– Jim Thomson, Huntington Beach
A. Virtually each car on California roads wants short-term or everlasting plates. No extra hiding behind dealership ads slipped into the plate holders.
A heavy person of the short-term plates are new autos, which should have legitimate plates when rolling off of the lot. Dealers log right into a Department of Motor Vehicles database and print out short-term plates with distinctive numbers on weatherproof paper.
Crooks can not drive round with so-called seller plates – so cops, crime witnesses and automatic-license-plate readers can assist discover them. Yes, sure, crooks can slap on stolen plates from the identical make and mannequin of their experience and cross their depressing fingers in hopes of not getting nabbed, but it surely isn’t an ideal world, is it?
Also, it’s harder for laggards dragging on paying their annual registration tags to keep away from getting pulled over.
“TLPs (short-term license plates) are legitimate till the client receives the everlasting license plates or as much as 90 days after the date of sale,” Chris Orrock, a DMV spokesman, instructed Honk in an e mail. “Extensions are doable beneath sure circumstances. The 90-day expiration date is displayed on the TLP.”
It takes 4 to 6 weeks to get standard-issue everlasting plates from the DMV, he mentioned, and if for any purpose the steel ones are not on time, extensions for paper plates might be had on-line or in a area workplace.
Now, getting personalised plates can take about eight months, Orrock mentioned. So in the event you, say, purchase a brand new automotive and wish to get new personalised plates, you’d get paper plates, then steel ones and, lastly, those studying “GOHONK” or no matter different missive you get on them.
Q. I’m curious if or when lawmakers eliminated the requirement about crossing over double white traces to or from the carpool lane. I’m more and more observing autos crossing these traces with no consequence.– Tim Chrisney, Arcadia
A. No, Tom, as you possible know, the regulation hasn’t modified: Drivers can by no means cross over these pairs of stable traces.
Probably simply extra impatient folks on the market today, and simply fortunate to not have a California Highway Patrol officer within the space.
Sergio Rivera, an officer and spokesman for the CHP, mentioned if an officer isn’t in any other case occupied with one other work concern, the offender is probably going going to get pulled over.
“It’s apparent,” he mentioned of the violation. “We do see a whole lot of accidents due to that. (Others) aren’t going to count on somebody to cross over.”
Driving tip: If you get in a carpool lane with double stable traces as a solo motorist by chance, preserve going till there’s a correct place to exit. Crossing over double stable traces is a transferring violation, whereas getting cited for not having a passenger in a carpool lane will not be.
HONKIN’ FACT: As of May 1, 17.4 million Californians have gotten a Real ID. Not unhealthy, when the U.S. Census pegged the state’s grownup inhabitants at 30.4 million as of final summer time. Starting on May 7, 2025, grownup passengers on home flights will want sure ID, and one of many acceptable ones is Real ID. Others embody a passport.
To ask Honk questions, attain him at [email protected]. He solely solutions these which can be printed. To see Honk on-line: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk