No plates? My own question

[ErynSMA]

What is the name of your state? NY

I just want to be clear, because of something Xylene said below in another post. The quote is:
"In New York Motor vehicles operated* on public streets (* THIS INCLUDES PARKING )

Must:

Have valid

1. Insurance
2. Plates
3. Registration
4. (Inspection)


If you do not have 1 to 3, your car will be towed, impounded and ticketed.
4 (inspection) only a ticket is likely.

Generally most areas have laws that prohibit the storage of unregistered vehicles in areas directly accessible to the street. (aka a driveway or open parking lot)

Barring proper registration, the only sure way yo secure your car is either indoor storage or in a locked and fenced impound.

As to the likelihood, that is risk judgment only you can make"

I just want to be clear because I have a van I'm selling with no plates sitting in my mother's driveway, does this mean the car can be towed or ticketed even on her private property? That just doesn't seem right to me if I'm not driving it or parked in the street the can tow it, so I want to be clear. She doesn't have access to the garage so I'm not really sure what legal alternatives there would be..

Thanks!

[xylene]

Originally Posted by ErynSMA

I just want to be clear because I have a van I'm selling with no plates sitting in my mother's driveway, does this mean the car can be towed or ticketed even on her private property?

It is possible, also getting a municipal citation is possible.

Having a vehicle that has no plates / uninsured / unregistered is sure to be towed and ticketed from a public road sooner than later..

Parked in a driveway is MUCH less likely top be a problem, BUT many places don't like people who leave unregistered 'nuisance' vehicles on their land and driveways, so have enforcement policies and muni codes to discourage this.

That just doesn't seem right to me if I'm not driving it or parked in the street the can tow it, so I want to be clear.

As stated it is to prevent wanton storage of disused unregistered vehicles. It is also a revenue getter...

She doesn't have access to the garage so I'm not really sure what legal alternatives there would be..

1) You could chance it. I would discretely make investigations with the local authories and put a car cover on it. Not a great option, but probably workable.

2) You could register the vehicle. This would require insurance, which would protect you from all kinds liability from the many BAD things that can happen even to unused vehicles. Also it would help sell the vehicle. Their is NO "test drive" exemption for unisured / unregistered vehicles. I am quite confident some serious buyers would walk without a test drive.

3) If the vehicle is in poor shape you could scrap it for a decent amount these days.

[ErynSMA]

Thanks Xylene. The vehicle is actually in great shape, just had to get rid of it cause van + 60 mi a day commute=empty bank account, so there's really no point in scrapping it.

I do think I will have to consider putting insurance back on the vehicle for the reasons you stated, I was wondering how I'd do the test drive thing being as it's not registered, I know I would never buy a car without driving it first but honesty the thought of re insuring the vehicle had never even occurred to me.

It still seems strange to me that you would have to have it registered to sit there but I understand now why they'd do it. I also realize NYS is one of the stricter states when it comes to this stuff though.

Thanks again!