In NC, do we need to have paper Car Registrations and Insurance Proof? (car insurance, DMV)

[Myghost]

Originally Posted by Funky Chicken

I will respectfully offer up that you might worry too much.
Do you really think a car thief is going to risk going to your home after stealing your car knowing that you have probably already reported the vehicle stolen, and run the risk of having the car recognized by neighbors? Do you really think a car thief selects your car to steal because they are planning a home break in as well? Will you also be pulling everything else with your address out of the glove box i.e. insurance cards, receipts for service, etc.? Do you sit around with your friends actually worrying about how to prevent this from happening?
Sorry, dude, but this is an irrational fear. Tin foil hat stuff. A Del Webb conspiracy theory. Take a walk around the block. Get some fresh air.

I don't worry about this either, but to be fair...

I think the point was that someone could break into a car and get your home address.
-what if it was a stalker wanting to know where you live
-What if a petty thief saw stuff in your car that led them to believe home break in would be lucritive
-Like OP said, what if someone broke in, stole your garage opener and knew your address (and otherwise left the car and it's contents alone)
-etc.


Like I said, I don't worry about it, but it did make me think. Having a garage opener and the address in the same vehicle is elevated risk. Not huge risk, but elevated.

[rfburns]

Originally Posted by somebodyfromnc

I've seen an increase lately in the number of cars with expired plates as well as cars with no plates at all. Like you noted, many of them are late model luxury vehicles where the registration sticker is older than the car itself.

I guess the police figure it isn't worth it to pull these people over and ticket them?

When NC switched from the stickers that were color-coded by year to the ones that are white and have the expiration date printed so small it can't be read while driving, I figured NC didn't really want officers enforcing expired registrations anymore. Why else would they make it so difficult?

[somebodyfromnc]

Originally Posted by rfburns

When NC switched from the stickers that were color-coded by year to the ones that are white and have the expiration date printed so small it can't be read while driving, I figured NC didn't really want officers enforcing expired registrations anymore. Why else would they make it so difficult?

I understand the reasoning for going from separate month and year stickers to one combined sticker, but I don't get why they didn't keep it color-coded.

Yes, I'm sure the white and black is slightly cheaper to print than the colored ones were, but how much of a difference could there really be?

[Ed_RDNC]

Originally Posted by Funky Chicken

I will respectfully offer up that you might worry too much.
Do you really think a car thief is going to risk going to your home after stealing your car knowing that you have probably already reported the vehicle stolen, and run the risk of having the car recognized by neighbors? Do you really think a car thief selects your car to steal because they are planning a home break in as well? Will you also be pulling everything else with your address out of the glove box i.e. insurance cards, receipts for service, etc.? Do you sit around with your friends actually worrying about how to prevent this from happening?
Sorry, dude, but this is an irrational fear. Tin foil hat stuff. A Del Webb conspiracy theory. Take a walk around the block. Get some fresh air.

I appreciate your comments but submit some additional information.
The subdivision where I live has suffered several months of parked-car break-ins where it's obviously a smash-n-grab where everything loose is rifled. These occur late at night and depend on neighbors ignoring the alarm. The break-in wouldn't be noticed and reported by me until hours later. (Yes, a neighborhood watch would be a good idea, tell that to my neighbors).

My car is a pretty expensive make and model, (read good target), and has a visible built-in garage door opener.
No, I don't keep any other paperwork anywhere in the car.

If someone smashed my window and swept out my glove box, they would get my registration and proof of insurance cards with my home address.
It's not too much of a jump to have them thinking about driving by and checking out my household, knowing they could get in my garage. And even assuming they don't get into my house, I have valuable tools and other stuff stored in the garage.

I already PDF'ed the cards for my permanent records, so the effort to resolve this concern would take about 30 seconds to copy the files to my phone. About 10% of the effort already spent writing this thread. But I won't do it if such would get me more in trouble during a traffic stop.



Finally, I thought about it, but tin-foil'ing my whole house may or may not be allowed per homeowners assoc. rules, and would probably hurt my cell reception inside.

[Stagemomma]

I got pulled over once in NC and didn't have proof of registration. He just looked me up in the system, reminded me to get the sticker out from the pile on the dining room table, and sent me on my way.

My daughter was in a fender bender last week. The cop only asked for her license. He printed out a sheet with both parties' insurance info on it to give to us. It all came from the database.

NC is really very casual about this compared to NY, but I think technology is helping streamline the process.

[jelenap]

If you have a garage door opener then why is the car not in the garage? If the car is next to your house and someone breaks in then wouldn’t they already know where you live? The “built-in” garage door opener - are you referring to those buttons in the newer cars? Those are just programmed, there is no physical opener that can be separated from the car...

So the only probable concern would be if your car is stolen away from home. But then, as pointed out, how big is the chance that the thiefs would decide to visit your house too? That would be pretty stupid IMHO. And why do you think they wouldn’t find your address by other means if they really wanted to?

These days, there are “smart” garage door openers. You could simply disconnect your car opener if it’s stolen. Sounds like a worthy investment if such things concern you.

[lookyourbest]

I'm glad I read this thread, I've been kind of stressing about having an inspection done, but i'm getting rid of this car in less than a year so I'm just like w/e at this point haha

[twingles]

Originally Posted by Ed_RDNC

My car is a pretty expensive make and model, (read good target), and has a visible built-in garage door opener.
No, I don't keep any other paperwork anywhere in the car.

.

This is a bigger issue than anyone taking your registration and knowing your address.
If they steal from your car while it's in your driveway, they already know your address. And taking the reg from your car while you're NOT at home...I'm still not getting why that puts anyone in any more danger of a break-in. They're going to race you home on the assumption that the whole household is absent? They're going to come back in the dead of night (he drives a Mercedes, let's go loot his house tonight)...I just really don't put this together at all. Stealing out of cars is small time, breaking and entering a house is on a different level.

It's like the warning years ago not to put the little shopper's cards that supermarkets give out on your key ring in case you lose your keys. A thief can get your private info off those....I'm just not sure someone who finds a set of keys is likely to be a mastermind hacker as well. Just MHO.

[twingles]

Originally Posted by Stagemomma

My daughter was in a fender bender last week. The cop only asked for her license. He printed out a sheet with both parties' insurance info on it to give to us. It all came from the database.

NC is really very casual about this compared to NY, but I think technology is helping streamline the process.

Problem the database is often wrong. But having an insurance card is really no proof of insurance either....and that's where the problem is.

I go to a broker today and take out a policy with Progressive. I put down $100 and I'm given an id card. I never pay them another dime. They cancel my insurance, but I'm still driving around with my insurance card. I get in an accident in July and hand the card over....everyone's happy - I have insurance! Right? Nope, but no one's the wiser.

Look me up in the database? NC's reporting mechanism is pretty much nonexistent, unlike NY which is so stringent that if the wrong size typeface is used in the cancellation letter it is deemed invalid; all cancellations are immediately conveyed to the DMV, there's no lag time. They don't seem to get conveyed to the DMV here at all.

[zinner]

I would not want to hand over my cell phone to a cop at a traffic stop so he can take it back to his car and write tickets.