Range report....

[Mydogmax]

If they didn't tow it and he got into an accident the officer's would be at fault for allowing a vehicle on the road that was prohibited . All he would have to say to the judge is, "the officer's let me drive without registration ". Those officers would be looking at some serious time suspended. They did their job, nothing less / nothing more.

Not blaming the cops at all. They're just following the law. I'm blaming the state law. In Mn the worst that could happen would be a ticket. To impound your car on the spot IS outrageous. It's been many years since I've forgotten lic tabs, but I have forgotten them or purchased them, threw them in my glove compartment and forgot to put them on. To impound someone's car on the spot is overkill.
BTW, I wonder if PA enforces these laws.....
You may not catch a fish by any body part except the mouth.
A special cleaning ordinance bans housewives from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling.
Dynamite is not to be used to catch fish.
You may not sing in the bathtub.
All according to dumb laws still on the books in PA. It's on the Internet so it must be true.

 

[g8rb8]

The Blues Brothers (9/9) Movie CLIP - Paying the Price (1980) HD - YouTube

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by g8rb8 View Post
On initially reading this I was imagining the final scene in The Blue's Brother movie.

That is a harsh law. Impounding your vehicle for a late registration. Think of everything you have to register, license, insure, etc. and imagine it getting impounded if you're late on paying a fee.

Assuming the police officer ran an unremarkable background check on you and your vehicle I do not see any liability in letting you go with a ticket or verbal warning for a low risk individual with up to date insurance and inspection sticker. Due diligence would have been exercised to make certain the driver, car, and paid up insurance were safe to drive on the road.

I would not be surprised if someone on the council that voted for this law has a relative or friend in the towing/impounding business?

When the officer was trying to stop you thank goodness you didn't keep driving and cross a state line. The FBI, CIA, and Homeland Security would have been involved. Quote

It's not really like that. This is a city of 1.5 million people. There have been a lot of people who never insure or register their cars. They get the initial insurance and temp tag to actually buy the car and that's it. There are too many thing in the city for cops to remember to go back and see if they guy got his registration. The registration renewal gets mailed to you WAAAAAY ahead of time. Like 2 months ahead. There are no conspiracies here. Too many people will simply say thank you and never bother to get the registration or insurance. So now there is a car on the road that is possibly not insured and when he hits you and takes off you'll be the one stuck paying for your car damage and crying why don't cops do something about it. Philly is not Mayberry, if you don't have proof of registration and or insurance then it's a 50/50 if you even have it.

If he crossed state lines he would have been in NJ which would have been even worse without having anything to do with the alphabet soup. I'm sure that 1/2 his firearms and ammo would have been illegal in NJ

Arik has got it right. He know what it use to be like here. Before they started tightening up the police would stop a car and the driver would say he forgot his license and ID. He would get a ticket in a phony name and that was the end of it. Crazy. Law abiding citizens hated what that crowd did. Yes.

Did this policy put a stop to it immediately? You bet it did. It put an end to the craziness and it started to make people obey the law or loose their car or the use of it. It got hundreds of thousands of unpaid tickets paid. You could not get your car back if you had unpaid tickets. Smart!

It was a good move.

And I never go over the bridge to NJ (which is 3 blocks from my house) with so much as a spent casing in the car. Pepper spray is all that I carry over there. Draconian gun laws in NJ.

 

[g8rb8]

Quote:
Originally Posted by g8rb8 View Post
On initially reading this I was imagining the final scene in The Blue's Brother movie.

That is a harsh law. Impounding your vehicle for a late registration. Think of everything you have to register, license, insure, etc. and imagine it getting impounded if you're late on paying a fee.

Assuming the police officer ran an unremarkable background check on you and your vehicle I do not see any liability in letting you go with a ticket or verbal warning for a low risk individual with up to date insurance and inspection sticker. Due diligence would have been exercised to make certain the driver, car, and paid up insurance were safe to drive on the road.

I would not be surprised if someone on the council that voted for this law has a relative or friend in the towing/impounding business?

When the officer was trying to stop you thank goodness you didn't keep driving and cross a state line. The FBI, CIA, and Homeland Security would have been involved. Quote





Arik has got it right. He know what it use to be like here. Before they started tightening up the police would stop a car and the driver would say he forgot his license and ID. He would get a ticket in a phony name and that was the end of it. Crazy. Law abiding citizens hated what that crowd did. Yes.

Did this policy put a stop to it immediately? You bet it did. It put an end to the craziness and it started to make people obey the law or loose their car or the use of it. It got hundreds of thousands of unpaid tickets paid. You could not get your car back if you had unpaid tickets. Smart!

It was a good move.

And I never go over the bridge to NJ (which is 3 blocks from my house) with so much as a spent casing in the car. Pepper spray is all that I carry over there. Draconian gun laws in NJ.

Mr. Trolley Guy,
Sorry. Not to be argumentative but I've got to stand up for you on this matter. No offense, but common sense has completely evaporated. If you had up-to-date insurance information with you then the concern about being in an accident and you being a non-insured driver is for naught. I assume the police ran a background check on you and found no outstanding warrants or tickets so that part of your argument is for naught also. I understand the law as described in this thread but per your description it was intended to catch the less-than-ideal citizens who fail to insure their cars or fail to pay tickets or repeatedly fail to register their cars. The law should not be penalizing otherwise good tax-paying citizens except maybe with a ticket. Based on working with systems that perform similar functions it would seem a no-brainer to have a system that does not reconcile the ticket until the registration has been completed.

Sure. If you forgot your license and ID, if you were belligerent with the police with expired registration, if you had no proof of insurance, if you had outstanding warrants, if you had unpaid tickets ........ then ticketing or possibly impounding your car might make sense, but with the only infraction being an expired registration, and that being the sole reason leading to impounding your car, I would argue the intent of the law has been usurped. If you look at the logic of this slippery slope who is to say what can be impounded or taken away from you simply for being late on paying a fee, registration, or tax.

In the end the best solution is to be more careful about paying your registration next year.

John
Scoundrel and Ne'er-Do-Well in Training

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

g8rb8, Thank you for your last post. I appreciate it. Yes, my record is clean as a whistle. And I too would like to see the non-scofflaws get some level of forbearance from the officer on the scene. I could have perhaps been given a warning or a citation.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

State doesn't make money on impound fees. They call a private towing company.

I'm surprised the government sanctioned thugs at the Philadelphia Parking Authority are not involved in the towing, impound and auctioning.

Calling in SWAT to unload a revolver? Around here, that would likely be a career altering event for the Mayor.

 

[Don 73]

Just for the fun of it, how many have checked their registration and inspection stickers ? I did and my car is due next month.

Oops, mine expires in two days ... happy birthday to me.

And thanks to Mrtrolleyguy for being so understanding that we have a job to do, whether we totally agree with every part of it or not. BTW, how expired WAS your registration?

 

[lowriderfxr]

You have a Dan Wesson?!!!!!!! Just kidding. Your attitude is very refreshing, Trolley. You ARE one of the good guys!

 

[Shorty 45 MK2]

Wow, SWAT just to open a revolver!

You handled it very well, can't say I'd be that patient. (hope I would be.)

 

[tacreload]

As Patrick Swayze said in Roadhouse"Be Nice".Really pays off with the police just trying to do their job.If you don't give 'em any grief it usually works out.If you run your mouth they're just gonna keep digging and drag it out 'cause they can.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Not blaming the cops at all. They're just following the law. I'm blaming the state law. In Mn the worst that could happen would be a ticket. To impound your car on the spot IS outrageous. It's been many years since I've forgotten lic tabs, but I have forgotten them or purchased them, threw them in my glove compartment and forgot to put them on. To impound someone's car on the spot is overkill.
BTW, I wonder if PA enforces these laws.....
You may not catch a fish by any body part except the mouth.
A special cleaning ordinance bans housewives from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling.
Dynamite is not to be used to catch fish.
You may not sing in the bathtub.
All according to dumb laws still on the books in PA. It's on the Internet so it must be true.

In Minneapolis, at least, if your tabs are out of date by 60 (or is it 30?) days, your vehicle will ride the flatbed to the impound lot. The towing company that has the contract used to be a client of mine, and yes, it is a very lucrative business. Street sweeping, snow emergencies and general snow plowing, plus overtime parking in towaway zones. Out of date tabs is chicken feed by comparison.