I live in Minnesota where it’s not required to carry registration in non-commercial vehicles. Every cop show I’ve seen they ask for “license, insurance, and registration” when they pull someone over. So does that mean I need to carry registration if I travel to other states, or would a cop accept that my home state does not require it?
I don’t know what the law is, but I have a feeling this is a “When in Rome…” situation.
I don’t know the law either, but here’s what I suspect:
A given state’s laws apply to those driving in that state. If they require using seat belts, or carrying registration, it doesn’t matter if your home state doesn’t.
Most cops will not get tough on such a thing so long as their hot buttons (dangerous criminal, disrespectful of cop’s authority, etc.) haven’t been pushed.
With modern computerized systems, they can get the vehicle’s registration info anyway, so it’s an obsolete requirement.
ETA: Afterthought – asking for registration may not be because one is required to show it (as with a driver’s license), but because it’s a logical and easy routine check geared towards identifying (at least some) stolen vehicles.
some states require registration, some proof of insurance, some both. some might require it in trucks or SUV but not a sedan. saves time and effort to have it if you go out of state.
It seems a simple matter to carry the registration on the grounds that, as my dad used to say, better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
But, then, I keep mine in the car anyway, so …
Don’t, though, keep your title in the car.
I once lived in Illinois, where registration was not kept in the car. In fact, I heard in Illinois that it was ill-advised. (If someone stole your car, then that person also has your registration.) SC requires that you have it in the car. A couple of months after moving to SC, I was pulled over in a routine inspection, which the police here like to have every now and then. I did not have my registration in the car because of the above reason. The officer, in effect, said to tell it to the judge. Which I did. Because I did have my registraton (which I brought to court), got my SC plates immediately after moving here, and had no violations of record, the judge did not impose any penalty, but did warn me to keep the registration in the car from then on. Which I have.
Wow! South Carolina cops can pull you over whenever they feel like inspecting your car?! And here I thought that the Old South was a bastion of personal liberty.
Even here in Washington (aka the Nanny State) that would very probably cause a stir.
My brother in law and I had this discussion earlier today. He is a local police officer and has cited out of state drivers for not having auto insurance. Since I’m in law school, he asked me if this was legit. We looked at the code that he cites people for:
WV CODE:
§17D-2A-3. Required security; exceptions.
(a) Every owner or registrant of a motor vehicle required to be registered and licensed in this state shall maintain security as hereinafter provided…
Further:
© Every nonresident owner or registrant of a motor vehicle, which is operated upon any road or highway of this state and which has been physically present within this state for more than thirty days during the preceding three hundred sixty-five days shall thereafter maintain security as hereinafter provided in effect continuously throughout the period the motor vehicle remains within this state.
It seems like WV requires insurance only for vehicles required to be registered and licensed in WV. So if a visitor were to come over from PA (or any other state) for a few days (less than 30), even though insurance is required there, WV could not enforce its own mandatory insurance law or PA’s mandatory insurance law.
IAOHAL (I am only half a lawyer) YMMV…
ETA: Maybe the interstate driving compact has a provision to allow the visiting state (in this case WV) to transfer the information back to the home state (PA) for prosecution there. I haven’t researched that.
Years back, we were on a trip to Tennessee. In Wisconsin at the time it was not required to carry proof of insurance in your vehicle. We were entering an Army base and our car was chosen to be searched. They gave us a big hassle about not having the card. We had to call the company and our agent spoke to the officer in charge, assuring him that yes, we did have the proper insurance. At the time it was kind of scary; I didn’t think they were going to let us leave! Now, I can’t imagine not having all of the above information in my vehicle.
So what if a car thief has both my car and the registration card I carry in it? If I’ve reported the car as stolen, it’s not going to help, as presumably the officer will impound the car and arrest the driver. If I haven’t yet reported it stolen, it’s still going to look weird that the address on the registration doesn’t match the driver’s address.
The one problem I could foresee with carrying the registration is if I drop my car off at a car wash or mechanic and leave all of my keys. An unscrupulous employee would have my address and the keys needs to get to my stuff. (So I usually give the mechanic or car wash only the single car key.)
Every now and then the police will set up a location where they stop and inspect every car for proper documentation, evidence of alcohol, etc. I think every state does that. Such stops have been validated by SCOTUS.
I live in Illinois (born and raised here) and was always told to keep my registration in the car. I think page 89 of the Rules of the Road says that also.
http://http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_a112.pdf
Small hijack: What about motorcycles? Back when I had my Harley the registration said that I was required to have it in my vehicle at all times. There isn’t exactly a glove box to throw it in. I photocopied & scaled it down to keep in my wallet but I always wondered if would of got a ticket otherwise.
I (not-driver) asked my mother (driver) about this, and she said that she keeps the registration, along with her drivers license and insurance, in her purse, to put inside the car when driving, and outside the car when locking it, both for safety if the car should be stolen, and for proof if a cop wants to see it.
Sometimes you can’t win. A former cow-orker of mine kept his insurance card in his glove compartment. He was involved in an accident that smashed in the right side of his car. He was not hurt, but his glove compartment was jammed shut. He was given a ticket because he couldn’t produce his insurance card. Fortunately, our state does not require non-commercial vehicles to carry a registration card or I imagine he could have gotten two tickets.
A few photographs and an affidavit from the repair shop stating that the insurance documentation was indeed inside the glove box when it was opened would persuade any reasonable judge to throw any such ticket out, I would think.
That sounds absurd. If the care was a raging fireball, would that cop also expect you to produce the proof of insurance?
It really wouldn’t be necessary. Although technically you could be fined for failure to produce proof of insurance upon lawful demand, it is customary around here for judges to dismiss the ticket if you bring proof that you had valid insurance to court.
My son got a ticket driving back from picking up his first car. I took him to get it and unthinkingly put all the paperwork in my car. My son was stopped because the dealership had put an improper temporary tag on the car, and then ticketed because he could not produce insurance. The judge did not dismiss the ticket either, but did reduce the fine. Welcome to the world of petty policing, son.
I may have misssed something, but I’ve never heard of that hapening here in WA. Sometimes the Border Patrol will get a bit frisky up near the Canadian border, but never the State Patrol.
This brings to mind an incident that happened way back in 1969 or so. Worked for Boeing at that time, on the SST (if anyone remembers that doomed cause). In those days every driver in the State of Washington was required to have new plates by January 1st. Everybody. Well, on the first work day after New Years the State Patrol thought that it would be a great idea to station a couple of cops at the entrance to the Boeing parking lots, and check the cars that were entering. This, of course, caused a monumental traffic jam, and practically everybody was at least 30 minutes late for work.
Folks were so PO’d that evidently hundreds of us called the State Patrol to complain. The lady I talked to sounded very harrassed, and this was the last time the Patrol tried that stunt. And within five years or so the State changed things so license renewal was spread out evenly throughout the year, which made things a lot easier.