[Maflynn]

So I take my car to get an inspection sticker, only to find out it got rejected!

Not because it failed emissions, or some mechinical failure but rather I have green plates. Massachusetts its seems is forcing everyone over to the two plate system that they started 20 years ago, why they didn't force the cut over 20 years ago is a mystery.

The problem I'm having is they didn't tell anyone so when people who have green plates get their cars inspected they'll get a rejection sticker.

Now I need to spend a whole day waiting in line to get new license plates, I have no idea how much it will cost me there and then get it re-inspected


[/rant]

[Doofy]

So, in five minutes, someone sitting 3,000 miles away (me), manages to find the following information:

- They're only requiring green plates to be replaced if they're faded, which many are since the youngest of them is now 23 years old.

- The replacement is free of charge.

- The wait times at your local motor vehicle offices are all listed here.

[residentEvil]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

So, in five minutes, someone sitting 3,000 miles away (me), manages to find the following information:

- They're only requiring green plates to be replaced if they're faded, which many are since the youngest of them is now 23 years old.

- The replacement is free of charge.

- The wait times at your local motor vehicle offices are all listed here.

hahaha, awesome!

[Maflynn]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

So, in five minutes, someone sitting 3,000 miles away (me), manages to find the following information:

- They're only requiring green plates to be replaced if they're faded, which many are since the youngest of them is now 23 years old.

- The replacement is free of charge.

- The wait times at your local motor vehicle offices are all listed here.

So I've had my plates form any years and todate no notification that I needed to change.
Wait times are purey fictional, as they have no true basis on reality - I saw a forty-give minute wait time to get my license two hours later I was still in line.

Am I supposed to check the RMV everyday to ensure that there's any law changes that could affect me since they don't bother tell the people affected you need to take care of the license plates before you get it inspected.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Maflynn 

So I've had my plates form any years and todate no notification that I needed to change.
Wait times are purey fictional, as they have no true basis on reality - I saw a forty-give minute wait time to get my license two hours later I was still in line.

Am I supposed to check the RMV everyday to ensure that there's any law changes that could affect me since they don't bother tell the people affected you need to take care of the license plates before you get it inspected.

Well, I got all that info out of one of your local newspapers. Hadn't got a clue what you were on about so just popped "Massachusetts green vehicle plates" into Google.

Yes, technically we're all supposed to read every letter of the local newspapers every day - since ignorance of the law is, apparently, no defence. Don't blame me - I didn't make the rules.

The only question is really: Are your plates faded or not?

[Maflynn]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Well, I got all that info out of one of your local newspapers. Hadn't got a clue what you were on about so just popped "Massachusetts green vehicle plates" into Google.

Yes, technically we're all supposed to read every letter of the local newspapers every day - since ignorance of the law is, apparently, no defence. Don't blame me - I didn't make the rules.

The only question is really: Are your plates faded or not?

Of course if I google it now, I can easily find the news after the fact The trouble is the RMV failed to notify the affect people before the issue

Evedently enough for me to get rejected - I thought they were fine. I've seen some supposedly green plates had no green and yuo coldn't make out the numbers. Mine are in much better shape. Very readable

[Gankdawg]

maflynn must be typing on an iPhone.

[Cold Warrior]

One of my vehicles has an inop horn so it failed its inspection. Personally I think inspections are a crock -- a way of the government "touching" its citizenry each year and maintaining a police structure to penalize individuals who want their privacy or to live free.

[Dakar V]

I could see someone referring to car registration as a crock but inspections? At least that helps maintain a certain level of safety on the roads.

What privacy is it infringing on?

[Cold Warrior]

I live in a big city and see junkers driving around all the time. Inspections are meaningless if they are not enforced, which makes any possible safety gains mute if there are no standards.

The privacy is our right to live relatively free of government intrusion or government supervision. We obey traditional laws and pay taxes. We should be able to live our lives without submitting to government approval once a year.

Police should have the power to stop obviously unsafe vehicles and cite off of that -- which is the safety aspect of it -- but an elaborate system designed to collect personal information, extract fees, and force annual personal updates with the state are limits on freedom. I also feel the same about vehicle registrations.

Anyway, I don't want to derail the thread or tilt it to something political, so I'll stay out of the thread.

[analogika]

I'm afraid it really breaks down the second you're putting OTHERS in danger.

And I challenge you to identify the car with the faulty brake line just by looking at it. I hear you can tell people have AIDS by how clean they look, too.

[residentEvil]

one of the motivators behind thesee programs ARE to catch people/cars that the government needs to find: those with warrants, bail jumpers, persons of interest, sex offenders (to keep lists up to date), unpaid parking tickets, stolen vehicles, etc, etc.

just because you (anyone reading this) don't fit in the above, thousands and thousands do. great way to get a hold of those people. they do the inspection not realizing that they sorta "turned themselves in" if you will.

saying they want to make sure the car is safe is a cover up.

/tinfoilhat

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Gankdawg 

maflynn must be typing on an iPhone.

Well that's the positive assumption you could make, but it's not that much worse than his normal posts. I'm on an iPod right now but you wouldn't be able to tell if I didn't say anything.

[seanc]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Well that's the positive assumption you could make, but it's not that much worse than his normal posts. I'm on an iPod right now but you wouldn't be able to tell if I didn't say anything.

I think it was mentioned because maflynn can't possibly be stood in line AND sat down at home/work using his Mac.

[sek929]

In other Massachusetts RMV news:


License plate frames are also now illegal, and worthy of a 50$ ticket from police. You should get them removed (if you have them) by the dude who does your inspection, if not, take em off.

Now as to why this is a law now, I have no ****ing clue.

[vmarks]

on how they're made the frame can obscure the stickers for month and year placed on the plate. Law says "don't obscure the plate" ? No frames.

[lexapro]

dont worry dude i also failed my MA inspection once. why? cause i had it fixed at a mechanic who reset the computer and i brought it right to the inspection place and since the computer had so recently been reset they failed me. yeah not cool at all. the car passed when i brought it back a month later. so it was in perfect condition to pass but didnt cause of a technical issue. not cool.

[Maflynn]

I had that same problem, ,when that occured they told me come back 48 hours later. For what ever reason, they wil not (cannot?) inspect the car after the computer was reset.

btw, I'm not worried, just pissed off that the RMV failed to send out any sort of notifications to affected parties.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Maflynn 

I had that same problem, ,when that occured they told me come back 48 hours later. For what ever reason, they wil not (cannot?) inspect the car after the computer was reset.

btw, I'm not worried, just pissed off that the RMV failed to send out any sort of notifications to affected parties.

Once the computer is reset, it has to "re-learn" the car, which requires experiencing several different kinds of driving before all of the emissions controls kick back in. Unhooking the battery for a couple minutes is enough to reset the computer, so it's not always something that's done on purpose.

[brassplayersrock²]

I was checking plates as I walked around after reading this thread. I only saw white MA plates...?

[ghporter]

In a fairly un-enforced law, here in Texas, if a frame in any way obscures where a plate is from or what the information on the plate is, you can be stopped for it. Oh, and while we're at it, what's that smell in your car? ..... You see the issue? I have the frame that my dealer put on my back plate, and it's very low-profile so it doesn't obscure anything, but I won't be surprised if I get stopped in some backwater...

Oh, and Texas handles the "no faded plates" thing by MAILING OUT replacement plates about every 5 years when you renew the registration. Sort of friendly-like, no?

[tooki]

Originally Posted by Maflynn 

I had that same problem, ,when that occured they told me come back 48 hours later. For what ever reason, they wil not (cannot?) inspect the car after the computer was reset.

The computer is basically a monitoring device that tracks all of the car's critical values (including emissions, which is what the states care about) over time. The emissions part of the "inspection" isn't actually testing the car at all -- it's just reading out the data the car's computer collected. Except that if the car hasn't been driven significantly since having the computer reset, there's no data to read out.

[Atomic Rooster]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior 

One of my vehicles has an inop horn so it failed its inspection. Personally I think inspections are a crock -- a way of the government "touching" its citizenry each year and maintaining a police structure to penalize individuals who want their privacy or to live free.

Give me a freakin' break. I don't know what country you live in but the United States of Merika is not free and never was and will only get worse. Soon all cars will have to have tracking devices.

You're Chinese aren't you?

[Shaddim]

Funky, we don't have inspections.

[KeriVit]

I wish we did have inspections in Georgia. I'm tired of driving behind cars with one tail light or no brake lights. Faulty turn signals. Billowing black smoke. I remember in NH, once a month, the cops would stand at the toll booth and look for expired inspection stickers. They enforced the law easily.

On the other hand, I think all inspections should be $10, not $20 or $25 or whatever the station feels like charging. It takes 10 minutes for god's sake!

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Atomic Rooster 

You're Chinese aren't you?

What does that have to do with anything?

[Atomic Rooster]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

What does that have to do with anything?

DUH! China has different laws.

Please stay on topic.

Reported.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Atomic Rooster 

DUH! China has different laws.

Please stay on topic.

Reported.

Signature in violation of forum rules.

Reported.

[analogika]

Wow, this thread turned stupid.

Reported.

[brassplayersrock²]

Dirty Laundry
I make my living off the Evening News.
Just give me something, something I can use.
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry.

Well, I could have been an actor but I wound up here.
I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear.
Come and whisper in my ear,
Give us dirty laundry.

Kick 'em when they're up,
Kick 'em when they're down,
Kick 'em when they're up,
Kick 'em when they're down.
Kick 'em when they're up,
Kick 'em when they're down,
Kick 'em when they're up,
Kick 'em all around.

We got the bubble-headed bleach blonde, who comes on at five.
She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye.
It's interesting when people die,
Give us dirty laundry.

Can we film the operation, is the head dead yet?
You know the boys in the newsroom got a running bet.
Get the widow on the set,
We need dirty laundry.

You don't really need to find out what's going on.
You don't really want to know just how far it's gone.
Just leave well enough alone,
Eat your dirty laundry.

Kick 'em when they're up,
Kick 'em when they're down,
Kick 'em when they're up,
Kick 'em when they're down.
Kick 'em when they're up,
Kick 'em when they're down,
Kick 'em when they're stiff,
Kick 'em all around.

Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies.
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie.
We love to cut you down to size,
We love dirty laundry.

We can do "The Innuendo", we can dance and sing.
When it's said and done we haven't told you a thing.
We all know that Crap is King,
Give us dirty laundry.

~ Don Henley

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Wow, this thread turned stupid.

Reported.

Off topic post.

Reported. I keeeeed

[sek929]

To many reports.

Reported.

[TheWOAT]

Ive seen better reportin' from Katie Couric

[Railroader]

Reported!

[Cold Warrior]

Deleted!

(not really)

[brassplayersrock²]

while checking the soft delete/edited posts under my other nick here, I detected that many of these posts have been edited some way or another. Yours included CW

[Laminar]

What? Is your other nick a moderator? Or are you actually Demonhood?

[Atomic Rooster]

Another derailroaded thread about cars?

Speaking of rants, I hate how headlights get moisture inside and the plastic turns yellow. WTF?

[Railroader]

[brassplayersrock²]

Originally Posted by Atomic Rooster 

Another derailroaded thread about cars?

Speaking of rants, I hate how headlights get moisture inside and the plastic turns yellow. WTF?

did someone mention railroad cars?

http://forums.macnn.com/89/macnn-lou...ad-thread-img/

[Railroader]

No Alex, what he was doing was trying to diffuse the fact that I called him out for derailing the thread and a potentially racist comment. His panic mode kicked in and he used the least effective comeback he has in his arsenal, the "Reported!" retort.

Your trolling is just as transparent, as well as your further attempts to derail the thread. EDIT: Why are you getting involved here?

ON TOPIC: We don't have any inspections here in Indianapolis. I wouldn't mind them. There are some very questionably safe vehicles around here lately. I need to fix the center mounted taillight and a crack in the windshield first though.

I can see how inspections would be a major hassle for some people. Having to take off work, or interrupt an already very busy schedule. A workable solution would be to have some inspection places open 24hrs, or to have a mobile inspection service that would cost extra.

[seanc]

In the UK, you HAVE (once your car is 3 years old) to have an MOT certificate, this test is performed every year. This certifies that your vehicle is allowed to be on the road. Without it, you can't tax or insure the car.

This means that every car on the road *should* be safe. Any that aren't get pulled over by the police & seized. Then, because they're worthless pieces of junk & no one wants them back, they get scrapped.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring...ot/DG_10016070

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

ON TOPIC: We don't have any inspections here in Indianapolis. I wouldn't mind them. There are some very questionably safe vehicles around here lately. I need to fix the center mounted taillight and a crack in the windshield first though.

I can see how inspections would be a major hassle for some people. Having to take off work, or interrupt an already very busy schedule. A workable solution would be to have some inspection places open 24hrs, or to have a mobile inspection service that would cost extra.

Here in Texas, I have the whole month my inspection is good through, plus usually around two weeks into the next month to get the inspection done (officially there's a 5-day grace period). It's a fixed price of $14.50 ($39.75 in counties that have to do emissions testing) that basically covers the shop's time for doing the paperwork. I run over to the nearest Valvoline oil change shop and get it done in about 30 minutes including wait time.

It is a hassle if you lose track of when it's due and it expires AND you get pulled over, but I've never heard of anyone being pulled over JUST for an expired inspection sticker. And of course, if you get the car inspected within days of getting a ticket for an expired sticker, you can get the ticket dismissed. Otherwise, it's no more hassle than having the oil changed.

[vexborg]

Heh... My car before this (an 1991 VW Golf - or Rabbit) failed it's MOT (car inspection) due to the following points:

1. Exhaust was falling apart when the car bloke poked them for rust - obviously there were quite a lot of rust there.
2. Headlights were not properly aligned.
3. The engine mount had rusted away - the only thing which kept the engine from falling out must have been the gearbox!
4. Rust in the subframe.

Of course before the MOT, I'd notice that every time I changed gear, the whole car would just like a kicking horse - not really a joyful ride...

it would have cost me more to get the car fixed, than what I paid for it - so the car was scrapped, and now I've got a quite nice 1993 Ford Escort