If you thought you were more likely to get a ticket if you are driving a car with out of state plates, it looks like you are right.
At least if you can belive this article in the Chicago Tribune:
Road-Trippers Face Added Risk of Ticket
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If you thought you were more likely to get a ticket if you are driving a car with out of state plates, it looks like you are right.
At least if you can belive this article in the Chicago Tribune:
Road-Trippers Face Added Risk of Ticket
I've always suspected it. Especially with my Louisiana tags, I keep my speed to just a little below the speed limit when passing through small towns.
Louisiana has such an odd reputation. I've been asked a lot about alligators, bayous, etc and seen people surprised that I speak English and not French (that's the one that really tickled me). So I try to stay as far under the radar (no pun intended) as possible.
Laura
Like you, I tend to drive a bit more slowly through small towns. Only because I know of several small towns near me who are notorious for doing this because their tax base is so limited. At least I suspect that's why and the article seems to confirm that, too.
However, on the highway, I usually find that going with the flow of traffic seems to be a safe bet.
I could sense people in other cars taking a sideways look at my Texas plates on my last trip, so I was real good and didn't speed once. Mind you I got away with doing 30mph over the limit in Arizona when running on California plates... so who knows :s
Over here it's the same. We go into mainland Europe and speed and they escort us to the ATM and fine us on he spot. If we can't pay, they take the car!
One of the benefits to living in a smaller state amongst a cluster of smaller states is that it is not uncommon to see out of state plates. It is quite customary to see New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and (especially) Connecticut plates in my neck of the woods. Virginia plates are markedly less in evidence - I guess the individual quoted in that story would have been more likely to get tagged out.
I had a former coworker that had Wisconsin plates on his car for two years(!) before he finally got pulled over.
When I pick up a rental car, I always try to get plates that match the state I will be driving in, because I know that out of state plates attract more scrutiny from both peace officers and others with less loft intentions...Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Michael
Mark
I really doubt out of state plates make that much of a difference. We've all driven out of state, and I personally have never had any issues with out of state plates. In fact I seem to attract more attention with in-state plates than out.
I think we may be forgetting some of the "other" factors:
1) How we're driving. Lets face it, if you're doing something wrong, then your plates don't really account for much... unless they're expired.
2) Car color (red and bright cars attract more attention than more common colored cars)
3) Car type (a corvette is going to be looked at differently than a corolla).
I haven't read the article, but personally, I think the idea of getting pulled over because you're a Missourian in Utah is kind of ridiculous. Although, as a guest in someone else's town/county/state, one should always try not to give an officer any reason to conduct a stop.
-Brad
In my state, out-of-state plates are a target. One reason: there is no "grace" period for obtaining plates and driver license once you are a resident here -- so occasionally law enforcement targets O/O/S plates (when other violations are committed which establishes good probable cause) and then they check out whether you have established residence. If you have, the fine for not having plates, registration and Arizona driver license is HUGE.
Also, in my own experience, violations in my home state that have netted me warnings have invariably produced citations when I am in a different state with my Arizona plates. I have no doubt whatsoever that out of state plates make you a target.
By the way Brad, it is a myth to a large extent that bright colors attract police attention --- the most commonly "cited" car color is white -- because it is the most common car color. Your ACTIONS as a driver are what gather the attention. Another myth is that going with the flow is OK -- that "flow" speed is typically fast enough to get you a ticket. Officers will often tell you they can only stop one car at a time (although I have seen officers herd an entire group of speeders to the side and write them ALL).
The best tactic for avoiding citations is don't drive fast enough to get a ticket! Bob
Bob,
I was not aware about those facts about color of car, but the overall point was that if you're doing something to get tagged by an officer, then the plates didn't help get you into that mess (although, as you say, they may cause the probability of citations vs. warnings to be higher).
< snip >
I've only been stopped once (by tribal police on the Salt River reservation) for a cracked and chipped tail lamp (after passing at least 12 Phoenix / Scottsdale police) late one night after work while going for a drive (oddly enough, he didn't mention the fact that I was going over 30 in a 25 ;-)... and I didn't bring it up.) No citation, just a repair notice (which was null before he even turned around, as I had some tape in my car).
< snip >
-Brad
So here is the part where I mention, during the year I lived in Arizona, I had South Dakota plates on my car the entire time. SD's $40 plate renewal fee was much more in my budget than the $100+ I would have had to pay to the state of Arizona.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arizona Bob
Thankfully, I never got pulled over during my time there. However, shortly after I moved back to Wisconsin I did get pulled over and ticketed when I still had California plates and a California Drivers License. I didn't even get a written warning, but both the Cop and the Judge reminded me that I would essentially be getting double points on my license for every violation.
I also discovered one of the oddities of Wisconsin law during that time. You are supposed to get a new Drivers License within 20 days of moving into WI, however, you can not get a new license unless you show that you have been a resident for at least 30 days!
As far as out of state drivers being targets, I'll just say this, If I'm driving down the Interstate in Wisconsin at 80 mph, and there is a guy with Illinois plates doing the same speed near me, I'm fairly confident that I'm not the one who will be getting pulled over. Now if I'm doing 85 and the guy from IL is doing 80, that's another story...
If you're following road rules, you should be fine. The only traffic ticket I ever got while traveling out of state was well-deserved. Very deserved. In fact, they really cut me a break as it was only for 91mph. I was well into 3 digits on, what I thought anyway, was a deserted stretch of highway. So I was grateful they didn't arrest me and impound my car...as they could have legally done at that speed. I tend to be a lead-food, so maybe I've just been lucky.
I think the biggest ticket risk is in small towns where the highway runs through them. Many people don't slow down enough when going through these places and, for some of them, I think it's the main way they fund their city services. A small town near me, on Hwy 12, is in-famous for such tickets. (Oakville, WA) I know numerous people who have gotten speeding tickets here. And they're all in-state drivers. It's not usually for the speed they're driving through town at, but for speeding up too sign upon leaving town. Don't go 55, or even start speeding up, until AFTER you pass the 55mph road sign.
I should mention that I've actually been pulled over a couple of times when out-of-state for doing things I shouldn't. Ya know, like doing a U-turn where they're not allowed because I'm turned around and lost, quickly crossing lanes of traffic to make a turn that came up on me faster than I anticipated, and other such things. In each case, they chuckled at me being a lost tourist and just gave me a friendly warning. In some cases, they even gave me directions to where I needed to go.
I'll attest to this. I just got nailed yesterday driving through Escalante, UT on Hwy 12 with California plates.
Being a 4-lane highway, I don't know why I didn't catch it, but I mistakenly thought the speed limit was 40 MPH when it was really 30 MPH. (Please, 30 MPH on a 4-laner is just ridiculous...) so of course a local trooper appears out of nowhere and clocks me at 47 in a 30 just as I was getting out of town.
He only wrote me up for going 11 over, but still that's $100, not to mention the cost of my insurance may go up for the next 3 years, all because I made an honest mistake.
Of course I'm expected to post bail in 2 weeks, which I'll barely be home in time for that. I need to see my options about traffic school in California when dealing with an out-of-state ticket, to see if I can keep it off my spotless record. Utah's "point" system is different from ours, so I don't even know my options right now. A search on the net did me no good. Anyone familiar with this for Cali locals?
My current roadtrip is pretty much ruined for me at this point...
Knock it off -- the rest of us are in the OFFICE and you are driving on UT-12 and you are complaining about a ticket? Come on -- get real.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kinless
I suggest you write to "Uncle Bob", if he doesn't know the answer to your question, he will know how to find it.
Mark
I kinda agree with Mark here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kinless
Ya know, I got a $300 speeding ticket once. It was a hoot. Well, up until the cop stopped me anyway. But the thrill of it all stayed with me for days. I still smile when I think of it and it was almost 7 years ago! I figured the money it cost me was like the price of admission to a really thrilling theme park.
$100...hey, that's kid stuff. :-) Don't let it ruin your trip.
All right, all right... don't mind me. I'm (mostly) over it now. I think it was just the 24-hour initial window of depression. The blemishing of my record, combined with not knowing how to deal with this in the home state just put me in a real bad mood. Had to vent somewhere.
I would have felt the same way had someone posted my first negative feedback about me on eBay. Tarnishing perfect records really get to me. I'm just weird like that.
Anyway, I e-mailed "Uncle Bob" since he doesn't accept private messages.
Let me tell you a bit more about my own ticket. I live in WA and got the ticket in NV.
Well, I thought I'd be cute and send them $20/month. I figured they couldn't do anything worse to me. They sure weren't going to come from Beatty, NV, to Washington's coast to arrest me! Well, don't try to be cute. I got a letter from the Washington state DMV giving me a 30-day, or was it 20-day?, deadline to pay off my Nevada fine in full or my Washington state license would be suspended. So, just pay it and get it over with.
I did get those dreaded points but my insurance didn't go up. I don't know if CA insurers are stricter with that but it didn't impact my rates at all.
Enjoy the rest of your trip and don't bother anymore about this until you're home.
I have managed to drive just slightly under 1,000,000 with nary a speeding ticket. This by no means would suggest that I drive under the speed limit... But, I am reasonably aware and really slow radically in smaller towns.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kinless
Mark
I think it can be true that there might be a north-south grudge (New Yorkers will always say it's "because I'm from NY") but they're looking for people transporting and hoping to get the big payday and get on the news. Sometimes it's just not knowing rules of the road in some states.
When I played dumb about how fast I was going, I got the ticket. I've had more issues when I've taken backroad trips with a makeshift (mobile) border patrol in San Diego on old route 80, but was more annoyed that the dog had to go into the car than anything else.
They notice the car before what state the car is from. Playing dumb or being condescending is guaranteed to get you a ticket. You have to assess the officer's mood. If they're being polite, you may walk away "unless they radioed it in". If they're green, they're prob. going to go by the book. If they mean business, they may just be out to show their authority but just say as little as possible.
Rock band and political stickers, also not a good thing to have on road trips.
This article simply confirms what I’ve observed from my own personal experiences. I have never been ticketed for speeding (or for anything else), as I try to set my cruise control at or slightly below the speed limit.
On one solo road trip through Texas, I was stopped on two separate occasions in a span of three days by local sheriff’s departments. They simply wanted to see my registration and insurance documents. They both stated that they ‘ran my plates’ through their system, and it didn’t show up in their computer. On another solo road trip, I was stopped by an Arkansas state trooper, claiming that I was driving 74 in a 70 mph zone. Although I assured him my cruise was set on 70, confirmed by my GPS unit, he still gave me a written warning. I have been stopped two other times, with similar stories, on other trips through Texas.
Why the special attention? I don’t know. I have never been bothered in my home state of Kentucky. Perhaps other states’ police honestly don’t recognize my specialty plates in their computer systems. But honestly, do you really think the police check every single car’s license plate that passes by? I doubt that. I am a dark-skinned male in my late 20’s driving a late-model Buick with out-of-state plates. Could that have anything to do with getting stopped by the police? You decide.
Well I sure was surprised to read about the Escalante Utah episode on your forum--it matches my episode to a T! I was driving through at very slow speed, no where near the 47mph I was accused of--and same deal--the officer wrote a ticket for only 11 miles over speed limit! I guess it's his schmeal....how sad to treat out of towners like that---It ruins your day and you have no recourse--how can you contest if you are out of state--you going to fly back?
This cop should be canned....I am sure it's the same one!
Funny I was going to stay in that town--but I was out of there in a flash!
I can nearly 100% guarantee that what's happening. Have you ever done a ride-along with a police officer -- especially in the last two years? With the advent of efficient wireless db access to the police databases, I can tell you that every single police officer runs the plates on every single intersection that they come to. When they spot an out-of-state plate they are more or less obligated, depending upon their standing rules of operations, to check for a few more things. It's actually kinda stunning how much multi-tasking is going on when a police cruiser stops for a red light or a stop sign....Quote:
Originally Posted by krug
There's no question that police officers use a variety of indicators when deciding whether they should pull someone over -- but on average, I know that in Las Vegas, my plates have probably been run at least a dozen times a day -- and most departments work on a similar production level.Quote:
I doubt that. I am a dark-skinned male in my late 20’s driving a late-model Buick with out-of-state plates.
Mark
Missouri plates. Montana - I-94, 11am, not a cloud in the sky, road dry as a bone, not another car on the road. I got stopped for 81 in a 75, my GPS said 80. Don't try to tell me a Montana resident would have been stopped too, they all drive 90 up there.
I used to live in a small town that LOTS of people pass through on the way to the beach. The police stopped EVERYONE who was even barely over the speed limit . . . but they'd only ticket out-of-towners. It was common knowledge.
So I'm stopped in a motel parking lot in Natchez, in a rental with Iowa plates (picked up in New Orleans), trying to read a billboard when a woman from TX backs out of a parking space, turns but keeps coming right into the left front of my car... she then takes off down the parking lot.
I race in front of her, cut her off and get out to discuss things. Well, she's there for a wedding and is obviously (D)UI. My wife calls the Natchez police, who come and take a report.
I stop at the next rental agency (in Memphis) and turn in a report there.
Eventually drop the car off in Atlanta and fly home.
About a month later comes the letter from the Mississipi DMV: "Where's OUR report?". I ignore.
About a month after that comes letter 2: "Your driving privileges in the State of Mississippi have been suspended."
OK, I guess I'm not going back.
There is technology these days that automatically scans license plates, runs them through a computer, and pops up any anomalies... all without the officer having to do anything. Some jurisdictions have special units that just cruise the streets looking for stolen autos/other "wants".Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Sedenquist
It's not that simple anymore, just about every state's DMV records are now accessible in the Federal database and it's entirely possible that a routine plate scan (like you mentioned above) in California might trigger a stop/arrest/hold until you get this straightened out...Quote:
Originally Posted by CalOldBlue
Mark
Well, since this happened in 1983, I'm going under a couple of assumptions:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Sedenquist
1) If they cared enough they would have caught me by now
2) Mississippi probably doesn't carry 25-year-old documentation violations in their system.
I'm not guilty of a violation, I'm guilty of failing to file paperwork.
Also: recall this was a rental car; they ain't got MY plates!
Have to say though, I enjoyed both Natchez and Vicksburg, and the drive up the river road... would like to go back sometime, but Linda will be driving that stretch.
I was googling this and the mere mention of two Utah instances was enough to take 10 minutes out of my life which I would have spent just lurking.
I was driving a in the vicinity of Escalante, UT (Garfield County, UT - same county sheriffs since there aren't any cities) on my way back from Bryce Canyon and I get pulled over for doing almost 40 in a 30 going into town. Even though Utah drivers are perhaps the worse drivers I've experienced in CONUS.
One can argue that illegal is illegal but there is an obvious unequal application of the law. Being out of state, I had no practical right to due process since the fine was less than the cost of traveling back to fight it. Although speeding is speeding, it was obvious I would simply pay the county $80-90, without contest. Comparatively, had I been a resident, or possible resident, it would have been feasible to appeal.
Small towns are like gypsies stealing from visitors when it comes to tickets and nothing says carpetbagger than a plate from several states over.
Why not just obey the road laws as they stand wherever you are. Who cares what other drivers do. You are only responsible for your behaviour on the road, not that of others.
Lifey who likes to stay a mile or so below
Found this thread interesting & it explains a lot!
On our Rte66 trip, we were driving towards St Louis in a rental car with California plates we have a Scotland Flag on a little pole attatched to the vehicle. Its raining hard & my husband is driving well within speed limit & keeping a respectable distance from the car infront. However whoever is doing the driving in this car keeps breaking & we get a little closer, my husband pulls back each time. Next thing we are pulled over. Officer "You were driving a bit too close to the guy infront" my husband explained what had been happening. He then asks us where we are from & asks to see his licence, husband tells him Scotland, we get way with a warning to keep our distance well away from vehicles in front.
In all the years of driving a rental through 40 states that so far has been the only time we encountered the long arm of the law.
Bertha
Quote:
Originally Posted by CalOldBlue
What a hoot this is: In fact, the last speeding ticket I received was just under 31 years ago, in Mississippi. I was in an easily-recognized company truck with Virginia plates, and the Choctaw County locals were (rightly) peeved at the speed at which some of our crews buzzed up and down their roads. They resolved to put a stop to it by rigid enforcement.
I got pulled over by a Mississippi highway patrolman and as I settled into the passenger seat of his cruiser the radar readout said "62". I was pulled over for 62 in a 55. When I asked if he pulled over everybody running 62 in a 55, he slammed his ticket book closed and ordered me to follow him to Ackerman (county seat) in my truck. Into the courthouse we went, he completed his ticket paperwork, and demanded something like $45 for the court costs on the spot. I rarely carried more than $10-15 on me and $45 was a lot of cash for a 24 year-old to have in his pocket in 1980, but I miraculously had it on me that day. He was even more peeved he couldn't throw me in the slammer until my wife could arrive from Starkville, some 30 miles east. The paperwork indicated my payment of the $45 was not the full resolution of the matter and I still had to appear in court some 45 days hence. The drilling crew I was assigned to got transferred and I moved on up to Tennessee with them. A letter to my former Starkville apartment was forwarded a week or so after the court date, stating "driving privileges in Mississippi suspended".
I don't think I've driven in Mississippi since then, and had completely forgotten about it until reading this today. Something tells me they haven't digitized 1980 records.
Foy
We don't get pulled over unless there's a compelling reason to pull us over. Cops are WAY to busy just to pick on people because of out of state plates.
I've driven throughout the Western States multiple times. During our last trip (9,611 miles - not that anyone was counting) through 17 states and a bit of Canada, I was pulled over once, in Texas. Even the officer conceded that the signage in that 'burb was a disaster, but just asked me to "slow down a bit" next time we passed through town. Then he asked about our trip, where we'd been, where we were headed. (He'd seen the sticker map on the trailer...and that led to a great conversation.)