# Pulled over AGAIN for unregistered car! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 26, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829 "2018-05-26T00:08:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/1 "2018-05-26T00:08:39Z")
A few weeks ago I had a thread about constantly being pulled over by the local cops. A few weeks ago I got a ticket for unregistered car; I was positive I had paid the DMV fee but couldn’t find the document. That was my eighth time being stopped in 10 years for a non-moving violation (this was only the second time I was ticketed for anything). I’ve been stopped for stuff like a dim brake light (it wasn’t), a malfunctioning blinker light (it was also okay), a dim license plate light (it wasn’t) and variations on these things. But never have been stopped for a moving violation. So I got pulled over yesterday, again, for no registration. I showed the cop my card, as I had gone to the DMV immediately after the prior incident. He contacted the DMV and it turned out there was an error in their system and I HAD paid it months before and so have paid for it twice. I asked the cop why I keep getting pulled over, he said he didn’t know but it did seem to be odd. This is always in my older black BMW. I’ve never been stopped in my newer black X3, the bright red 330ci with track stickers and numbers on it, or the Mini Cooper. The black car does have dark tint windows (previous owner did it), but it’s never been mentioned as a violation when I’m stopped. I’m a 51yo white lady, so nasty racial profiling doesn’t seem to be in play. Weird, just weird. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/2 "2018-05-26T00:27:34Z")
Hmmm. It does sound like it’s the car. What kind of tinting is it? Can you get it removed? Anything else you can do to make it more conventional? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/3 "2018-05-26T00:40:14Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > I asked the cop why I keep getting pulled over, he said he didn’t know but it did seem to be odd. I’ve heard of cops who pull someone over, then ask “do you know why I stopped you today?” I always thought they were supposed to know why they did it. Seriously, this cop didn’t know why he pulled you over? ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/4 "2018-05-26T00:42:37Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve heard of cops who pull someone over, then ask “do you know why I stopped you today?” I always thought they were supposed to know why they did it. > > Seriously, this cop didn’t know why he pulled you over? Meaning that yesterday’s cop didn’t know why, overall, I’ve been stopped so often in the past. Yesterday’s guy pulled me over because he ran my plate and it came up unregistered. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/5 "2018-05-26T00:43:07Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve heard of cops who pull someone over, then ask “do you know why I stopped you today?” I always thought they were supposed to know why they did it. > > Seriously, this cop didn’t know why he pulled you over? He knew why _he_ pulled her over, he didn’t know why other cops had been pulling her over. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/6 "2018-05-26T00:53:13Z")
Tinted windows on a black car doesn’t mean anything, but it might “mean something”, if you know what I mean. I think there’s some kind of (relatively minor) profiling going on, where they think shady windows = shady person. It could be a very specific profile where your car coincidentally looks like a specific other locally known car. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/7 "2018-05-26T01:05:09Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > A few weeks ago I had a thread about constantly being pulled over by the local cops. > > … > I asked the cop why I keep getting pulled over, he said he didn’t know but it did seem to be odd. From the OP of your other thread: \*I was tooling around town today and the local cops pulled me over for an expired registration. I swear I renewed it a few months ago, so I’ll be visiting the DMV this week. … Our local cops are enforcement crazy. I was towed a few years ago for a registration that was a week expired;\* Those were the only instances you mentioned getting pulled over for expired registration. It’s not a mystery why you got pulled over those times. You seem to be annoyed for continuously getting pulled over, so it would be a good idea to take care of the tinted windows, since it seems you’re suggesting they’re to a degree that’s against the law in NJ. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/8 "2018-05-26T01:14:23Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve heard of cops who pull someone over, then ask “do you know why I stopped you today?” I always thought they were supposed to know why they did it. They ask you that in an attempt to get you to confess to something they weren’t even aware of. So, Jennshark gets pulled over for a dim brake light, for which the cop would just tell her to fix it and be on his way. However, when he says “Do you know why I pulled you over” and she says “I know, I know, I rolled through that stop sign”, now she’s getting a ticket for that as well. Even though this piece of advice came from some extraordinarily anti-police people, it makes sense, when the cop asks if you know why you were pulled over, you should reply that you don’t know why. Even if it seems obvious, there’s no reason to volunteer any thing. > [@Jennshark](#): > > I asked the cop why I keep getting pulled over, he said he didn’t know but it did seem to be odd. He ran your plate and it came back as not being registered, I assume that he was saying he didn’t know why his computer was reporting it that way, not that he didn’t know why you were being pulled over. In any case, obviosly you need to get this all cleared up with the DMV. But going forward, make sure you keep your registration handy. If you’re in a small enough city where the local police station has some time, you might want to stop down there and see if they can help you get it figured out. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/9 "2018-05-26T01:19:22Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > From the OP of your other thread: > > \*I was tooling around town today and the local cops pulled me over for an expired registration. I swear I renewed it a few months ago, so I’ll be visiting the DMV this week. > > … > > Our local cops are enforcement crazy. I was towed a few years ago for a registration that was a week expired;\* > > Those were the only instances you mentioned getting pulled over for expired registration. It’s not a mystery why you got pulled over those times. > > You seem to be annoyed for continuously getting pulled over, so it would be a good idea to take care of the tinted windows, since it seems you’re suggesting they’re to a degree that’s against the law in NJ. NJ, according to my speed shop guy, doesn’t have a limit on “limo tint” (all windows tinted but windshield). Perhaps I do get stopped because while not illegal, I literally “look shady”). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/10 "2018-05-26T01:22:05Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Meaning that yesterday’s cop didn’t know why, overall, I’ve been stopped so often in the past. > > Yesterday’s guy pulled me over because he ran my plate and it came up unregistered. Then the next question to yesterday’s guy should have been why he ran your plate. Surely they don’t do that for every car they come near or they’d never get anything else done. Something must have triggered his interest. The dark tinted windows might be the culprit, even if they’re legal. And BTW, doesn’t every state have registration stickers on the plate showing the current license expiry month? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/11 "2018-05-26T01:29:25Z")
So they pull you over after running your plate and it coming back as unregistered. Any idea why they’re running your plate? I mean, we have a “current year” sticker that goes on the tag here in California, but I don’t know about Jersey. Have you not gotten yours yet? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/12 "2018-05-26T01:51:27Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > NJ, according to my speed shop guy, doesn’t have a limit on “limo tint” (all windows tinted but windshield). Perhaps I do get stopped because while not illegal, I literally “look shady”). Nope. Also no extra tint (beyond factory) allowed on front side windows. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Then the next question to yesterday’s guy should have been why he ran your plate. Some NJ towns have automated license plate readers. > **[License plate readers deployed by some NJ police](https://6abc.com/new-jersey-news-police-license-plate-readers/1828552/)** > > Police in New Jersey say they have a new high-tech tool that can do a year's worth of patrol work in just a matter of hours. > [@](#): > > And BTW, doesn’t every state have registration stickers on the plate showing the current license expiry month? No. NJ is one of the states that doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/13 "2018-05-26T02:20:08Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve heard of cops who pull someone over, then ask “do you know why I stopped you today?” I always thought they were supposed to know why they did it. > > Seriously, this cop didn’t know why he pulled you over? > [@Jennshark](#): > > Meaning that yesterday’s cop didn’t know why, overall, I’ve been stopped so often in the past. > > Yesterday’s guy pulled me over because he ran my plate and it came up unregistered. > [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > He knew why _he_ pulled her over, he didn’t know why other cops had been pulling her over. I don’t think it would take a massive leap of intuition for this cop to think that if he pulled you over for an expired registration, that other cops were probably doing it for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/14 "2018-05-26T03:37:39Z")
I got pulled over one time because I was driving a rental car while my car was in the shop, and the rental company hadn’t kept its registration up to date. Once I proved to the cop that it was a rental, he let me go. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/15 "2018-05-26T03:48:06Z")
I got pulled over with dealer tags on a loaner car, they were expired. The cop didn’t ticket me but chewed me out, saying that it’s up to me to make sure the car I am driving is legal and safe. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/16 "2018-05-26T04:15:51Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Then the next question to yesterday’s guy should have been why he ran your plate. Surely they don’t do that for every car they come near or they’d never get anything else done. Something must have triggered his interest. The dark tinted windows might be the culprit, even if they’re legal. And BTW, doesn’t every state have registration stickers on the plate showing the current license expiry month? They do, at least in Wisconsin I know they do. Back in college a friend of mine and I were pulled over because, according to the cop, his plates didn’t match the car we were in. He had just gotten that car a few hours earlier. A few minutes of paperwork, a phone call and we were back on the road 5 minutes later. I know some (all?) police cars have automatic license plate scanners. It’s just a camera mounted somewhere on their car that grabs plates, feeds through their computer and alerts them to any thing they need to know. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/17 "2018-05-26T17:12:20Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > No. NJ is one of the states that doesn’t. Pennsylvania doesn’t have registration stickers either, as of last year. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/18 "2018-05-26T18:44:31Z")
If I was you, I’d drive nothing but the 330, but then I’d be getting pulled over just as often, but for different reasons. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/19 "2018-05-26T19:00:05Z")
I have always heard in little Podunk towns ( like the ones surrounding me) LEO have certain vehicles in the towns that they watch/ pick-on and keep stopping. Hoping to catch them doing something offensible, I guess. This is probably urban legend. Just saying. How big is the town you drive in? ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829/20 "2018-05-26T20:24:34Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > If I was you, I’d drive nothing but the 330, but then I’d be getting pulled over just as often, but for different reasons. 😉 And this is part of the puzzle - the bright red, stanced, (tastefully) track stickered, fast-looking car isn’t targeted, but the older, more sedate sedan is. Of course I’ve had Lil Red for just three months, so maybe the fun hasn’t yet begun. I compared my tints to the NJ State Police samples (online) and mine aren’t illegal. Still, it could attract attention, I guess. I see cars here that are far darker (“murder windows”) and very much understand why a cop would be cautious on a pullover. At any rate, I have every doc related to the car in the jockey box. Next stop is the DMV to see what the heck is going on! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulled-over-again-for-unregistered-car/814829.md?page=2)