make you feel downright powerless. Now, however, you can publicly shame these crappy drivers on social media with TowIt, which allows you to snap a photo of perps and upload for maximum shaming capabilities. The app, available via Google and Apple, “allows civilians to report selfish or illegal parking and dangerous driving in real time.” According to its creators, “TowIt works with municipal governments, local law enforcement, and towing companies to remove the barriers required to make cities effectively fight and deter bad parking and dangerous driving habits.”
The app seems ideal for NYC and LA parking-rage, but was actually developed in Toronto by Michael McArthur. McArthur hoped the geotagging function would encourage local citizens to report violations to the authorities. As told to the Toronto Star:
McArthur says he has met with the some of the mayor’s staff, and has also reached out to Traffic Services, who have contacted him to discuss the app. [sic] “I am offering the police a free solution, with no cost to them and no cost to the taxpayers, that is just going to make them more efficient, which in turn will save them or make them more money, so I can’t understand why they would say no to such a thing unless they are against innovation.”
The app has currently caught on with irate cyclists in Canada, as well as with citizen vigilantes in San Francisco, Houston, and New York. The latter even provided this hilarious image of a rogue cop car:
