Georgia county shuts down excessive semi truck boot fees

A Georgia county has enacted a new law that limits the power of vehicle booting companies that prey on parked semi trucks.

On Tuesday, December 4, officials in DeKalb County, Georgia, moved to severely cut down on the power of semi truck booting companies after complaints of predatory behavior and excessive fees.

The county enacted a new law that set the maximum fee that these companies may charge to remove a boot from a semi truck at $150. Prior to this law going into effect, semi truck drivers have reported that they have paid $600 or more to have a boot removed in DeKalb County.

The new cap on the boot removal fee is effective immediately.

In addition, the law requires that booting companies remove the boot within one hour of receiving payment. The law also forbids the companies from applying a boot to a semi truck if the vehicle has been parked for less than 20 minutes, and the booting company is required to provide photographic proof of how long the vehicle was illegally parked.

“There’s been a growing concern because of illegal and inappropriate behavior of individuals associated with some booting enterprises in DeKalb County. And something had to be done to address that,” DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Booting semi trucks has become a hot button issue in the state of Georgia over the past year. During the summer, a trucker was hit by vehicle driven by a booting company employee during a dispute at the Perry Walmart parking lot in nearby Houston county. Though this incident took place outside of DeKalb County, county officials pointed to this incident as a safety concern and a reason to enact the new law to curb the power of booting companies.

Other Georgia counties like Clayton, Gwinnett, and Cobb have responded to complaints of predatory behavior and excessive fees by banning the booting of vehicles altogether.