My car was vandalized ...

[rico942]

This week I noticed that the California registration sticker on my rear license plate was missing. Again (third time in 5 years) ...

Not stolen, just scraped off and the shreds left on the pavement, too damaged to restore it. I had sliced it into several sections, as recommended by CHP and DMV. This might discourage a thief, but not a vandal. Or a thief who is angry at being thwarted ...

I immediately sent in the application for a new sticker, for a $20 fee. My other choice was to descend into DMV hell, but it was unclear if they would issue a new sticker, or just mail it later ...

Meanwhile, I am at risk for a fix-it ticket every time a cop sees the plate, each with at least a $25 "administrative fee", and I would have to appear in court to show the plate, to get the fine dismissed ...

Fortunately I am retired now, and drive very little, almost never on the freeways. The replacement sticker can take up to 8 weeks for delivery, according to DMV ...

So I researched security license plate frames, and found that any auto parts store sells them, but they are illegal in CA, if the plastic cover is over the license number. It seems that the glare from the plastic obscures the plate number from red light cameras, which are a great source of revenue ...

Today I found a company called "LockUm", they have a bracket that covers only the sticker with a small piece of clear Lexan, very difficult to break, more trouble than its worth to a thief or a vandal. They say that this partial cover is consistent with CA law ...

Makes me wonder if DMV employees go around removing stickers to drum up business ...

No, I'm not really that paranoid ...

I feel better now. End of rant ...

 

[stevegmu]

That sounds pretty paranoid to me. DMV workers aren't going to get out of their chairs and go out in the heat to scrape stickers......
Just put the rear plate on the deck of the rear window if you drive a sedan...

 

[coilburner]

sounds like you might have an enemy?

 

[chilipadi]

So in California, an important 'documentation' proof of registration is a STICKER? smh...

 

[rico942]

Just put the rear plate on the deck of the rear window if you drive a sedan...

Unfortunately, that's illegal too, the plate would be considered "covered" ...

They want the plate number clearly visible without glare to the red light cameras and cruising patrol cars, its a source of revenue ...

 

[rico942]

sounds like you might have an enemy?

Several of my nearby neighbors were hit the same way, stickers scraped off. The apartment manager thinks its a disgruntled former tenant who was evicted last year, a guy who had theater-sized speakers in his apartment and loved to share his taste for heavy metal ...

The irony is that I never complained, but other did ...

What sucks is that I'm temporarily liable to penalties for being the victim of a crime ...

 

[coilburner]

So in California, an important 'documentation' proof of registration is a STICKER? smh...

Im pretty sure every state in the US requires that sticker on your license plate.

 

[SomeTexan]

Im pretty sure every state in the US requires that sticker on your license plate.

Not in Texas. We have stickers on the windshield. And now, you have to bring your inspection report to get the window sticker. But you don't have to have 2 windshield stickers any more.

 

[AndriaD]

Unfortunately, that's illegal too, the plate would be considered "covered" ...

They want the plate number clearly visible without glare to the red light cameras and cruising patrol cars, its a source of revenue ...

The red-light cameras have been discontinued in GA, because they're... wait for it... UNCONSTITUTIONAL!

Actually, the whole thing revolves around the ticket you get in the mail. The state gov't is too cheap to pop for registered mail, so they were sending them first class. GA has ruled that without sending them via registered mail, the person cannot be held to account for it. so, they're not using the cameras anymore.

Andria

 

[rico942]

San Diego shut down the camera traps in 2013, on a campaign promise by then-mayor Bob Filner, who was later ousted for groping his female associates ...

Sigh ...

But many cities in California still use them, and apparently the state regulations prohibiting license plate covers reflect this ...

If you really want to get riled up, start reading some of the examples on this website about camera traps and fake tickets. I had to chain vape for an hour to recover from extreme indignation ...

(Fighting) Your Ticket - Red Light Cameras in California

 

[Amraann]

Several of my nearby neighbors were hit the same way, stickers scraped off. The apartment manager thinks its a disgruntled former tenant who was evicted last year, a guy who had theater-sized speakers in his apartment and loved to share his taste for heavy metal ...

The irony is that I never complained, but other did ...

What sucks is that I'm temporarily liable to penalties for being the victim of a crime ...

DId you not keep the little card the sticker comes on? IDK about Cali but in Florida our stickers come on a card that the registers info .. type of car etc..
I always keep it in my glove box.
I would think if you get pulled over and show that and explain what happened the officer would be decent about it?

 

[rico942]

That is a really excellent idea !

I believe that the stub of the sticker carries the same code number as on the sticker itself, and could be an important piece of evidence in claiming that the registration is valid, in a traffic stop ...

The "LockUm" license plate frame that I ordered was delivered today, but they shipped the wrong item. Instead of the small bar with a window over the sticker, they sent a complete frame. All metal, very sturdy, with big barrel locks over the mounting points, but with no protection for the stickers ...

I really hate having to repack an incorrect order and then go to the Post Office to ship it back, at my expense ...

So I replied by email to the company, explained the situation, and included my phone number ...

Within five minutes, the owner of LockUm called me, apologized for the mix-up, and told me he is shipping to me (for free) an accessory to the plate frame, a Lexan window that fits under the frame and over the stickers, making it more trouble than its worth to steal them. That's what I wanted all along ...

Gotta love a happy ending ...

Of course, I still have to wait for DMV to mail my new sticker before I can drive without dodging police cruisers, and backing into parking spaces ...

 

[Amraann]

I hope that you can locate the stub from the sticker. (Here they do carry the same info as the sticker)
You did say that your retired so even without the card stub I think an officer would give you the benefit of the doubt. It is not like some 20 yo trying to sell him a story. Also I would think that your registration would also come up on his car computer if he ran the tag.

I have a registration story for you! I use to live in the Keys. SO one year in Key Largo I go to re-register my tag and get the sticker and the card.
Put the sticker on my tag and popped the card in my glove box and did not even look at it.
The following year I go to the DMV (this time in Big PIne Key where I had moved about an hour or so south of Key Largo)

When I go to pay for my registration it was this crazy high amount! SO I asked why. and the womean said because it had been two years since I registered it.. NOOOOO
SO I go out to the car and get the card (agin not reading it) Bring it in and hand it to the woman.. SHe sayd Who is ________?
A name I had never heard! I was like who?
SO she shows me tthe card. right there it has someone elses name with my tag #.. Registered to a car that was not mine!
This being the Keys they are not sure if I am trying to pull some scam or what..

So the head woman comes out and looks at my tag and car (make model) While I pull out the other reg cards from prior years with the same tag number.
Which were in my name.
So that proved to them it was a mistake made in the Key largo DMV office not me trying to pull something.

But think about it.. Had I been pulled over and my tag run it would have come up as a tag registered to another person and another vehicle. They would have thought that I had a stolen tag on my car!

Moral of the story ALWAYSkeep the card/stub that your registration comes on .. OH!And read it when you get it! (something I totally failed to do!) Now I do it online, it usually only takes a week to arrive in the mail.

Goodluck!! Ido hope that yours arrives sooner rather than later

 

[mackman]

I always carry a copy of the reg as it comes from DMV showing the tag.
If your payment for the replacement tag is processed by DMV; should you be stopped for the missing tag it will be noted in the record the COP checks.

 

[rico942]

I think an officer would give you the benefit of the doubt.

Unfortunately, it appears that police in SoCal are under heavy pressure to generate revenue through citations. A ticket lawyer told me a few years ago that the days of cops not showing up for a trial are over, no one here wins by default anymore ...

Even if a sympathetic judge dismisses the charge, there is still an "administrative fee" to be paid ...

I expect no mercy from our local law enforcement, despite being a senior with a clean driving record. Four years ago I lost a court trial over "failure to yield to a pedestrian", when I was stuck in traffic while straddling a crosswalk. That one cost me $400 plus a $75 "traffic school", to avoid an insurance rate hike ...

Carlsbad is a municipality that got a nice fat grant for voting in an ordinance equating vaping with smoking, with equivalent fines ...

Until DMV mails my new sticker, I'll be "stealth driving" for the next few weeks ...

 

[stillnotsmoking]

In GA they have made a stink about officers not showing up to court also, so that's not an option here either. Funny though the amount of people I see driving around with NO TAG AT ALL LOL. Although I do have a valid tag for my trailer, its been ripped off so many times I quit getting replacements about 2 years ago and I've never been stopped for not having a tag on it lol

Sent from my QTAQZ3 using Tapatalk

 

[Amraann]

Well I hope that it arrives quickly and that your new tag cover prevents this from happening in the future

 

[Completely Average]

Texas stopped using stickers on the plates nearly 20 years ago. Our registration stickers are placed inside the windshield. Solves that problem.