PA registration expired. Need Help!! (vehicle registration, car insurance, home) - Pennsylvania - City-Data Forum

colebra17 · 01-10-2009, 06:26 AM

Mod cut - Please note that this thread was started in 2009
The other day I was driving home from the store and got pulled over for expired registration. The thing that bothers me is my ta g was only expired for a few days. Is there any way I can get the fine revoked. It seems unnecessary for me to have to pay a fine for a registration that just lapsed a few days ago. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

thecoalman · 01-10-2009, 06:43 AM

No and if all they did was give you a ticket and let you go consider yourself lucky.

firefightermom · 01-10-2009, 08:34 AM

Why do you think it's unnecessary? You're the one who broke the law; they're the ones with the right to enforce it. Pay the fine, get your car registered again, and write it down in your calendar so you remember next time.

mdb06 · 01-10-2009, 09:43 AM

I sense that you are young and have not yet realized the importance of such things.

This may be a good time for you to check the "due dates" of your inspection, insurance, and driver's license renewal. Without a valid vehicle registration, you cannot get your car inspected. That's another fine. You also may lose your car insurance. Not only another fine but financially and legally devastating if you should be involved in an accident. License expired? More trouble. Ignore these things and at a MINIMUM, you won't be driving at all.

What if your employer decided to ignore YOUR pay date and just pay you whenever he felt like it rather than on your scheduled pay day? What would that do to your budget, obligations, and plans?

You asked for help. Take the advice you are being given here by other posters. Pay up, quit whining, and look at it as a learning experience.

PeterRabbit · 01-10-2009, 10:18 AM

Irresponsibility. No sympathy here.

colebra17 · 01-10-2009, 11:52 AM

Thank you for setting me straight. As stated by most of the replies to my thread it is my fault and I will pay the fine. I apologize if I came off as arrogant I was somewhat upset by the situation. I dont make alot of money and I just didnt have the money last couple weeks to register it. Anyways, I appreciate everyones honesty. Thanks and happy new year.

mdb06 · 01-10-2009, 12:02 PM

No problem. Good luck to you!

BravoSix · 01-10-2009, 08:12 PM

I'm a former police officer from PA (returning very soon), so I thought I'd weigh in on this thread.

For starters, I - ironically, I guess - tend to agree with you. Being cited for an expired tag that is only a few days old seems a bit harsh to me. In fact, that was rarely, if ever, done in my department or the others in the county where I worked. If someone was cited for a few day old registration, there were usually other violations that weren't cited, and the officer was giving the violator a break.

However, my suggestion would be to register your car, plead not guilty, and then bring proof of your current registration to court. Explain to the officer that you've corrected your oversight, and see if he would be willing to dismiss the citation. If not, explain your situation tot he judge and show the proof that you've rectified the situation. A hearing is your right - use it. The worst that could happen is the judge finds you guilty and you have to pay the fine. You really have nothing to lose.

The intent of law enforcement isn't always to punish but to bring people into compliance. If you registered the vehicle, then I'd say it worked.

firefightermom · 01-11-2009, 08:11 AM

Don't forget that if the judge decides to find you guilty--since you are--and doesn't decide to give you the benefit of the doubt, you will be responsible for not only the ticket, but court costs as well. That means more money to lose.

poconoproud · 01-11-2009, 08:59 AM

When I had my third child... time really slipped away from me. I had a new baby, a 1 yr old, and a 2 yr. old. The very first day I was taking my new born out, we decided to make a day of it...so we went to a friend's house, and to the library for story time. I had no idea my registration expired two days ealier... I was pulled over in the library parking lot...as all the other mom's stared at me & went in for storytime, I got a ticket & a bit of embarrassment. The officer did not take any sympathy for my situation, told me how irresponsable I was...and was unimpressed by the crying of my three babies. I tried...I said "I'm sorry officer, I just had a c-section...everything's been crazy in our home before and after the baby and I didn't know we were that close to expiration"....

I guess not every officer is as understanding and commpasionate as BravoSix...