Pulled over driving Model S

[digitaltim]

I have a question for the forum. I have custom tags (NOCRUDE) that I am transferring from a car that I'm about to sell. The paperwork for transferring the registration/plates to my Model S was submitted today but will take some time to process. So, should I go ahead and put the custom plates on now while keeeping the temporary registration slip in the window or just continue to drive around with that small piece of paper in the window only? Of note, while I wish we lived in a truly egalitarian society, history has taught me that a brother driving a nice car seems to get ahem..... Increased scrutiny by our boys and girls in blue, let alone driving without a license plate. Thoughts?

I moved my hard plates over from my old vehicle and carry the CA temp registration as well as the registration for my old vehicle with me. I am still waiting for the registration and title paperwork to be complete (had the car since 11/18). Today, I found out what the delay was all about.

If you cancel the insurance on your old car, MD MVA expects the old plates to be turned in almost immediately. You need to get the tag transfer request in prior to them getting the insurance cancellation notice. The administrator in "central lien" department helped me clear everything up today.

 

[loganss]

Got pulled over and received a total of 3 tickets in one stop (~$400 worth). Went from having a super happy weekend to being furious!

Cop asked for license and registration and I told him the only registration I have is the CA slip of paper taped to my back window.
He proceeded to run the info and came back saying the VIN and registration aren't in the system. I mentioned again that the temp registration is from CA and he went back and returned saying it wasn't in the system.

He then proceeded to tell me that giving me 3 tickets was him being nice and he should just go ahead and impound the vehicle.
He also proceeded to tell me that in all the time he's heard of some off the wall things but never that a company would sell a car and let the driver leave without tags. Car with no tags is illegal blah blah blah and continued to talk down to me like I'm supposed to kiss his [insert posterior term] with thanks. :cursing:

I didn't argue with the cop, I told him what I was told by Tesla, and I kept my voice nice and calm. So pissed. Maybe my face just looks angry no matter how calm I am. {/end vent}

I'm thinking of just moving the plates from my other car to the Tesla for now so I don't get harassed.

 

[Jason S]

I wonder how he would've responded to "You really should impound this car. That should get everything cleared up much much quicker than giving me tickets, since the judge will tell you to stop harassing people with out of state registrations. Not everybody buys their cars in Maryland, you know."

 

[brianman]

Got pulled over and received a total of 3 tickets in one stop (~$400 worth). Went from having a super happy weekend to being furious!

Cop asked for license and registration and I told him the only registration I have is the CA slip of paper taped to my back window.
He proceeded to run the info and came back saying the VIN and registration aren't in the system. I mentioned again that the temp registration is from CA and he went back and returned saying it wasn't in the system.

He then proceeded to tell me that giving me 3 tickets was him being nice and he should just go ahead and impound the vehicle.
He also proceeded to tell me that in all the time he's heard of some off the wall things but never that a company would sell a car and let the driver leave without tags. Car with no tags is illegal blah blah blah and continued to talk down to me like I'm supposed to kiss his [insert posterior term] with thanks. :cursing:

I didn't argue with the cop, I told him what I was told by Tesla, and I kept my voice nice and calm. So pissed. Maybe my face just looks angry no matter how calm I am. {/end vent}

I'm thinking of just moving the plates from my other car to the Tesla for now so I don't get harassed.

Suggestion: Do NOT ask for something like a badge number but DO ask for his car or for him to write down his name and maybe phone number so you can "follow up with him" after talking to Tesla. You can do more than just "follow up with him" once you have that name and number.

- - - Updated - - -

I wonder how he would've responded to "You really should impound this car. That should get everything cleared up much much quicker than giving me tickets, since the judge will tell you to stop harassing people with out of state registrations. Not everybody buys their cars in Maryland, you know."

Bad idea. You might feel good for 30 seconds and then hate yourself for the rest of the month (or longer).

 

[sp4rk]

What did he pull you over for? A moving violation (speeding?) or only plate irregularities that were visible?

 

[FlasherZ]

He also proceeded to tell me that in all the time he's heard of some off the wall things but never that a company would sell a car and let the driver leave without tags. Car with no tags is illegal blah blah blah and continued to talk down to me like I'm supposed to kiss his [insert posterior term] with thanks. :cursing:

Obviously living in the stone age. I hope you're going to court with it.

 

[bluetinc]

Hey Loganss,

A couple of quick questions.

Where in MD was this? (I'm just outside of Rockville)

Which police department is this? State, local? Which barracks?

What were the three tickets exactly for?

Depending on these answers it might be worth reaching out to the upper levels of that force to talk about how their system is missing this new information and the issues that it is causing.

I would try my damnest to keep my tone to one of trying to clear up something new, that they might not know about yet, and keep it to a teaching experience. I would also explain that the cars are just starting to be delivered in the last few months, but that over the next year they should expect to see thousands of these cars on the road. I would personally like to make sure what ever system they are using is updated. Note: A police stop is NOT the time to take a teaching tone , I'm talking about with the higher-ups.

Peter

 

[K Hall]

Definitely hire an attorney $150 and get this cleared up.

 

[loganss]

Happened in Bowie, MD. Good ol Prince George's County. Officer only mentioned being pulled over for tags. It wasn't for speeding. Stretch of road I was on has cops waiting from time to time. I'm pretty sure it was a local cop. Turned into parking lot then saw a police car pull real quick into the lot and get extra close.

The tickets were for the following:
-- Failure to display registration card upon demand by police ($50)
-- Driving vehicle on hghway without current registration plates and validation tabs ($70)
-- Operating unregistered Motor Vehicle on highway ($290)

I'll most likely go to court. Hopefully I can have more proof of the CA registration to bring w/ me by then. I'm ok w/ insurance agencies not being able to pull up VIN but my goodness how messed up does the system have to be that the cops also can't find the VIN. Cop was prob looking at me like I stole the car if it wasn't for the insurance.

 

[andrewket]

Please go to court. It should all get dismissed. You'll likely get stuck with the cost of the attorney though.

How many times do you think an officer in MD has seen a California temp registration permit? He likely wasn't running it correctly, or perhaps you can't outside of California.

Did Tesla give you the option of taking care of registration yourself? I'm hoping Tesla just gives me a certificate of origin and let's me go to the Virginia DMV on my own to get a title and transfer registration.

A


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[Joyrider]

Unfortunately you will have to spend time going to traffic court...but I am pretty sure all those tickets will be thrown out when you provide the evidence of the California temporary tag. You might want to take a picture of the tag in the window to show how it was displayed and that it was displayed when you received the tickets. Also call Tesla to see what they say. They may know something that will make this easier to deal with in court.

 

[Gator]

MD police are called 'Revenue Collection Officers' for Governor O'Malley. Never speak to the cops. Cooperate, yes, but do not say anything that will incriminate you. Even if you are being honest. Cops always write down what you said on the ticket after you pull off in case they need to defend in court. This is why they are always still sitting for a few minutes after you drive off. If they ask you if you know why they pulled you over, say "No." If they ask you if you know how fast you were going, say, "Yes" but do not give the number. Just say you always drive safely and within the speed limit. The burden of proof is on them, do not hand it to them. If you admit you were speeding or not knowing how fast you were going, they now have an admission they can use against you. The 5th amendment is great, use it. Be cooperative and courteous but don't be stupid and talk to the cops other than being cooperative.

Edumacate yourself here:
Dont Talk to Police - YouTube
Law School Professor: 4 Reasons Why You Should ALWAYS Take The 5th And Never Talk To The Police - Daily Silver News

 

[William13]

Tesla offered to pay this type of ticket for me. Don't sweat. I would and did install other car plates to avoid this issue and had Tesla send me a letter to show to the officer.

 

[Mike_Schlechter]

I got pulled over twice for no plates before I got my actual CT plates in the mail. Both times I got out of it, but both times the cops were really nice, and as best I can tell I wasn't speeding either time. That said, I haven't been pulled over since 1999, so this was a little jarring. Tesla is working on the DMV process still. It isn't set up to make it easy for a non dealer based model. Just another example of the antiquated systems in place.

Now that I have my plates all is well.

 

[wycolo]

From the opposite end of speed spectrum:

"Buddy, why are you going 36 mph??"

I discovered a *reason* for doing this that I'd forgotten: "Officer, I left my eyeglasses at home; all I have are these prescription sunglasses that I can't use at night. 36 mph is my max safe speed."

Saves getting into explanations re: poor trip planning, SOC issues, etc. Good to keep in mind as it is a rather good universal 'no-fault' excuse for limping home. Now to be sure each car has an extra pair of clear eyeglasses - they tend to migrate into the house.
--

 

[digitaltim]

@loganss I moved my plates over (in MD) after two weeks went by and just let the paperwork catch up - it took nearly 3 months for my paperwork to make it through the MD MVA.

 

[DFibRL8R]

I've had the car for 2wks with no issues until I got pulled over by a Virginia State trooper in an unmarked car this weekend on my first road trip driving 240 miles from Leesburg, VA to Virginia Beach. I was only pulled over for lack of plates. Trooper also ran the vin and said the vin was not showing in his system as a valid vin. I explained (multiple times) that the car was directly shipped from the manufacturer, that there are no dealers to give temp tags and eventually he let me off with no ticket after suggesting that the California registration paper could be a fake. He did suggest I not drive the car until plates were on. I considered putting valid tags from a soon to be sold car to decrease the likelihood of getting pulled over but seems like that could be trouble if pulled over for speeding or there is an accident etc. This is really a problem and needs to be fixed. Model S owners should not have to fear shakedowns by law enforcement due to a lack of a temporary tag.

 

[Treker56]

I've had the car for 2wks with no issues until I got pulled over by a Virginia State trooper in an unmarked car this weekend on my first road trip driving 240 miles from Leesburg, VA to Virginia Beach. I was only pulled over for lack of plates. Trooper also ran the vin and said the vin was not showing in his system as a valid vin. I explained (multiple times) that the car was directly shipped from the manufacturer, that there are no dealers to give temp tags and eventually he let me off with no ticket after suggesting that the California registration paper could be a fake. He did suggest I not drive the car until plates were on. I considered putting valid tags from a soon to be sold car to decrease the likelihood of getting pulled over but seems like that could be trouble if pulled over for speeding or there is an accident etc. This is really a problem and needs to be fixed. Model S owners should not have to fear shakedowns by law enforcement due to a lack of a temporary tag.

This is scary! Is it due to the delay in the opening of the Tesla Tyson's Corner store? Once that is open would Tesla be able to issue temp VA tags?

On a side note, how was the drive from Leesburg to VA Beach? Did you hit traffic on 95S? Where are you charging in VA Beach?

 

[kinddog]

got pulled over in Tysons Corner for not having tags. cops ran the VIN, nothing. cop said that the CA temporary paper taped in the back window is "for transporting the car to Virginia. not for driving around on." She let me go with a warning.

I called Tesla. Garrett told me that the cop is WRONG. That the CA paper is most definitely legal in Virginia, but that is just not that well-known to most pigs on patrol. That said, he continued, it sucks to be pulled over and hassled and that Tesla is working on a solution to the problem of us East Coasters being harassed.

 

[andrewket]

I called Tesla. Garrett told me that the cop is WRONG. That the CA paper is most definitely legal in Virginia, but that is just not that well-known to most pigs on patrol. That said, he continued, it sucks to be pulled over and hassled and that Tesla is working on a solution to the problem of us East Coasters being harassed.

What the officer was describing is a drive off permit. It's valid for x days to drive out of the state. If its a temporary registration permit, it's valid in all 50 states. It's no different than living in and buying a car in California, and then while you're waiting for your permanent tags going on a cross country road trip and driving through Virginia.

A


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