Playing Tag? CHP Takes Expiration Dates Seriously

Dear Street Smart:

I’m amazed at the number of vehicles on the streets with expired tags, some dating back to last January. What is the law concerning expired tags? If it is illegal, why isn’t the law enforced?

Randy L. Jepsen

Santa Ana

It is illegal. And, as you say, there are a lot of people out there daring authorities to go ahead and make their day. Of the 24 million cars, trucks and vans in California, about 2 million are being operated without proper registration, according to officials with the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Local and state lawmakers say it’s an important issue. The more than $4 billion in registration and license fees collected by the state each year are an important revenue source for a variety of programs: 14% goes to the California Highway Patrol, 10% to the state Transportation Department, 11% to the DMV and 56% trickles down to cities and counties, which use the money for street work, maintenance and other purposes.

The DMV is the first to acknowledge the depths of the problem. A bit more than a year ago, the agency embarked on a far-reaching effort to more effectively identify scofflaws shirking the legal requirement to register their vehicles. Since October, 1988, the effort has helped collect $78.9 million in registration fees that might otherwise have been missed, according to Bill Gengler, a DMV spokesman.

“It’s incredible how many people out there are driving with expired tags,” Gengler said, noting that the problem involves owners of cars ranging from junkers to Mercedeses.

Gengler said motorists refuse to register for a variety of reasons, but the most common are concerns that their cars won’t pass the smog test requirements or a simple unwillingness to pay what they perceive as an exorbitant cost for the privilege of driving their own vehicles.

Penalties for failing to register can be steep. If you don’t pay on time, the DMV charges an extra 20% of the original fee. If the car remains in use, the penalty rises to 40% and then 80% in subsequent years. To collect, the DMV has begun turning to small claims court. And the agency also has the ability to impound cars if an owner repeatedly flaunts the law.

The California Highway Patrol can also get into the act. While tracking down delinquent registrations is not the agency’s most pressing responsibility, CHP officers are always on the lookout for vehicles with expired tags, said Officer Ken Daily of the south Orange County division.

“The Highway Patrol doesn’t receive any money from traffic tickets, but we do get funds because of vehicle registrations,” Daily said. “So it’s only understandable that officers don’t ignore registration. Most of the officers zero right in on it.”

Dear Street Smart:

I cannot understand why California does not have a mechanical vehicle inspection law. There are automobiles on the freeway that would not pass even the most lenient mechanical inspection in any other state.

The drivers in these unsafe vehicles are the cause of many accidents and traffic delays and they should not be allowed on our highways. I was always told that driving is a privilege and not a right. A person driving an unsafe vehicle should be charged a higher fine and receive more points for a speeding conviction.

Tom Szwajkos

Laguna Niguel

Although driver performance is the most common cause of accidents, mechanical malfunctions add to the death and injury toll on our nation’s highways each year. Many state officials would like an inspection program, but contend that California simply lacks the funds right now.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, the state did have such a program, which was financed with federal money. The California Highway Patrol would set up special units to flag down drivers along city streets and county roads. Each vehicle that passed the inspection would get a sticker that would go on the windshield. Those that didn’t pass muster would have to remedy the problems and then have their cars reinspected at the local CHP office.

These days, the CHP will still issue fix-it tickets, but mostly only for the obvious stuff, like a burned-out brake light. Most of the active enforcement is saved for trucks, which are subject to inspections during weigh-ins at the truck-scale stations that dot the highways. Authorities reason that there is nothing worse on the road than an 18-wheeler hurtling down a steep mountain pass with brakes that could barely stop a tricycle.