DMV Still Sends a Bill for Car Registration Renewal
Dear Street Smart: Regarding recent discussions in this column about the large number of expired license plates: My wife and I were pulled over recently because we had not noticed that our plates had expired. It is one of those bills that you pay when it comes in and usually don’t think about otherwise. We assumed our notice had been lost in the mail.
When I went to the DMV the next day to straighten it out, I was informed that notices are now sent out randomly and it is up to the registered owner to keep track of when his renewal is due. My wife wouldn’t believe this so when I went back, after getting the smog check, to pay up--including a 40% fine--I asked again and was told the same thing. When I mentioned that we had received a renewal form for our other car, the response was, “You’re lucky.”
No one we have mentioned this to--and our friends are all literate people who read the papers--had ever read or heard anything about such a change in DMV billing policy. I am now faced with a court appearance and a sizable fine.
If this is indeed the current policy, why haven’t car owners been informed? If the gas company can bill us every month for comparatively minor charges ($11 during the summer), why on earth can’t the DMV bill us once a year for a major sum?
Up until now we have been pleased to see the many changes for the better at the DMV as far as expediting license renewals, but this boggles the mind. Please comment.
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Preston B. Bell
Fullerton
The one who is misinformed is the Department of Motor Vehicles employee (or maybe two of them) you talked to, said William Madison, a department spokesman in Sacramento.
“That is so wrong and so stupid,” he said of the information you were given. “Most of our technicians know this, and I’m surprised that someone would have said that to them.”
While it is true that drivers ultimately are responsible for keeping their vehicles’ registrations current, Madison said, the DMV has for many years routinely sent 60-day advance notices of impending expirations to every registered vehicle owner in the state, and that still is policy. In fact, he said, for the past two years it has been required by state law.
“Technicians go through training sessions to learn this,” Madison said. “Our field offices are very conscientious about this sort of thing; Whoever made this statement was totally in error.”
About the only explanation he can give as to why your notice never arrived, he said, is that it was either lost in the mail or never forwarded to a new address.
Because that sometimes happens, Madison said, he advises car owners not to assume that they will receive advance notice.
“You have a date, a month and a year of expiration,” he said, “and that’s a big clue.”
Another hint: keep your DMV records up-to-date regarding your current address. “If you move,” Madison said, “ask us for a change-of-address form.”
Dear Street Smart: There are two freeway off-ramps that are begging for [raised] “Botts Dots.” Both have double turn lanes that many drivers fail to recognize.
One is the Dyer Road off-ramp from the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway. The center lane allows drivers to turn either left or right. Drivers turning right from this lane, however, take their lives in their hands because other drivers from the far-right lane often zip across Dyer Road to make a left turn onto Pullman Street just a short block away. Botts Dots might help prevent this dangerous practice.
The other site that concerns me is the end of South Bristol Street where it meets Jamboree Road. This spot is heavily trafficked because it is the last off-ramp on the southbound Corona del Mar Freeway before it ends at MacArthur Boulevard. There are two exclusive left-turn lanes, both of which swing wide. Drivers from the right-most left-turn lane often-- usually , in fact--cut off drivers from the inner left-turn lane. Again, Botts Dots might help keep drivers in their assigned lanes.
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David Goldstein-Shirley
Irvine
You are absolutely right about the hazards at both locations, Caltrans spokeswoman Rose Orem said. In fact, as a result of your letter, she said, Caltrans crews have already inspected both sites and fixed the problem.
But they didn’t install Botts Dots, she said. Because of drivers traveling through the intersections from opposite directions, Orem said, placing raised dots on the road was deemed overly distracting and inappropriate.
Instead, the Caltrans spokeswoman said, both locations were striped with guidance lines consisting of dashes--or “cat tracks”--painted on the road to keep drivers within their proper lanes.
“The dashes are appropriate,” she said, “because they are visible and do what we want them to do; direct the motorists without causing interference for other traffic. We do appreciate your comments. They keep us informed of some of the areas that need attention. There’s lots of terrain we have to cover.”
Street Smart appears Mondays in The Times Orange County Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic, commuting and what makes it difficult to get around in Orange County. Include simple sketches if helpful. Letters may be published in upcoming columns. Please write to David Haldane, c/o Street Smart, The Times Orange County, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or e-mail him at David.Haldane@latimes.com. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted.
