I am a little confused by the different color decals and choices related to Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decals and High Occupancy Vehicle(HOV) lane usage. I mean there seems to be a red, white and a green, and I have heard talk of a purple starting next year... For a new model 3 owner living in the bay area (Santa Cruz) what is the best choice or strategy with regard to CAV decal color and choice, etc? Thanks.
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CAV decal: colors, choice and strategy for HOV lane usage.
- Thread starter MaryAnning3
- Start date
Eno Deb
Active Member
You don't really have a choice. If you apply right now, you may still get the red decal if they process the application fast enough. If you wait until January, you will get the light purple decal, which will last one year longer than the red one. For that reason the purple is preferable unless you absolutely hate the color. Personally I'm waiting for January to get the additional year, and because I dislike the bright red decals more than the light purple one.
Eno Deb
Active Member
Well, there is always a chance of political changes, but based on current state law there is no risk in waiting. If you waited until 2020 you would actually get a sticker with yet another color that will last a year longer than the purple one.
While you can probably send it middle December and get a purple sticker, my risk adverse calculations for things I have no control over says to postmark it Jan 1st 2019.
Print it out and mail it in because you need to include a check.
Clean Air Vehicle Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage
Form to complete and mail in with check: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/c...04-12f472ef97b4/reg1000.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=
The forms take a little while to be processed, the checks cashed. You can get cited if you are using the HOV lanes as a single occupant if you don't have valid stickers on your car. I'm not even sure if you applied now if you'd receive a red sticker to use in December. For me it makes more sense to wait until very late December to mail in so that it gets processed in 2019 buying you another year of use (as long as they don't pull the program for single occupancy drivers in the HOV lanes. In which case you'll need to find a partner in your car to use the lanes).
BTW @greentee in this thread, #108 ( To get Carpool Sticker now or wait until 2019 ), posted his application got rejected because he signed it in Acrobat, whereas they wanted a physical signature. The poster in #107 said he "heard" that they were holding all forms now and processing in 2019 but that's just hearsay so who knows. It would make a huge amount of sense though especially if the sticker won't reach you in December for 2018 use. I know I wouldn't be too happy hoping to use it in December 2018 and then not receiving a red one until 2019 in the mail and losing a year's potential use. Kind of like when we sent in our PG&E rebate for $500 and then heard within a few weeks of applying (and getting our check) that they raised the amount to $800.
Form to complete and mail in with check: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/c...04-12f472ef97b4/reg1000.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=
The forms take a little while to be processed, the checks cashed. You can get cited if you are using the HOV lanes as a single occupant if you don't have valid stickers on your car. I'm not even sure if you applied now if you'd receive a red sticker to use in December. For me it makes more sense to wait until very late December to mail in so that it gets processed in 2019 buying you another year of use (as long as they don't pull the program for single occupancy drivers in the HOV lanes. In which case you'll need to find a partner in your car to use the lanes).
BTW @greentee in this thread, #108 ( To get Carpool Sticker now or wait until 2019 ), posted his application got rejected because he signed it in Acrobat, whereas they wanted a physical signature. The poster in #107 said he "heard" that they were holding all forms now and processing in 2019 but that's just hearsay so who knows. It would make a huge amount of sense though especially if the sticker won't reach you in December for 2018 use. I know I wouldn't be too happy hoping to use it in December 2018 and then not receiving a red one until 2019 in the mail and losing a year's potential use. Kind of like when we sent in our PG&E rebate for $500 and then heard within a few weeks of applying (and getting our check) that they raised the amount to $800.
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The poster in #107 said he "heard" that they were holding all forms now and processing in 2019 but that's just hearsay so who knows. It would make a huge amount of sense though especially if the sticker won't reach you in December for 2018 use. I wouldn't be too happy hoping to use in 2018 and then receiving until 2019 and losing a year's use. Kind of like when we sent in our PG&E rebate for $500 and then heard within a few weeks of applying (and getting our check) that they raised the amount to $800.
I felt DMV was quick enough in giving me red stickers when I applied for replacing my white stickers.
You can lose 1-2 weeks more by submitting in 2019 but guaranteeing a purple sticker.
versus
Submitting for a sticker in late 2018 and run a small chance of a Red sticker being processed and losing out an entirely year.
Unless someone is getting a Purple sticker before the end of this year, I'm not playing with fire.
Some people in that thread you mentioned incredulously assumed the sticker was going to stay Red and thought they would get an extra 6 months of use applying in June and what not.
I wouldn't risk submitting early - there might be different form, etc... The website says Applications Not Yet Available:
NEW STICKER PROGRAM - APPLICATIONS NOT YET AVAILABLE
Qualifying vehicles that were not issued a green, white, or red decal prior to January 1, 2019, will be eligible for a new Clean Air Vehicle decal starting in January 2019. These decals will expire January 1, 2023. Information regarding the color, application date, and application process are not yet available.
https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm
Cheers.
Buddy
Member
Yellow,
Green,
White,
Red,
Purple...
Do cops know what these colors mean when they see them in a HOV lane? My guess is no.
As new colors come out, theres no way most cops will know which stickers are valid and which aren't.
Green,
White,
Red,
Purple...
Do cops know what these colors mean when they see them in a HOV lane? My guess is no.
As new colors come out, theres no way most cops will know which stickers are valid and which aren't.
smjbh5
Member
e-FTW
New electron smell
Yesterday, I received my “The horror. The horror...” purple/lilac stickers.
I have a red car.
And now, I am almost considering trading them with someone that has unused red ones. Wonder how much trouble that could cause if I ever get stopped by the fuzz.
I have a red car.
And now, I am almost considering trading them with someone that has unused red ones. Wonder how much trouble that could cause if I ever get stopped by the fuzz.
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