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new california carpool law.. fines for fake stickers...

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by rigormortis, Oct 2, 2008.

  1. rigormortis

    rigormortis Active Member

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    In other news on the sticker front, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a new state law making it a crime to possess, buy or sell forged stickers or genuine stickers removed from their assigned vehicles. Apparently a lot of people have been stealing carpool stickers, or have gotten duplicates of legitimate stickers and are selling them. That will be illegal effective Jan. 1, 2009, with fines running as much as $250 for a first offense to $1,000 for a third. The Department of Motor Vehicles says it doesn't know how many acts like this have occurred, but once the 85,000-vehicle cap was reached, there was a sharp increase in the number of substitute decal requests. Says Steve-the-DMV-Man: "This suggests either a noticeable increase in theft or a growing secondary market for unused sets. "... The unfortunate conclusion here is that growing numbers of individuals are attempting to resell decals."
     
    #1 rigormortis, Oct 2, 2008
  2. Rybold

    Rybold globally warmed member

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    A $250 fine? That's all ? I would have thought the individual would be in court on charges of criminal fraud ! I don't get it ... so basically, the State of California is saying "If you commit fraud, all we are going to do is issue you a citation for $250. Have a nice day."

    About two months ago, I saw a teenager with a non-hybrid car - I think it was an Acura Integra, lowered, spoilers - and he had a carpool sticker on his bumper (which had obviously been peeled off of another car and reapplied), and although I didn't get a chance to talk to the kid, I would have said "Dude, you better get that sticker off of your car before a cop sees it, or you're going to get rolled!"
     
    #2 Rybold, Oct 2, 2008
  3. MikeSF

    MikeSF Member

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    Yeah no kidding, I think fines should start at $5000 and go up from there. Since this isn't an ignorance issue, you're intentionally trying to commit fraud.
     
    #3 MikeSF, Oct 2, 2008
  4. sdtundra

    sdtundra Senior Member

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    $5,000 fine and/or 6 months in county jail as well as a point on your driving record. Make people think twice about doing it. Funny thing was I was just discussing this with another Prius owner at the dealership yesterday.
     
    #4 sdtundra, Oct 2, 2008
  5. rigormortis

    rigormortis Active Member

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    well i guess you would only be fined $250 for having the fake sticker driving around and parking and stuff. but if you actually got pulled over in the carpool lane with the counterfeit or stolen sticker, they could tack on the 380.00 for the carpool violation.
    plus any city or county fees too
     
    #5 rigormortis, Oct 2, 2008
  6. subarutoo

    subarutoo New Member

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    I saw a newish looking Metallic Grey Prius Touring with the stickers on the 210 westbound east of Pasadena the other night. I didn't think the Touring model was available when California decided to stop selling stickers. I thought his stickers looked kind of thick (like they were printed on thicker material). Just wondering ...
     
    #6 subarutoo, Oct 3, 2008
  7. Manksgloob

    Manksgloob Member

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    The stickers were still available when the touring editions just came out. Only just.
     
    #7 Manksgloob, Oct 3, 2008
  8. rigormortis

    rigormortis Active Member

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    nah there was still stickers till the first week or so of feb 2007, and there were tourings afaik in november 2006
     
    #8 rigormortis, Oct 3, 2008
  9. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Putting a law on the books & getting it enforced are two different things. I doubt enforcement of this one will be any better than their current enforcement of the Motor Vehicle Code.
     
    #9 JimN, Oct 3, 2008
  10. rigormortis

    rigormortis Active Member

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    one can hope that more cities will get OCR license plate readers like sacramento has. all you do is drive and when the automated system finds a stolen plate, it alerts the officer, they check 1000 plates an hour now. maybe they can do hybrids too

    off topic
    ---------
    what's weird is arizona and few other states have webpages that anyone can do stolen
    vehicle checks on, why are only police allowed that information? heh
     
    #10 rigormortis, Oct 4, 2008
  11. Steve321

    Steve321 New Member

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    Where are the OCR license plate readers located...HOV lane, paying tolls, entering Sacremento?
    In NYC there are plans to record every license plate entering Manhattan for "security" reasons. The city will probably utilize an OCR reader.
     
    #11 Steve321, Oct 4, 2008
  12. rigormortis

    rigormortis Active Member

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    from the shows ive seen that show them off the cameras are located on the top of the police car, on or near the light bar. and it reads license plates automatically as the officer drives, and if it discovers a stolen plate, it tells the officer

    it used to be they could only do so many stolen vehicle checks per shift, and now with the automatic system, they are doing thousands.

    of course it probably doesn't check hov stickers, but it would be cool, heh
     
    #12 rigormortis, Oct 4, 2008
  13. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

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    *Could?* It would be criminal if they didn't.
     
    #13 darelldd, Oct 4, 2008
  14. prplrain68

    prplrain68 New Member

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    Speaking of stickers: I have a question. I did something I felt was very foolish. I was one of the many who patiently waited in line for their prius. Nearly a year later, I got my prius! Anyhow, I was one of the first to get the HOV stickers. I didn't want to damage the appearance of my baby with those hideous yellow stickers. I put them on magnets :( Yea, i know..not smart. I heard of a acquantance getting a ticket for improper display of stickers. I think he had 2 or 3 of the 4 displayed. Is this true? Now, can i send my stickers to DMV (Sacramento) and get them replaced...so I can stick them on my car permanately :( The DMV by my house kept saying they wouldn't issue new ones. Oh boy. I know, not a bright thing to do with the magnets. Now I fear of people taking them, so I rarely have them on. When i am on freeway, I forget to put them on. Defeats the purpose :( Thank you for your time!

    p.s. How long are stickers valid for. I remember receiving letter a while back saying the date was EXTENDED. Is that still the case?
     
    #14 prplrain68, Oct 10, 2008
  15. Sonny Jim

    Sonny Jim New Member

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    prplrain68...Just about all you need to know here... ;)
     
    #15 Sonny Jim, Oct 10, 2008
  16. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    The OCR license plate readers in Sacramento are not mounted on freeways, we have no toll roads . . . they are mounted on City of Sacramento Parking Enforcement PRII :D.

    I placed pictures in a thread here about 'working Prii.'
    http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-m...res-working-prii-business-government-etc.html

    The parking officers love the things. I know there are at least two of them because of two different colors.
     
    #16 Sufferin' Prius Envy, Oct 10, 2008
  17. burritos

    burritos Senior Member

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    For a state that is lacking in tax revenue, enforcing vehicle violations is basically an unlimited source of revenue that could and should be mined.
     
    #17 burritos, Oct 14, 2008
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