From recent memory, within the last four years, i’ve gotten pulled over twice for speeding when i was doing the speed limit. One time, the trooper said i was doing 75 in a 65, and gave me a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt, which isn’t too bad because it doesn’t give you an insurance surcharge. The other time, the officer said i was going “a little fast”, shined his flashlight around the inside of my car, asked me a couple questions, then let me go.
I don’t get where the cop in the OP was being a jerk. Looks to me like he was very nice: didn’t impound the vehicle and didn’t arrest the driver. Additionally, he informed the driver that registration can be renewed online.
Agreed. The only thing in the OP that’s even arguably jerky is the “I don’t buy the grad student” thing.
Actually, I saw that remark as “I don’t buy that being a grad student would seriously cause you to neglect this matter that long.”
I don’t disbelieve him. The Athens police are better than they used to be, but they’re still pretty corrupt.
Am I being whooshed? I accept full responsibility if I am.
In case I’m not, what exactly is your complaint here? He took a minute to pull you over and let you know your car had a problem, you explained yourself, and he let you go. 
Did you then find $5? Like under the seat or something? That would really improve the story.
It’s utter BS that people are cruising around without plates on the rear of their vehicles. What do they do when they drive to the next county over? How does the parking enforcement in the next town know to whom the vehicle’s registered.
And would you happen to have any actual proof that the AThens police are pretty corrupt or do you just like making a general swipe at a group of people you happen to dislike?
What a lot of people don’t understand is that a ticket is actually a “courtesy arrest”.
You get cited & released with the understanding that you’ll either pay the fine or show up on the court date.
It doesn’t have to be that way. In most states on any violation of law, even ordinance violations and minor traffic offenses, you can be arrested, booked, and made to post bond before release. This, of course, would be a ridiculous waste of police manpower hours if it were done on everything. But it can be done. So in light of that, getting ones plates taken isn’t that much of a big deal.
This should, of course, have been:
Did you learn anything in the “Ask A Mason” thread? They simply bust out the secret cop handshake and with a wink and a nod, the visiting officer is let go. 
I felt he had a jerkish attitude, for these reasons:[list=a]
[li]holding my registration up in my face and asking me to read it to him;[/li][li]bringing up troops overseas—what does that have to do with anything?[/li][li]“you’re not going anywhere”, which he said with a very nasty tone of vioce.[/li][/list]He had a bad attitude, and it got worse after I mentioned being a grad student (maybe he’s run into one too many people using that, but really: being a grad student is very time-consuming and leaves one with very little money). However, it was nice of him to tell me I could do it online. And after reading this thread, I see that it could’ve been much worse.
*::: Cough, Cough :::: *
I did not know there were so many posters here who were that cognizant of the goings on in Athens, Greece…
I’m so impressed.
Are you actually making a point?
Well, yes I am.
You said:
It seems that either you are talking about a different country than the OP, you made a typo and meant ‘country’ in the above quote or???
I am just impressed that you know so much about Greece and the practices of it’s police, even more than the guy who lives there. I agree 90% would seem high to me but the basic premise is entirely possible.
I was just pointing out that you were awfully quick to cry ‘BS’.
It is the pit, no cite required, so you call BS with no cite on his statement and I call BS on your cry of BS. See??? I bet you don’t.
Whatever…
In the Pit it’s also permissible to call you what you are: Troll. You have been trolling against me for a few years now. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not impressed by it or by you.
It doesn’t matter what the location is, driving around without plates is a good way to get the notice of cops–especially if you drive outside of your own bailiwick.
I think you’re confusing me with somebody else. I have nothing against the police, or Athenians, or Greeks in general.
Here’s an article from '99 about a report on police corruption (article 15)
http://www.hri.org/news/greek/ana/1999/99-12-30.ana.html#15
Here’s an article specifically about human trafficing in Greece, pointing out the problems with the Greek government’s response to the problem:
http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/greece/greece_memo_greece.htm#N_14_
And from the US State Department’s “2004 Annual Report on Human Rights Practices”
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41684.htm
[quote]
All police forces are under the authority of the Ministry of Public Order. During the year, the Bureau of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Public Order took several disciplinary measures, including dismissal and suspension, against officers involved in corruption, primarily for forging documents and taking bribes. During the year, 325 complaints were filed with the Bureau. Most charges against police involved violation of duty, false certificates, abuse of power, corruption, violations with arms and explosives, illegal release of persons in police custody, pimping, and violations relating to alien registration. By the end of the year, the Bureau filed lawsuits against 75 policemen, 20 civil servants, and 78 civilians.
The press and the Greek Helsinki Monitor alleged that penalties for corrupt or abusive police were too weak and discouraged citizens from pressing charges against police. A weak record of prosecution of police misbehavior supported these claims. . .
Police corruption was a problem. While the anticorruption unit of the Hellenic Police stated the problem was decreasing, human rights and antitrafficking groups said that anticorruption efforts needed to be given higher priority.
[quote]
Thanks, Cap’n.
Sure thing.
What’s to disbelieve? That this is the most common reason for driving without license plates? That doesn’t seem like too absurd a statement. After all, he’s not saying any particular percentage of cops are breaking the law, merely saying the people doing this are oftentimes cops (which seems obvious, because, like you say, it’d be a hard thing to overlook so who else would get away with it?). In that context, it’s no more contraversial than saying “More than 90% of those bribed to overlook zoning conflicts are zoning officials.” It’s like, y’know, duh’n’stuff.