Carpool lane stickers :(

[tinaCA]

Love/hate: got our carpool lane stickers today (leased Dec 3) so we're happy to have carpool access but so annoyed that we have to slap this UGLY stickers all over our new car. Surely they could have made a simple plate sticker like registration? Is this punishment for the envy of other drivers? The Leaf doesn't offer any flat surfaces either so the stickers end up looking crooked and weird. :evil:

 

[Nubo]

My opinion is that not only do the stickers allow law enforcement to easily verify compliance at a distance, but they also serve as "advertising". Their purpose, after all, is to encourage adoption. So it makes sense for them to be somewhat prominent so that other drivers take note while stuck in traffic and start thinking "... if I had one of those...".

 

[tinaCA]

If everyone had them, they wouldn't be useful so I don't care so much about advertising. It's no secret the EVs can use the carpool lane.

If law enforcement can see your registration sticker on your license plate and know not to pull you over for expired registration, why can't they see a sticker for HOV on the license plate? Easier, neater and doesn't ruin your new car's appearance.

 

[TomT]

The answer is that they CAN'T see them until they are close to the rear of the vehicle. I have no problem with the present system and appreciate why the stickers must be as they are. If you don't like them, don't get them...

If law enforcement can see your registration sticker on your license plate and know not to pull you over for expired registration, why can't they see a sticker for HOV on the license plate? Easier, neater and doesn't ruin your new car's appearance.

 

[GIBBER]

I would prefer a different license plate like some states already offer. A simple green or blue or ____ colored band around the license plate would make it easy to ID and would allow for the use of it on all the existing personalized plate styles.

 

[RonDawg]

The answer is that they CAN'T see them until they are close to the rear of the vehicle. I have no problem with the present system and appreciate why the stickers must be as they are. If you don't like them, don't get them...

If law enforcement can see your registration sticker on your license plate and know not to pull you over for expired registration, why can't they see a sticker for HOV on the license plate? Easier, neater and doesn't ruin your new car's appearance.

Actually Tom, I agree with Tina. The reg sticker on the rear license plate is MUCH smaller than even the smallest of the three HOV exemption stickers, and the cops have no problem recognizing at a distance if it's expired. Yes the color coding helps, but as big as the HOV exemption stickers are, there's no need for THREE of them on the back of your car alone.

What I wish CA would do is (as mentioned above) come up with a unique plate for EV's, and a different one for qualifying PHEV's. We already have plates with the handicap symbol, a fireman with a burning background symbol, various military symbols, etc. so why not use the "gas pump with a plug" symbol already used for EV charging spots?

 

[TomT]

I have a neighbor who is a CHP and he has told me on occasion that, unless they get lucky and can get a good look at the color, they can't tell from very far away, and then only if they are basically behind the vehicle, not very far off to the side. He said there would be many more stops for expired registration if they could see the reg stickers more easily and have lobbied for that for years... So, take that for what it is worth.

Actually Tom, I agree with Tina. The reg sticker on the rear license plate is MUCH smaller than even the smallest of the three HOV exemption stickers, and the cops have no problem recognizing at a distance if it's expired.

 

[Nubo]

I'd like a special plate too, but in the real world of cheats, a tag is too easy to swap from car to car and/or steal. And when the alternative is sitting in LA traffic, the temptation is strong. The HOV stickers are notoriously difficult to remove in one piece. The adhesive is strong and the material fragile. A larger one is all that more difficult to remove.

 

[Nubo]

I'd like a special plate too, but in the real world of cheats, a tag is too easy to swap from car to car and/or steal. And when the alternative is sitting in LA traffic, the temptation is strong. The HOV stickers are notoriously difficult to remove in one piece. The adhesive is strong and the material fragile. A larger one is all that more difficult to remove.

Personally I like the clean air stickers. Wear them proudly.

 

[RonDawg]

I have a neighbor who is a CHP and he has told me on occasion that, unless they get lucky and can get a good look at the color, they can't tell from very far away, and then only if they are basically behind the vehicle, not very far off to the side. He said there would be many more stops for expired registration if they could see the reg stickers more easily and have lobbied for that for years... So, take that for what it is worth.

I've never revealed what I do for work on this forum before, but let's just say it's also my job to know if those stickers are current or not. Take that for what it is worth.

I can understand having one sticker in the left front bumper, like with the PHEVs, to make it easier for the CHP to see if an oncoming vehicle belongs in an HOV lane or not. But as the white stickers only go on the rear of the car, the officer would have to look back there anyway.

 

[RonDawg]

I'd like a special plate too, but in the real world of cheats, a tag is too easy to swap from car to car and/or steal. And when the alternative is sitting in LA traffic, the temptation is strong. The HOV stickers are notoriously difficult to remove in one piece. The adhesive is strong and the material fragile. A larger one is all that more difficult to remove.

That can be said of any license plate. But when it comes to the white stickers, it's basically only for an all-electric car, a hydrogen powered one, or certain OEM conversions to CNG.

Just like the pic of a non-Energi Ford C-Max with white stickers (and even the Energi version would use green ones) in an HOV lane demonstrated, having the wrong type of plate will attract the attention of those who know what to look for, like putting on a trailer license plate on a passenger car.

Even if they manage to evade scrutiny, people eventually make a mistake and get pulled over. If they get caught with the wrong plate on their car, they are subject to arrest and having their car impounded.

 

[Nubo]

Even if they manage to evade scrutiny, people eventually make a mistake and get pulled over. If they get caught with the wrong plate on their car, they are subject to arrest and having their car impounded.

True enough, but as I see it the goal isn't prosecution of plate theft, but rather preventing the theft in the first place.

 

[tinaCA]

I love the idea of special plates, an an accompanying validation sticker on the plate (the sticker could even be stamped with the color and make of car, to help prevent swaps - eg Red Leaf) and registration card.

As for the temptation to swap plates, why would it be any more of a problem than the potential for swapping or stealing plates for registered vehicles for theft/crime purposes or avoiding registration fees? There could be an additional fine levied for using unauthorized HOV plates.

If it was a big issue, the DMV could have lockable screws that only they can remove - when you get plates you show up to DMV and they fix them on.

 

[GIBBER]

I love the idea of special plates, an an accompanying validation sticker on the plate quote]

I have had my tags stolen. Now when I renew my registration I use the self-serve kiosks the California DMV has in the field offices. The kiosk actually prints your vehicles license plate number on the tag instead of the randomly generated number they would normaly have. Why they haven't always done this I have no idea.

 

[RonDawg]

I have had my tags stolen. Now when I renew my registration I use the self-serve kiosks the California DMV has in the field offices. The kiosk actually prints your vehicles license plate number on the tag instead of the randomly generated number they would normaly have. Why they haven't always done this I have no idea.

1.) The technology to do so at a low cost may not have been available until recently.

2.) Government bureaucracies, of which the DMV is very much an excellent example, are not known to embrace new technology quickly. Other states have insurance information directly on the license plate computer data. CA still does not do that, it only states that "Insurance Record on File" or something equally uninformative.

3.) DMV only does this for registration renewals done at their Sacramento office, or at the self-serve kiosks. If you go up to the counter, or renew your registration at AAA (or other place that does DMV renewals), the sticker you get will still have the random number.

BTW even if you renew at a DMV office, the master record located on a server somewhere in the Sacramento area may take up to a couple of weeks to update. It's caused problems when the officer runs the plate and it says it's expired, but the driver is holding a reg card that says it's current and the latest sticker is on the plate. That's how behind DMV is on computer technology.