That's the kind of stuff that just irritates the doo doo out of me!  I had a car stolen a few years back.  It was vandalized a bit but not destroyed.  Well, it cost me almost $400 to bail it out of the tow yard.  It stalled when the thieves tried to take off in it so they left it in the alley behind my apartment.  Since the cops didn't know where I lived they had it towed.  Funny thing is it had a "for sale" sign in the window with my phone number on it!!!  Did they think for one second that if they called that number they might be able to find me???

When I put on my new stickers I slice them up too.  Even if they could pry it off it would be in pieces.  And I happen to know Officer Paglia :)

It is expensive being a model citizen. Especially the golf part. :-)

I'll light some incense for you though...

Your bosses suggestion works two ways first they don't take the sticker second they don't take the plate ...which they will do to save time....learned in traffic school many years ago......50 cents for a straight blade...... 

Steve, your ordeal reminds me of one of my favorite jokes, which I don't think I should tell here.  But the punch line sums it all up: "Son, this just ain't your day!"

I always slice mine too.

A few years ago I tossed my new tag IN the car and there it sat for ages.  Then I couldn't find it at all.  I drove like that for about  9-10 months but coming down 395 from NV I got pulled over by a female CHP.  I knew exactly why too.  Sure enough, she told me I had no current tag and I was frantically digging through the glove compartment because I just KNEW it had to be there.  No luck.  She told me she had already run my plates and it showed current registration so she just wrote a fixit ticket.  She said I'd have to go to the DMV and get another one and then she got a chuckle out of the fact that I would have to pay the 15.00 or so for the replacement and then turn around in a couple of months and buy the next years tag.  Funny huh?

If she'd just left me alone I coulda gotten away with my crime.   The worst of it was that I knew that danged tag had to be there somewhere....or maybe I threw it out with the McDonalds bag.  Sigh.

It''s cool, chances are the culprits will get caught anyway. I personally know three guys who stole tags from other cars(two from their employers). All were caught. CHP's are VERY good at what they do and notice the smallest things wrong with registration tags as well as license plates and VIN's. The little number on your tag corresponds to your vehicle and once a slightly askew tag is seen, closer investigation follows.

I don't recall the fine the guys got, but it was more than their registration would have cost. One was actually detained because teh car he took his from in a bowling alley parking lot turned out to be a stolen car!

Just be like Steve and do the right thing...But I think I'll cut mine from now on as well.

In 2007 our truck was stolen.  Total damage was in excess of $6000.   We had put the new sticker on the back plate the very day the truck was taken.  When KCSD found the truck both plates were gone.   We went to AAA to get the replacement plates and sticker.   AAA is fast and they have free maps.  They will only do your DMV tasks if you are a member. 

Like a performing seal, just keep balancing the ball on your nose and jumping through hoops for the trainer. Proud to pay tithings to his majesty for the royal blessing of living amongst his flock in loyal fealty.

No, crap like this is just the government making money. You were the victim. The government should check your tag and let you go. The DMV should give you a new sticker, free. Any costs should be recouped from the criminal if caught. No fix it tickets, no administrative fees, no hassle. You should not be, in any way, shape or form, penalized for the actions of a criminal.

Steve:  Stereotypical motorcycle cop, "newspaper reporter profiling" and pretext stopping bearded drivers.  Sounds like class action lawsuit time to me!

A few months ago I had $20.01 fraudlently taken out of my Kern Schools account and after 5 trips to get a new card and fill out the correct forms, I receive paperwork in the mail that I have to fill out and notarize, which will cost me $10.

I threw it away.  They can have the $20 (and one cent).  It's just too much of a hassle.  You can't win for losing.  Maybe one day I'll find someone's lost card and be able to steal their money to make up for my loss. 

I've had the sticker on my car stolen before too until I started using the razor blade technique.  Just think of what you pay for this kind of theft as no different than the higher insurance premiums and deductibles you pay because of all of the uninsured motoroists out there.  These agencies have got to get their money from someone - might as well be a decent law abiding citizen like you.

Count your blessings that you didn't get a speeding ticket.

And stop Your whining.  :>)

Steve, just so you can sound a little more informed, it's called a license "TAB" not a "TAG"....

5204. (a) Except as provided by subdivisions (b) and (c), a tab shall indicate the year of expiration and a tab shall indicate the month of expiration. Current month and year tabs shall be attached to the rear license plate assigned to the vehicle for the last preceding registration year in which license plates were issued, and, when so attached, the license plate with the tabs shall, for the purposes of this code, be deemed to be the license plate, except that truck tractors, and commercial motor vehicles having an unladen weight of 10,000 pounds or more, shall display the current month and year tabs upon the front license plate assigned to the truck tractor or commercial motor vehicle. Vehicles that fail to display current month and year tabs or display expired tabs are in violation of this section.
 

 I use contact cement to put mine on the plate.  I have heard some use super glue.

I know how you feel Steve...a few years back..'someone' not only took my tags,put the whole darn plate...but I was spared being pulled over by the cops and all....

But it's just the hassle that one has to go thru to get everything back in order.....

'someone' not only took my tags,put the whole darn plate...

Don't know if it still works, but if the plates get stolen that used to get a car off the "gross polluter" list.  Until the next smog test, of course. 

Without a doubt the city/county could make a profit and be providing locale jobs for less than the 15 dollar processing fee being shipped out of state under the color of law.

Dump these overmasters that are stealing our counties money. And put Kern Countians to work.

Steve and his lawless comrades would be pleased to make their contributions to our locale government.

A CHP officer advised me that if somebody steals your license plate or sticker and displays it on their vehicle it's a felony.

The same applies if YOU put the registration sticker from another vehicle that you own onto a different vehicle with the intent to defraud the DMV.

I put my sticker on after removing the old sticker, then "cross hatch" with a razor blade.  SO, about five years ago the bad guys just tore off the entire license plate.  It just cost $10 to replace the plate and the sticker then.

SteveMcQueen187,

     We in the news biz don't always adopt government speak. Most people call them tags. Bureaucrats call them tabs and regular people have to ask them what they mean, and then they say tags. By the way, 187 is the penal code for murder -- any reason why you chose that number?

Tkozy,

I haven't got a speeding ticket in about 4 years (near Weed, one of California's most notorious speed traps next to King City). Before then it was 1985. This doesn't mean I don't speed, it's just that I am real good at not getting caught.

But you're right. I should stop whining. But why do we let bratty kids have all the fun?

Aengus,

Yes it has always been that way. License fraud I believe it is called.

But the chances of getting caught without a sticker are much greater.

Unless you are pulled over or caught in a checkpoint. You get away with it and will do little or no time for the crime when caught.. And will slide on the fines if you are low income. Just make small payments.

Driving without a update tag is going to get you pulled over just like Steve. And you Will lose the car to impound.

Many People used to register a cheap trailer and put their tag on their 50 grand diesel truck. Permanent trailer tags and the reduction in Vehicle fees cut that problem down a bunch.

Now that fees are up. No doubt that thefts Will go up.

Steve,

When you have wiped away all the tears. Ask those in the know if the City/county shouldn't start processing the fines/fees themselves.

Ask those in the know if the City/county shouldn't start processing the fines/fees themselves. 

I would guess it's cheaper for the city this way than to re-establish the infrastructure.  But it does sound a lot like a local version of "offshoring" jobs. 

Shoot, the sticker stack on my old car is probably a quarter inch thick. I think there's at least two of most colors in there by now. I kind of take pride in its thickness, but I suppose I better do the razor blade think next time, because I don't want to have to chisel the whole thing off!

Instead of finding a ticket on Monday it is possible that you could have found your car broken into.  The presence of the BPD in your parking lot that day may have prevented additional lawlessness.

I haven't got a speeding ticket in about 4 years (near Weed, one of California's most notorious speed traps next to King City).

OK, Steve, now you're confusing me. The Weed I know is in far north-central California, and King City is off 101 in Monterey County. Unless there's more than one Weed (and even though it's named for a person, who would want to name their town that!)

Laurah,

You former editors are so picky. The next to means its ranking as a speed trap, not its geographical location.

Oh, duh. Sorry, Steve.

Steve isn't it obvious why I picked 187, we live in Bakersfield, the murder capital of the southern San Joaquin Valley. LOL

It's quite appropriate that Steve should do the same thing to his license plate tags as he does to his golf balls: SLICE them.

But here's my real beef: I'm one of the two Californian employees who lost a driver's-side window to the thieving vandals (OK, the alleged thieving vandals) that day.

Steve feels oppressed as he's out $33.

I feel depressed as I'm out $126.

Normally, I'm a guy with a lot of empathy. But I'm having trouble working up any serious compassion for my esteemed colleague.

Mybe I should fell oppressed as well. In 1999 I won $75,000.00 and the following year paid $39,000.00 back to the state and Feds in additional taxes. Out of the $36,000.00 I got to keep I invested $12,500.00 in a mutual fund. Last year that fund had deminished to $5,000.00. I took that money out to help pay last years taxes. They then took out 20% additional taxes on that $5,000.00 leaving me a net of $4,000.00 which I then sent to them anyway. So in short I can't feel to bad about your 33 bucks...

after you put it on press the edge of a new razor blade into it a few times, no one will try and steel it if they know they cant use it

cut a diagonal X into the sticker. 

Thanks for the tip- I'm going to slice our tags in 1/2 next time around to avoid this problem hopefully.

Steve

you can try going to the BPD building, with your DMV records, and explain to them what happened.....

it may help to have your new sticker on at that time, along with the receipt for the new tag

if that doesnt work.  youre going to have to appear before the judge and tell him/her what happened

I never got my green sticker for one of my ATV's.  The  Arvin DMV just gave me a new one...no cahs out of pocket, no questions asked