# Somebody Stole a Chunk of My License Plate (long) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 12, 2011, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-stole-a-chunk-of-my-license-plate-long/599401 "2011-10-12T06:30:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-stole-a-chunk-of-my-license-plate-long/599401/21 "2011-10-14T23:42:50Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Happens a lot in Philadelphia. People try various things to discourage it (like heavy duty plate frames). At one point, the city tried stickers that went on the inside of the window, but it didn’t work too well. I’ll second that. In PA, they’re color coded, so a cop knows if it’s current even if he can’t read the data on it. If you’re driving on an expired color, he now has reason to pull you over. By stealing yours & putting it on my plate, I’m less likely to get pulled over. Of course, if I do get pulled over, I’m likely to end up with three tickets instead of possibly getting away with a warning for the original infraction. In Philly, they’ll impound your car & leave you standing on the side of the road. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-stole-a-chunk-of-my-license-plate-long/599401/22 "2011-10-14T23:58:09Z")
I second the suggestion to carry a flashlight. I walk alone often after midnight to get home from work, and can’t believe I went 10 years without the flashlight now that I have one. I just got a small LED light from Target, it’s an Energizer brand, with a metal housing and it’s waterproof. Carrying a Maglite would be cumbersome, but this one was about $20, is really bright, and worth every penny. Sorry about the plate. That’s so bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Sami41](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@Sami41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sami41)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-stole-a-chunk-of-my-license-plate-long/599401/23 "2011-10-15T01:07:27Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > yeah, that’s common enough where as long as you have your reg certificate you shouldn’t be hassled too much. might get you pulled over, but not ticketed. I don’t know about Michigan, but in Nevada there are 2 seperate laws on the books, one for expired license plate, and one for expired registration. So, if your sticker has expired and your registration is also expired you’ll end up getting cited twice for essentially the same violation. Just another way to generate revenue I suppose. That being said, in the OPs case, even if she were cited, since she filed the police report, and her registration is good, I’d imagine most any Judge would dismiss the violation. Still a PITA, though. Sorry for your troubles **nikonikosuru** , some people really do suck. Here’s hoping karma comes back to bite them. And good luck at your interview! ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-stole-a-chunk-of-my-license-plate-long/599401/24 "2011-10-15T02:54:11Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I second the suggestion to carry a flashlight. I walk alone often after midnight to get home from work, and can’t believe I went 10 years without the flashlight now that I have one. I just got a small LED light from Target, it’s an Energizer brand, with a metal housing and it’s waterproof. Carrying a Maglite would be cumbersome, but this one was about $20, is really bright, and worth every penny. > > Sorry about the plate. That’s so bizarre. I suggested the maglite because it can double as self-defense and is obvious about it. California is another one where you only have one sticker and it’s color-coded. One year I forgot to renew. A cop mentioned to my coworker that there was a car with a sticker that he couldn’t tell if it was expired or not (I don’t remember if he said the month or the year was later than it was…). He was obviously lying, but nicely. I got a new sticker the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-stole-a-chunk-of-my-license-plate-long/599401/25 "2011-10-15T06:30:38Z")
My state discontinued the plate stickers and moved to front window stickers. Then, they scrapped that. Apparently, not issuing stickers at all saves money and the police can easily run your license plate if they need to. I am glad they did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-stole-a-chunk-of-my-license-plate-long/599401.md?page=1)