# So a funny thing happened when I got pulled over today . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666 "2018-05-05T21:52:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/61 "2018-05-12T17:39:07Z")
> [@meow\_meow](#): > > So… drinks in Trenton then? JennShark let me know! Or Princeton, I know all the places there, too. PM me! > > Nothing to contribute to this, unless is a possible friendship! I seem to recall an attempt at a Dopefest in Princeton some years ago. I don’t remember if it didn’t happen or if I just couldn’t make it. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/62 "2018-05-12T18:04:06Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I must be dense - I’m still not getting what exactly happened. He said on camera that he wanted you to pull ahead and park so the car could be towed, but he made it clear to you (off-camera) that he would not be towing your car. > > Why the big on-camera charade? Wouldn’t that create an official record that he intended to tow your car? Wouldn’t that leave him with some explaining to do later (as to why he didn’t actually tow your car)? > > 😕 It may be that the car would not be towed to an impound lot, but to the place that the owner of the car directed, like home. In that case, it’s just a matter of saving her the tow charge. > [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > I lived in Washington, a two plate state. For 20+ years. Exactly zero percent of the time did I have a front plate. Never got hassled for it. I went a least a year here in California without a front plate without issue and only finally put it on because it was cheaper than fixing an unsightly park8ng lot bumper ding someone gifted me with. I went around without a front license on my car for years. Then [this happened](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Samuel_DuBose), so I put one on. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/63 "2018-05-14T00:47:49Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Update: I went to the DMV today to register the car and found out that it was current with reg and it says so in the database cops use to check. I was reasonably certain I had renewed the reg . . . and I had. > > Bizarre! > > I got paperwork from the DMV that should get the ticket dismissed. Weird. Do NJ plates have stickers that say the month / year, and maybe you just forgot to apply the updated stickers? Otherwise, why did he think the registration was outdated and pull you over in the first place? Re 2 plates: Virginia is a 2-plate state (I grew up in PA, and lived in NC for years; both are 1-plate states). Everyone around here has both front and back plates. We were in a head-on collision on our way to a restaurant (it was a very, very memorable 10th anniversary for us). The front bumper was messed up, and the license plate was crumbled and had fallen off - so we picked it up and tossed it into the car. The police officer writing thing up looked at our car and demanded, rather nastily I thought, “Where’s your front plate?” (I think he was looking for some excuse to cite us for something in addition to the kids who caused the accident). We showed him the mangled plate in the car and he dropped that angle. ---
**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 14, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/64 "2018-05-14T18:23:00Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Weird. Do NJ plates have stickers that say the month / year, and maybe you just forgot to apply the updated stickers? Nope. We had the stickers for a while, but we haven’t had to put expiration stickers on plates in years. > [@](#): > > Otherwise, why did he think the registration was outdated and pull you over in the first place? The only way that he could have known that I could think of (one can keep renewing registration even with expired inspection) is that Trenton may have automatic 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. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/65 "2018-05-14T18:34:15Z")
i was pulled over for no registration recently. I have no idea if the cop had a body camera. I didn’t think it was safe to pull over when he first turned on the lights, so he was kind of anxious when he finally walked to my window and asked whey I hadn’t pulled over sooner. And when he ran my license and confirmed that the car belonged to me, and it was just a middle-aged lady driving her own car that she’d neglected to re-register, and not something worse, his relief was palpable. He wrote up a ticket, and told me that if I challenged it it would be thrown out. (I didn’t, because I was at fault.) He told me he wasn’t supposed to let me drive away without registration, but if I re-registered on-line with my phone, he would consider it good enough. So I did that, parked on the side of the road. I had a car full of crap, because I’d been helping a friend empty out the house he was selling. Including some open bottles of liquor that I was SO glad I’d taken the precaution of hiding under other crap. (mostly plants dug from his garden.) Anyhow, I was really glad that I was stopped by officer friendly, and not by someone who was looking for trouble. ---
**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 14, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/66 "2018-05-14T18:55:37Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > He wrote up a ticket, and told me that if I challenged it it would be thrown out. Did he tell you why it would be thrown out? Sometimes cops tell you something similar when it is registered and you just forgot to carry paperwork, but in this case the vehicle wasn’t re-registered. > [@](#): > > (I didn’t, because I was at fault.) The judge would throw it out presumably for a good reason. You just felt a moral duty to pay it? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/67 "2018-05-14T19:10:31Z")
I assumed it was one of those “if the cop doesn’t show up to testify you win by default” things. I didn’t ask. But we actually were guilty, and honestly, it was easier for me to pay the fine than to show up in person to a hearing. ---
**Author:** ![PaperBlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/68 "2018-05-14T19:14:19Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > I’ve been in NJ 10 years and have been pulled over eight times and ticketed four times. None of these tix have been for a moving violation Wow, our experiences are completely different! I’ve been driving in NJ since 1979, and only once have I been pulled over for something that was not a valid moving violation (tail light was out, no ticket issued, and I was a teenager at the time). > [@](#): > > Others disagree, but many, (perhaps"some" is a better descriptor) cars in NJ, in MY area don’t have front plates. I stood on a busy corner today and did some counting – 15 of 50 NJ cars did not have front plates (and yes, these were NJ, not PA cars). Count me as one who disagrees. In my neck of the woods, I believe the vast majority of NJ vehicles have front plates. > [@](#): > > Let me propose a state-wide NJ doper study in which we gather area “no front plate” data and report our results. 😁 I’ll get it started. Just ventured out into the parking lot of my building and checked out a few rows of cars. Of the 56 cars with NJ tags that I checked before I gave up, only two had no front plate, and the ones that didn’t DID have the holes drilled. > [@](#): > > One possibility is that we live on the border of Trenton, a violent and drug-filled area. Maybe I’m driving a type of car associated with drug running and cops find reasons to pull me over so they can check out the car? It’s odd that none of the citations have been for moving violations. This might account for our vastly different experiences. ---
**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 14, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/69 "2018-05-14T19:24:43Z")
> [@PaperBlob](#): > > I’ll get it started. Just ventured out into the parking lot of my building and checked out a few rows of cars. Of the 56 cars with NJ tags that I checked before I gave up, only two had no front plate, and the ones that didn’t DID have the holes drilled. Did you check if those two cars had temporary plates on the back? I wouldn’t count those, as it’s not a failure to display a front plate. ---
**Author:** ![PaperBlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/70 "2018-05-14T21:49:49Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Did you check if those two cars had temporary plates on the back? I wouldn’t count those, as it’s not a failure to display a front plate. Yep, there was no temp tag where the rear license plate would be, or in the back window. So I think those two might have actually been scofflaws. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/71 "2018-05-15T15:22:18Z")
I can’t find a post from yesterday about tags; hopefully poster will see this. Nope, NJ does not have renewal stickers on plates (for at least as long I’ve been here – 11 years). We have an inspection sticker on the windshield, but it has nothing to do with registration. The due dates for reg and inspection don’t, in my case, ever synch up. This is the main reason my reg lapses. In other states I’ve lived these have the same expiration dates and I’ve not got the hang of it yet. Because I’ve never been pulled over for a moving violation, just registration, it seems that cops must be running plates randomly, looking for a hit. It’s possible my track stickers and tow straps catch their attention, but again I’ve never had a speeding ticket, etc. My cars aren’t modded, but I have heard stories about guys pulled over for suspected mods on their cars (cold air intake, catalytical-exhaust trickery, etc). I forgot to note in my OP that my left blinker was out. I knew this and had ordered a bulb. Because I was pulled over in the midst of a left turn I assumed it was the blinker, but they didn’t notice it wasn’t working. ---
**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 15, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666/72 "2018-05-15T16:06:10Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > The due dates for reg and inspection don’t, in my case, ever synch up. This is the main reason my reg lapses. In other states I’ve lived these have the same expiration dates and I’ve not got the hang of it yet. The Motor Vehicle Commission sends out renewal notices a couple months in advance. As long as the address on your registration matches where you live, you should be getting them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-funny-thing-happened-when-i-got-pulled-over-today/813666.md?page=3)