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Old 06-29-2008, 02:55 PM
 
Location: Charleston, SC
5,615 posts, read 14,756,115 times
Reputation: 2555

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This weekend I decided to finish getting my car registered in TX. I already have plates but need the other inspection. Insurance papers in hand, I went over to a place near Military and Huebner to get the safety sticker done. They look at the papers, look at them some more, pass them off to a 3rd guy that isn't doing anything since the place is empty and they won't look at the car because the effective date and expiration date are on two pages. My regular card hasn't come in the mail yet; what I brought along was the actual policy. The real thing with my signature and the agent's. It must not look real enough, being printed on the company letterhead and signed by me and the agent on multiple pages.

Very frustrating, and I'll continue to be the only car on the road with just the registration sticker and hope that no troopers notice until the small glove box card gets here and I can get it inspected. Of course I could try another place tomorrow... what are the odds that this would work out somewhere else?
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Old 06-29-2008, 03:27 PM
 
Location: Golden, CO
266 posts, read 704,434 times
Reputation: 246
usualy you can get online and download a insurance card. they are cracking down on people with no insurance, not near hard enough if you ask me.

if there isnt one online, just call your company they will email one to you.
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Old 06-29-2008, 03:48 PM
 
Location: Wiesbaden, Germany
13,815 posts, read 29,320,720 times
Reputation: 4025
In a sense it is a good thing they're giving you a hard time on the insurance. Only problem is they may be doing that because they're not too bright.. In their defense, I suppose after seeing a million little insurance cards a stack of papers would look out of place..
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Old 06-29-2008, 03:54 PM
 
Location: in my mind
2,743 posts, read 14,270,226 times
Reputation: 1627
Yeah, I had a similar problem. It does vary a lot from place to place. I dealt with some real idiots at a place by my house. They told me the "policy isn't enough". *sigh* Thankfully with my insurance company I am able to get them online... just at the time I had no printer.

Perhaps find a place with a fax machine and have your agent fax the "card" over? I'm sorry, no other ideas except try another place.
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Old 06-29-2008, 05:59 PM
 
Location: San Francisco, California
79 posts, read 317,254 times
Reputation: 37
You should be thankful it is so difficult to get your car's safety inspection. If your inspection or vehicle registration stickers are not up to date or you do not have one or both expect to get pulled over. It is the only method the state has to check if your vehicle's insurance is up to date.

Here in California there is no such thing as an annual vehicle inspection, only a smog check is required every few years. Great for keeping tailpipe emissions in check, but without any safety inspection you end up with unfit vehicles driving around with broken tail lights, bald tires, missing bumpers or worse. Mind you an anual safety inspection will not take all unsafe vehicles or uninsured vehicles off the road in Texas, but it makes a noticeable difference and it also protects you and your property.
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Old 06-29-2008, 06:28 PM
 
3 posts, read 6,787 times
Reputation: 10
Registration in TX, and Valid INS, required. It helps keep all drivers safer. You will be glad they do if someone hits your car. The odds are they will have ins. It also keeps the others ins rates lower. Since all TX drivers are required, then the rates are lower. Some Inspection Stations are very lax, some are very picky, but they are all state regulated, the lax ones could get fined for not following the state mandated guidelines.
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Old 06-29-2008, 07:51 PM
 
Location: in my mind
2,743 posts, read 14,270,226 times
Reputation: 1627
I'm not arguing against mandatory insurance by any means, but the whole inspection sticker thing is useless nonsense.

Many of the items on the inspection list have nothing to do with SAFETY. The entire system is ripe for abuse and fraud. There are already LAWS on the books that we should be insisting that the police enforce more consistently, laws that directly relate to safety of other drivers (broken/missing headlights, faulty brake lights, turn signals, etc)...

How does an inspection station guy with $$ in his eyes telling me my windshield wipers are "cracked and dry" and must be replaced to pass (funny, they worked fine the day before when it rained)...help keep anyone safe? Of course he knew full well my van is older, no longer made, and the blades for the van are "rare" and cost me $30 to replace. Perfect opportunity for him to make some money. How is that helping keep anyone safe?

How does a teeny tiny crack in a parking light cover make my car unsafe? Furthermore how does the use of clear red tape to cover the crack endanger public safety (this will keep you from passing btw, BTDT)? Practices like that target the poor, because anyone with common sense will understand that using a $5 roll of red auto tape to fix a minor crack doesn't affect safety at all, so what's the point of forcing the cost of a $150 piece of plastic when the see through red tape is doing fine?

How many cars have you seen with parts hanging OFF, dragging the ground, but a current inspection sticker clearly in view? I've seen plenty. I've also had several attempts at theft of my inspection sticker, on a car I owned with a defective window that wouldn't roll all the way up.

Perhaps if these inspection places (and the state requirements) had something to do with actual safety.. i.e. brake functioning, steering working well... but they don't. They sit in my vehicle and toot the horn, step on the brakes to see if the brake lights work (never mind if the brakes work or not! they never check that!)... and then start drooling when they find some ridiculous thing that needs fixing, like a hairline crack in a parking light cover.

Furthermore, pretty much everyone I know knows SOMEONE who will "look the other way" and pass you so it's just another tax and that's all it is.

As for those who think this keeps uninsured drivers off the road.. I got news for you. Ever hear of the practice of paying for insurance in the month your inspection and registration is due then dropping it a month later? This is very common. There is actually a new system starting where insurance companies are required to report the status regularly and all of this info will be available instantly (computerized) to law enforcement. THIS kind of thing is what will hopefully help stop the practice of fraudulent ID cards, buying insurance for the month of registration only, etc.

Texas Sure Vehicle Insurance Verification Home Page

Anything less is ineffective. It remains to be seen if this idea will work but I think it has promise. I recently removed one of my cars from my policy because it's not running (GF's car)... and the insurance rep advised me to call the DMV and let them know to "suspend" my car's registration, since they'd be notified right away that the coverage was gone, and doing this would avoid any problems for me. So it has potential I think.
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Old 06-29-2008, 08:54 PM
 
Location: Charleston, SC
5,615 posts, read 14,756,115 times
Reputation: 2555
I'm all for making people carry insurance; make no mistake. What I am against is the person at the inspection place being too dense to tell the difference between the official new insurance policy on company letterhead with everyone's signature on it and the small card that comes in the mail some time later. It's like going on travel and going to a bar, having a passport with you but no license, trying to get a drink and them not taking it even though a passport has your date of birth on it and is probably a whole lot harder to forge. People get ridged about stupid details beyond all common sense. Odds are everything will be fine. Worst case, I pick up a fix-it ticket because I have a registration but no safety sticker and I'm out my time to take care of it.

Tomorrow I'll give a shot at printing the card out myself. I didn't think of that option and that's a good idea. There's always looking for my old card from WA that came with the renewal invoice but that might confuse them too.
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Old 06-30-2008, 08:49 AM
 
Location: Smalltown, USA
3,111 posts, read 9,186,741 times
Reputation: 2056
Check out this website. They are putting together a database so when you get pulled over or go for an inspection you will be in the computer as having insurance or not. I think it is great because now people can't get insurance, get their card and then cancel the insurance. This is a VERY sore subject with me . Anyhow, here is the FAQ about TexasSure:
ftp://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/vtr/rtb/2008/013_08-attach2.pdf (broken link)
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Old 06-30-2008, 08:58 AM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,616,707 times
Reputation: 18304
I thnk they wre probably looking for the statement that the insurance mees the standads of the state insurance lws.Just get your insurance company to e-mail you one or get one atlocal ffice.Good to hear hat about the insurance site for law enforcement.
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