A NEW law is going into effect after a license plate mix-up left drivers fighting unpaid parking tickets for cars they’ve never owned.
The new rule going into effect on March 17 will change the way car tags look to avoid future confusion.
4
4
4
4
It comes after Melissa Crowe from Broadwater County in Montana, received a letter from Olympia, Washington, about an unpaid ticket issued to her son, Jadon Schwartz, for a red Honda Pilot.
The catch is that Schwartz doesn’t own a red car and hasn’t visited Washington in years, and he owns a gray Toyota Rav4.
The problem lies with Montana’s county license plates, which have a distinctive bullhead separator between the county number and plate number, reported NBC local affiliated KTVH.
Montana has 56 counties, and the bullhead symbol traditionally separates the county number from the plate number, according to Michael Walker, the vehicle services bureau chief at the Montana Department of Motor Vehicles.
Some automated license plate readers don’t register the bullhead, causing plate number confusion across state lines.
In Schwartz’s case, the plate reader in Olympia, Washington, misread a plate from Missoula County with a four-county number as the same as his plate from Broadwater County.
The DMV has a form letter for situations like this, which Crowe and Schwartz used to explain the mix-up to officials in Olympia.
“We do understand the computer limitation in working with 1-56 county numbers assigned to Montana counties,” Montana Department of Motor Vehicles stated in its letter.
“The issuer of the notice of violation may wish to rerun plate 43- to identify the proper individual for payment of any fees due.”
Montana’s plate system has caused problems in other states where license plate readers don’t properly read the bullhead separator.
What used to be a rare issue has now become more frequent, according to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
“Eight years ago, it happened once every few months. Now, we see maybe one or two a month,” said Michael Walker, head of the DMV’s vehicle services bureau.
Schwartz’s plate confusion escalated when he was sent to collections for the unpaid ticket, threatening his perfect credit score.
Crowe and Schwartz are working to resolve the situation with credit agencies while waiting for a permanent fix.
“He has great credit, and so, unfortunately, something like this could affect him,” Crowe said.
The issue will be addressed starting March 17 when new license plates with alpha characters will replace the current system, making each plate unique and preventing future mix-ups.
How to fight a parking ticket
You can avoid being ticketed by following all posted laws and ordinances, but sometimes mistakes are made
Like any form of citation, parking tickets are preventable by reading and obeying posted signage. However, when visiting a new city, or state, or in a hurry, things can be missed and mistakes are made.
Suddenly there’s a ticket you weren’t prepared to pay for. If the ticket is a surprise to you, there are a few things you can do to help your case when appealing a parking ticket.
- Carefully read the ticket. Look for errors like incorrect street names, license plate numbers, vehicle make and model, time and date, etc. Errors would then make the ticket invalid.
- Take photos. Of the vehicle in the parking space, lack of signage, or other vehicles that weren’t cited for performing the same parking job. If the ticket involves parking too close to something like a fire hydrant, a photo showing a reasonable distance would help your case. Make sure metadata with the time and date are accessible. Signs that are obstructed by trees, or are on bent posts, or aren’t “obvious” are great things to photograph, too.
- Make sure the statute that was violated is listed on the ticket. If not listed, the ticket is not valid.
- Promptly follow the appeal instructions on the ticket. All legitimate tickets will have directions for appeal. Waiting until the very last moment weakens your argument and can result in late fees.
- When in court, avoid these phrases as they reduce your credibility and weaken your argument:
- “I didn’t know the law.”
- “I was on my way to move my car.”
- “I can’t afford this ticket.”
- “I’ve been doing this for years.”
- “I checked with the parking officer, who said it was OK.”
- Contact a lawyer. If you’re running into roadblocks and feel stuck, it may be best to reach out to a traffic lawyer in your area. Many have free case consultations.
Source: Reader’s Digest
However, it will take years for the new plates to reach all drivers since plates are replaced only once every five years.
But it’s not just cross-state confusion causing problems.
The DMV warns that when people sell or dispose of vehicles, they must remove the plates.
Failure to do so often leads to parking tickets or toll violations being mistakenly sent to the vehicle’s former owner.
Until then, drivers in the state may have to deal with more of these frustrating errors.
Montana Department of Motor Vehicles didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
