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Parking ticket for expired registration

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beercla

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey

The quick question is, Can a police officer just ride through a parking lot (large outdoor mall) and check registrations on vehicles?

The details:
My wife was parked in at a large strip mall. One with a grocery store, restaurants, gamestop, etc. When she came out there were 2 notices:

1) Ticket for 'Expired Registration' and it lists Ordinance 228-8 in Freehold Township. The ordinance is for vehicles parked in a 'public' parking lot with expired registration.

2) A notice stating that the vehicle is illegal, she risks furhter violations if she drives it, and the car will be towed if its not registered in 72 hours.

We did miss the registration. No question about that. But as a side note, my wife called DMV to ask if they ever sent the renewal form and she was told that they haven't always been going out.... I am befuddled by THAT one!

Anyway, my problem with this is the methods by the police. It just seems to me that it is an officer just being able to 'search' the vehicle at his own discretion. At the very least, it seems a cheap way to generate funds by hitting people just trying to get groceries. And this isn't even late. It happened at 9:12 AM. My wife called me in a friggin panic that she needed me to come home to get the car registered and pick her up! (I work 1 1/2 hours away if there is NO traffic!)

Thanks for any comments or opinions.
 


racer72

Senior Member
The only thing remotely illegal mentioned in your post was your wife driving a vehicle with expired registration. The state does not have to send a renewal notice, it is strictly a courtesy. It was the negligence of you and your wife that resulted in the citation, nothing more, nothing less.
 

The Occultist

Senior Member
Yes, officers are allowed to look at plates and see if the tags are expired. For the record, officers are also allowed to randomly run plate numbers through the computer to see if a warrant pops up. He can do that for any reason or no reason at all (the exception to that would be some sort of personal use, such as trying to get the phone number to that hot blonde that just drove by).

So, to answer your question, the officer did not act in an illegal manner.
 
next time back into the space, they cant scan a plate with one of those on-board scanning devices if it cant see the plate (well at least if your state only requires 1 plate on the back of the car)
 

The Occultist

Senior Member
next time back into the space, they cant scan a plate with one of those on-board scanning devices if it cant see the plate (well at least if your state only requires 1 plate on the back of the car)
Well if you're going to be so unhelpful as to give generic advice that may not even apply to the OP due to state laws, then I will too: there are many areas out there with local ordinances that state one is not allowed to back into a space. Does this apply to the OP? No idea!
 

patstew

Member
We did miss the registration. No question about that. But as a side note, my wife called DMV to ask if they ever sent the renewal form and she was told that they haven't always been going out.... I am befuddled by THAT one!
Good lord, my state hasn't sent out renewal reminders in AGES -- it costs a fortune, many of them don't get to the registrant for one reason or another, and frankly it does seem logical that one ought to be able to remember one's own birthday. :rolleyes:
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Good lord, my state hasn't sent out renewal reminders in AGES -- it costs a fortune, many of them don't get to the registrant for one reason or another, and frankly it does seem logical that one ought to be able to remember one's own birthday. :rolleyes:
I agree with the sentiment since the tags are on the car with the due date clearly displayed...
But what does one's birthday have to do with it? :confused:
 

justalayman

Senior Member
I agree with the sentiment since the tags are on the car with the due date clearly displayed...
But what does one's birthday have to do with it? :confused:
In some states the tags expire either on the registrants birthday or the month of their birthday.
 

davew128

Senior Member
I agree with the sentiment since the tags are on the car with the due date clearly displayed...
But what does one's birthday have to do with it? :confused:
Methinks someone confused the expiration of a driver's license with the vehicle registration.
 

patstew

Member
Methinks someone confused the expiration of a driver's license with the vehicle registration.
Nope -- in my state, and many others, both expire in your birth month. It's so logical, it didn't occur to me that some states don't do it that way.

But then, the DMV isn't really famous for being logical. :D
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Nope -- in my state, and many others, both expire in your birth month. It's so logical, it didn't occur to me that some states don't do it that way.

But then, the DMV isn't really famous for being logical. :D
I disagree as to the logic. Why should the registration date change when the car changes hands?
What happens to vehicles owned by more than one person? Particularly if they change the title to just be one person?
What happens to corporate vehicles?

In California, the month that the car is first registered becomes the month that registration is due. That way, it's always the same...
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
I agree with the sentiment since the tags are on the car with the due date clearly displayed...
But what does one's birthday have to do with it? :confused:
In some states (I believe Florida and New Jersey) the registration is set to expire on the owner's birthday. However, in New Jersey it's purely based on a certain number of calendar years from when you register the vehicle.

I disagree as to the logic. Why should the registration date change when the car changes hands?
Because the state says so. In NJ you get no refund for the unused time left on your registration (particularly annoying with the new 4 year registration terms). In some states you do get a prorated return when you turn in the plates.

Here in Virginia, it's whenever you renew. If you want to push it, since plates are good to the end of the month and the website prints out a temporary registration, you can roll your registration forward a month each renewal period. Vehicle inspection goes the same way. You can often tell how much procrastination someone has by noticing the divergence between the vehicle registration sticker and the inspection sticker.
 

xylene

Senior Member
NY is best

The best way is in NY.

The sticker is safely affixed to the inside of windshield. There are no idiot tag stickers for hobos and the criminally destitute to peel off. The registration sticker is secure inside the car and is vehicle specific. It has your plate number and vehicle info on it and is dated to be visible inside and outside the car.

No excuses about not seeing it... It stares the driver in the face.

The registration date becomes the due date. Birthday? :rolleyes:

Easy.
 

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