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My Second Traffic Infraction

Melrose

Melrose

Suspended
Original poster
Dec 12, 2007
7,806
399
Hello everyone.

I just went out for my guitar lesson this morning, and the County sheriff had this road check thing and nailed me for overdue registration (my second ticket after a bum headlight five years ago). The thing that really ticks me off is that I keep an eye on my oil, my gas mileage, etc etc but the inspection comes around just once a year so I more or less forget about it and leave it up to the DMV or whoever to send me the reminder in the mail.

Reeeeaaal sweet: We have this inCREDibly stupid mail carrier that regularly leaves our mail all over town (or so our neighbours have said on numerous times) and on a regular basis we get our neighbour's mail as well. The Postmaster has admitted that they've had many complaints about this particular carrier but nothing's ever done about her.. And no offense to people like this, but when you try to talk to her she just gives you completely blank, empty stare. She's not a temp, either - full time village carrier. Sheesh..

So, two things are under my skin right now:
1. The incompetence of people who are supposed to do their job ("Neither rain nor sleet nor hail can stop the mail... unless your carrier's as dumb as a rock.")

2. The ticket, obviously, which is problem since my finances are already in a bit of a crunch, to boot delivered by this snotty officer who acted like he's doing me the favour.

I have a question: For you that live in NY, how much does a ticket like this cost?
 
Because it's everyone else's fault that you didn't keep your inspection up to date? It's there so you make sure your car is safe for you to drive and for the others on the road around you?

You obviously own a Mac, put it in your iCal, or Mail next time. Do you own a calendar?
 
Don't go on the offensive, friend - and don't me wrong: I take responsibility for getting the ticket, but it's not like checking your business email (three times a day) or even checking your oil (once a week) - it's once a year; It's not like you get into the habit of it, you know? Add to this that I regularly don't get my bank/checking statements from one month to the next (presumably because the carrier leaves them elsewhere).

In point of fact, I should have received the renewal notice, in which case everything of course would've been fine. I guess what digs me is that stuff like this has happened so many times before; that they lost my renewal notice just happens to be the time it really gets under my skin.

...and fyi, I've had trouble with the reliability of iCal emailing me about stuff in the past. I set it up to send me a notice the day before certain events, and half the time it doesn't show up (and yeah I do check my junk bin).
 
So, if I understand you correctly you have an inspection once a year. Do you also have to register your car? Here in Alaska we have a bi-annual registration for our vehicles. In Anchorage we also have an emissions inspection program and we can't register our vehicles without it so the reminder is always there. I have known people who have been cited for being out of date on their registration and managed to have those citations dismissed by coming into compliance.

As far as the officer's demeanor goes, that is subjective. What you perceived as snotty you might have viewed as friendly if you weren't being cited. It's all a matter of perspective.

Mark
 
Your mailman may be a twunt but this is hardly his fault. NYS requires you to have your car inspected annually. The DMV, nor any other state agency does NOT send out reminders to do so. It's called personal responsibility.

In fact, the only reminders I ever get are from my car dealer. I put it in my iCal birthday's calendar years ago.
 
Weird. My parents always get a notice in the mail about it. Weird. Must be a fluke..

And as I said iCal has thus far not been very dependable about sending me reminders. Maybe it's my email server eating them maybe it's iCal, but for one reason or another putting a reminder in iCal will not be of much help..

Ah well..
 
Get the inspection ASAP.

You should be able to mail in your fine.

Or you can go to court (bring the passed inspection paper work to court).

If you go into the court, there is a chance that the judget might
- Forgive the ticket
- Fine you anyway

Depends on where you are
- Court fee
- No court fee

For me, I got one few months ago, going to pay by mail, the amount is about $90.

It's not worth it to take half a day off work, spend $10 on gas, and not knowing whether the ticket will be forgived...
 
usually if you get it inspected and take your receipt to court, it will be dismissed. Don't sweat it. I'm going to school to be a cop as we speak and things like this I just don't understand. Especially here in texas, you get a ticket for no inspection, and then you just take your receipt to court and its dismissed. BIG WASTE OF TIME and PAPERWORK!! I've been given to tickets as well both for speeding but my second also included a registration/ inspection violation. Check with your court and see what the terms are!
 
melrose said:
Weird. My parents always get a notice in the mail about it. Weird. Must be a fluke..

And as I said iCal has thus far not been very dependable about sending me reminders. Maybe it's my email server eating them maybe it's iCal, but for one reason or another putting a reminder in iCal will not be of much help..

Ah well..
Click to expand...

Well I've been a driver in NYS for 29 years and have never received any notice except from my car dealer. Sending out reminders would be a colossal waste of money for the DMV especially since they do not collect the inspection fees. They send reminders for registrations as those are their fees.
 
Man alive I'm not only steamed but now I look like a complete idiot: It's not inspection :eek: I meant to say Registration. Pardon my error.

@Basspro & Consultant: Thanks for posting that.. The county seat is like a half-hour drive away, so I'm not sure whether I'll head down or not. I guess I'll have to call and see exactly how much the fine is if I mail it (it doesn't say anywhere on the ticket)..

I was thinking that if I go in dressed respectably and explain they'll let me go, but whether I have the time or not is the thing. And I hate driving down there with gas being so pricey now.
 
I don't know about other states, but Missouri license plates have the month and year your registration needs renewal on a sticker right on the plate. So when I'm walking to my car, it's not hard for me to notice that my plates expire in February 09. And come next February, I'll see that and will remember to get to the DMV.
 
I think NY does send reminders for registrations. I'm sure you can renew them online, so there's not much excuse (at least in terms of time constraints) to not do it.
 
NY has a sticker on the front driver's side windshield, right next to the inspection sticker. :0

flash-sticker.gif
 
rdowns said:
NY has a sticker on the front driver's side windshield, right next to the inspection sticker. :0

flash-sticker.gif
Click to expand...

Fa-sheezy. I've got my registration renewal date on the windshield next to the oil change reminder and so fourth. I don't check it daily, but once a while I'll see if its coming up.
 
registration should be dismissed if you take a receipt also, at least it is in texas. I don't see why it wouldnt be anywhere else, people forget!
 
iMac-Knight said:
To the OP, not sure if your in the US, But tag renewals are on your birthday month. Not too hard to forget. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

That would be easy, but I think only licenses work that way (and they're every four years :eek: even easier to forget!). You know I'm not really sure if they work that way or not here in the States..
 
melrose said:
....I was thinking that if I go in dressed respectably and explain they'll let me go, but whether I have the time or not is the thing. And I hate driving down there with gas being so pricey now.
Click to expand...

prob not worth the effort.....everybody who goes in will have come up with an explanation as to why it's not their fault
 
"Happy birthday! (here's some paperwork)"


I don't know how I remember these things, but I'm sure I get a reminder in the mail. Otherwise, there's no way I'd remember. I get a letter for everything regarding my car. It's annoying, but then once a year, the letter I get is actually quite convenient. ;)
 
I'm trying to work out what the UK equivalent for this is. We have three things you have to remember for your car every year

1) Insurance.

2) VED- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_excise_duty#Similar_taxes_in_other_nations

3) MOT (unless your car is new and under warranty) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOT_test

(There are certain exceptions for "classic" cars)

If it's two then we get reminders in the mail here in the UK before your tax is due. However, your Tax Disc is a big, colourful circle stuck in your windscreen with the expiry date in big letters so you'd have to be a remarkable nimrod to forget.


 
It's kind of damned if you do-Damned if you don't type of thing. You have to pay to register a vehicle you've already paid for and paid taxes on and paid insurance for... now you have to pay more to have it registered. Oh, and if you don't get it registered you have pay too.

I dunno... I know it's there for a purpose but it just kind of gets me going a bit. This is probably symbolic that I get steamed over this - maybe there's some Mommy issues I can't face and this is how they're coming out.

Anywho - thanks all for the responses and for your help. :) I'll have to get a PO Box or something so our *ahem* careless mailman doesn't decide to lose it next year.
 
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