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DC man’s ‘NO TAGS’ vanity plate earns him $20,000 in tickets

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Ain't government great.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/d- ... 13724.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You would think the guy would have been sufficiently inconvenienced over the last 25 years that he would have changed his plate. Argue all you want about his "right to have it", but is it really worth all the time and effort to maintain something that started as a joke and turned out to be such a hassle?

DMV Director Lucinda Babers told the station that she's considering simply revoking White's vanity tags, along with other "confusing" plates, to avoid any future mishaps.

Let’s see if I understand this. The director of the DMV has the authority to “simply” revoke lawfully issued license plates because they are “confusing”?

Hmmmmm- Law Enforcement Officers “simply” making their own laws.

Nuff said.

VoiceofReason wrote:

DMV Director Lucinda Babers told the station that she's considering simply revoking White's vanity tags, along with other "confusing" plates, to avoid any future mishaps.

Let’s see if I understand this. The director of the DMV has the authority to “simply” revoke lawfully issued license plates because they are “confusing”?

Hmmmmm- Law Enforcement Officers “simply” making their own laws.

Nuff said.

And thios suprises you how?

Years ago I got my wife "BROOM" tags for her car, a Red '85 Audi 5000, so when her students called while she wasn't there, I could tell them she was out riding her broom. She loved it and they stayed on her car until she passed away, when I relicensed it under my name.

A few months after her death I got a summons for parking illegally and not responding to the parking ticket issued the night before she passed away, when I can assure you I was not anywhere near where the parking ticket was issued, to a grey Toyota Camry, bearing a license plate that said "BR00M".

I called the clerk of the court and was told that I had to respond to the summons anyway, even if it could not be for my vehicle, and I would have to bring proof that it was not my vehicle. I insisted on speaking to her supervisor and got pretty much the same response. I sent them a registered letter pointing out their error, and got a letter back saying they were going to reconsider and "forgive" the charges. I sent them another registered letter stating that "forgive" was not good enough, they should go after the owner, whose name and address I provided thanks to my friend who was a director of the DMV.

I got no reply, so I walked the two blocks from my office to the Traffic Court and asked to speak to "Whoever is in charge." Eventually I spoke with the judge, and he recognized that they were in error but tried to excuse it away because Os and 0s look so much alike, at which point I pointed out that red Audis and grey Toyotas do not and that a little applied intelligence might have avoided HIS problem. He was not pleased with that comment and reiterated their offer to "forgive" the ticket (and actually they already had) but I insisted that it be expunged entirely because I didn't want even a "forgiven" ticket to show up on my record (I had checked with DMV and it was still there) He tried to tell me how tough that was and such and I told him I would be glad to escalate the issue if he insisted.

The ticket disappeared from my record about a month later, according to my friend at DMV.

I got a summons (unpaid toll) for a car I traded in to a dealer. The offense date was, dated about 2 months after the trade, the summons was maybe 6 months after that. I called the number on the ticket and after 3 transfers and maybe an hour on hold and talking to the wrong people I finally got transferred to the right person, who said "yes, we see that the new owner has insurance on your car, but has not registered it in their name. And we see there are 3 other summonses that were sent to you for this same vehicle."

Eventually they resolved it and got the tickets pointed to the right person.
Why you don't keep your tags when you sell a car in Texas is still a mystery to me.

VoiceofReason wrote:

DMV Director Lucinda Babers told the station that she's considering simply revoking White's vanity tags, along with other "confusing" plates, to avoid any future mishaps.

Let’s see if I understand this. The director of the DMV has the authority to “simply” revoke lawfully issued license plates because they are “confusing”?

Hmmmmm- Law Enforcement Officers “simply” making their own laws.

Nuff said.

They can't figure out where the VIN is located? Hey it's DC, maybe all the politicians blowing smoke has dulled the minds of LEOs.

VoiceofReason wrote:

DMV Director Lucinda Babers told the station that she's considering simply revoking White's vanity tags, along with other "confusing" plates, to avoid any future mishaps.

Let’s see if I understand this. The director of the DMV has the authority to “simply” revoke lawfully issued license plates because they are “confusing”?

They issue the plates. It makes sense they can decide what vanity text is allowed. For example, if the format of the standard plates is ABC-123, I think there's nothing wrong with them refusing to issue a vanity plate for ABC-IZ3 . It's not censorship any more than the moderators deleting an R rated word. I think the DMV should have to issue him a replacement (vanity) plate at no additional cost, but that should be the extent of compensation for disallowing a confusing or obscene vanity plate.

RoyGBiv wrote:Eventually they resolved it and got the tickets pointed to the right person.

In Texas you should notify them when you sell a car so future tickets go to the new owner.
https://vision21.txdmv.gov/Vehicle/Main ... ation.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RoyGBiv wrote:Why you don't keep your tags when you sell a car in Texas is still a mystery to me.

From Texas DMV License Plate FAQs

Is it true I can keep my license plates when I sell my vehicle?

Yes. For a $5 fee, you can also transfer your plates to a new vehicle. Your local county tax office will assist with the transfer and issue you a new registration sticker (regular registration fees apply). Be sure to remove and destroy the registration sticker on your old vehicle when you take off the plates

So when you sell your vehicle, you CAN keep the plates. It sure would force the buyer to register it sooner.

smoothoperator wrote:

VoiceofReason wrote:

DMV Director Lucinda Babers told the station that she's considering simply revoking White's vanity tags, along with other "confusing" plates, to avoid any future mishaps.

Let’s see if I understand this. The director of the DMV has the authority to “simply” revoke lawfully issued license plates because they are “confusing”?

They issue the plates. It makes sense they can decide what vanity text is allowed. For example, if the format of the standard plates is ABC-123, I think there's nothing wrong with them refusing to issue a vanity plate for ABC-IZ3 . It's not censorship any more than the moderators deleting an R rated word. I think the DMV should have to issue him a replacement (vanity) plate at no additional cost, but that should be the extent of compensation for disallowing a confusing or obscene vanity plate.

Also years ago, I wanted to get my Ham Radio call plates on my pickup, and DMV (NY) denied the application, but did not state a reason why, so I called my friend at DMV and she told me there was no reason (like commercial vehicle) for the denial, and she didn't know why it was, so I should reapply.

Same result.

Called my friend, after talking to a couple of clerks in the license plate bureau, and she told me to bring her the completed app and payment. She "walked it through" and got the same result, and then she pulled rank. I got my plates, and due to the computer kicking out Ham Radio plate apps for pickups all over the state, mine was the only pickup in the entire state that had call sign plates, not counting vanity non-ham plates, and then they fixed the computer.

Around the same time, I spotted a plate that had snuck through with a very suggestive word on it, and called my friend at DMV. The very next week that plate was revoked.

smoothoperator wrote:

VoiceofReason wrote:

DMV Director Lucinda Babers told the station that she's considering simply revoking White's vanity tags, along with other "confusing" plates, to avoid any future mishaps.

Let’s see if I understand this. The director of the DMV has the authority to “simply” revoke lawfully issued license plates because they are “confusing”?

They issue the plates. It makes sense they can decide what vanity text is allowed. For example, if the format of the standard plates is ABC-123, I think there's nothing wrong with them refusing to issue a vanity plate for ABC-IZ3 . It's not censorship any more than the moderators deleting an R rated word. I think the DMV should have to issue him a replacement (vanity) plate at no additional cost, but that should be the extent of compensation for disallowing a confusing or obscene vanity plate.

The state legislature made the law allowing vanity plates. It seems to me they should be the ones to decide the guidelines and limits.

I would have no problem with a judge making the decision to revoke plates.

I agree with you concerning the replacement at no cost, but I would hope it would take a little more than the personal opinion of someone working in DMV to decide what is appropriate and what should be revoked.

As far as obscene, I don’t think LE cares. I have seen stickers on vehicles that go way over the line. An attachment swinging under the back of trucks has also become somewhat popular that is extremely suggestive to say the least.

I think they should let him keep the plates if he pays all the tickets or beats them in court.