I almost went to jail today!

jane_says · 08-26-2004, 02:42 PM

I was pulled over taking my kids to school this morning for having an outdated inspection sticker on my car (thanks, Honey!). As I was getting back in the car to leave, the officer called "Excuse me, Ms. Says! Hold on a second..." and listens to his radio for a minute. He tells me my license is suspended.

I've only ever had one speeding ticket, last spring, when my husband was in the hospital. I remember telling my dad about it and asking him to take care of it for me, since I was at the hospital almost constantly for several weeks. He'd been picking up my mail and so forth. Apparently it slipped both our minds.
I had to call husband at work (actually the dispatcher did it) and have him come pick us up and take us home. My speeding ticket, now with court costs and fines, totalled $234.36. I just got off the phone after paying the court with a credit card, and called the DMV number that the woman at the courthouse gave me. Yes, she said, they had gotten my receipt by fax. "Great," thinks me, "I'll have my trusty friend Angie hustle me up there tomorrow, and pick up my spanking-new license tomorrow. I hated that photo anyway!" Things are great, and I begin mentally making plans to take the brats to the county fair. "Not so fast!" screeched the shrill DMV harpy. "You must bring your birth certificate and marriage license, then pay a $45 reinstatement fee, and $12 for your new license." Hmmm, I think to myself. Will a human sacrifice work instead? Because certainly that would be easier. Now I have to go to the health department (which is another friggin' STATE, I might add) and get my birth certificate, and rummage around between the county and city records folks and find a marriage license. And go to the DMV, and do the other shit.
This wouldn't be nearly so bad if I had a few days to deal with it, but I have a new job that starts Monday, and I must drive there. I also must transport my kids to school and back tomorrow (they never made it today).
I just talked to Angie, and she has to work half a day tomorrow, from 6am to noon. So I can't even beg a ride from her. Grrr!
The moral of the story is, boys and girls, Thou shalt not fuck with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Yea, verily.

Griff · 08-26-2004, 03:06 PM

Do they hire shrill DMV harpies or do they have to train them? Gotta bring in that other stuff because they don't trust their old license? idiots

Pie · 08-26-2004, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jane_says

Now I have to go to the health department (which is another friggin' STATE, I might add) and get my birth certificate, and rummage around between the county and city records folks and find a marriage license. And go to the DMV, and do the other shit.

It still seems bizzare to me that I need more documentation to get a driver's licence than I do to get a passport. I don't even have a birth certificate (long story)... So I'm supposed to bring my passport, a utility bill with my address on it, a bank statement, and old driver's licence.

Sheesh.

Chewbaccus · 08-26-2004, 04:16 PM

I get all kinds of nervous when I get in the car with my mother since her stickers expired. In July. Of last year.

On the upside, I've developed an honest-to-God, Spidey-sense like ability to avoid danger. I can now spot a cop car from up to a thousand yards away, and even sense their presence when they're not actually in sight. No lie. Me and some friends were in a car once. I'm in the back seat, staring at the road as it goes by, when suddenly my head goes up and the following ensues

Me: "Yo man, your stickers all right?"
Driver: "Huh? Yeah, why?"
Me: "Cop car's coming from the right."
Driver: "What? Where do you see--"
<cue cruiser turning from a side street onto the road off to our right, perpendicular to the highway we were driving on>

And all were amazed.

dar512 · 08-26-2004, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Griff

Do they hire shrill DMV harpies or do they have to train them? Gotta bring in that other stuff because they don't trust their old license? idiots

Missouri DMV people were like that - Washington too if I remember correctly. However, I've gotten some really nice folks at the Illinois offices.

I have great sympathy for the folks who work DMV. I worked retail when I was in college. Most folks that you deal with are really nice. But the asshats can wipe out a good day in seconds. And you have to stand there, smile and take it. That kind of thing can change your personality over time.

Happy Monkey · 08-26-2004, 04:33 PM

DC opened a new DMV office in Georgetown, in which the people are helpful and friendly, and the lines are short enough for everyone to sit down. It's surreal.

SteveDallas · 08-26-2004, 05:46 PM

Marriage license????? The birth cert I can SORT of see... though I'm pretty sure in PA a driver's license, even an expired one, is valid ID to get a new driver's license... but what the hell good is a marriage license for identifying you?

Also, it seems kinda harsh to suspend your license... without sending you a letter telling you it was suspended.

wolf · 08-26-2004, 06:15 PM

It shows proof of name change.

SteveDallas · 08-26-2004, 06:23 PM

Hmmm hadn't thought of that... I'm not sure we could find ours... of course Mrs. Dallas never actually changed her name (excepting in the fantasy world her mom resides in), so shouldn't ever be an issue for us.

Brigliadore · 08-27-2004, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chewbaccus

I get all kinds of nervous when I get in the car with my mother since her stickers expired. In July. Of last year.

Ha, that sounds like my mom. When we moved to UT from CA in May of 2002 she didn't go get a new license. In Utah its real easy to get a license. You hand in your old one and then take a OPEN BOOK test. When you pass (and really you would have to be a moron not to) they give you your new license. So she drove around for a year with expired CA tags and a not yet expired CA license. In June of 2003 her CA license was about to expire so she then decided to go get her UT license. She found out she had a parking ticket from when we lived in Utah 15 years ago and they wont give her a new license till she gets the ticket taken care of. So now she has been driving around with no license and CA plates that expired in May of 2002. A few months ago she got pulled over for the plates. For some reason they didn't ask for her license, they just impounded the car. She got it out and now has it registered but she still doesn't have a license. Its beyond me why she doesn't just go get it taken care of. She has the money, she is just the worlds biggest procrastinator.

Oh and sorry all that shit happened to you Jane Says. The DMV sucks. When I got married I went in to get my new license. I took my one one in and my marriage certificate. I waited in line for an hour to have them tell me it was the wrong certificate and I needed to go get the correct one. I HAD the correct one and had to go home and print up their web site's page and the NV state government's page and bring those back in the next day (and wait in line again) to prove to them that the thing I had in my hand is the thing their website says I need and the only thing that NV issues when you get married. That lady took it over to her Supervisor and then came back saying "well I guess we can accept it". I felt like screaming at her "your damn right you'll accept it, because thats the fucking paper I am suppose to have."
The DMV sucks.

footfootfoot · 08-27-2004, 02:02 AM

Well Jane Says,

I'm not usually a "topper" but I can relate to your story and would laugh at my own experience if a "fifteen minute call to GEICO" didn't point out that it would cost me an EXTRA $500 a year to switch to them.

About eight years ago my wife and I got married and while we were away on our honeymoon our car was towed and junked. We just had moved to CT from NY and still had the NY tags on the car. (nasty court scene deleted for brevity) Naturally, I cancelled the insurance on the car. Fast forward six years: we are moving back to NY and I get pulled over for a bad tail light right in front of my new house. Cop lets me go with a 'fix it' ticket. Great. Five minutes later cop cars are flying up to my house from both directions and I'm surrounded. When he let me go my info hadn't come back from the dispatcher that I was driving with a suspended license for lapsed insurance. WTF?

It seems that DMV doesn't forward mail to change of addresses. You know, important mail like "we're suspending your license" or "the asshat who towed and junked your car didn't turn in the plates and your car is still registered."
I didn't even remember owning the p.o.s. car. Then it all came back to me. Two long, boring, painful circus–like court appearances later and I got the ticket waived. And a trip to DMV and various cash injections later I was compliant and on the road.

Meanwhile this is still on my record, raising my insurance premiums and the butthole who reported my car abandoned and the asshat who towed and junked my car are not suffering enough.

ps all that extra ID crap that they need from you is post 9/11 patriot act crap to make sure you aren't a terrist

08-27-2004, 04:13 AM

Oh, the stories I could tell... When I was truely out of it at he height of my Co poisoning episode, I geot a couple of monor traffic tickets which I forgot ever happened. As a result, a bench warrent was placed on me, two cops showed up at my door one day to haul me off to jail; I had to pay the bondman a bunch of money, plus the tickets- now about quadrupled in cost, and my car insurance went sky high - all this at a time when I had no income since being poisoned is not exactly conducive to steady work. It was a nightmare. Traffic laws are little other than ways the states can add to their coffers - usually at the expense of those who can least afford it.

hollyoake · 08-27-2004, 04:25 AM

why can't they be that competant when dealing with real criminals?

08-27-2004, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hollyoake

why can't they be that competant when dealing with real criminals?

I AM a real criminal according to the state Of Colrado. Go figure.

hollyoake · 08-27-2004, 04:42 AM

it's just a case of they only catch who they can be bothered to reach for... therefore, it seems more worthwhile to do something really horrific doesn't it?

08-26-2004, 02:42 PM	#1
jane_says Colonist Extraordinaire Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: SW VA Posts: 200	I almost went to jail today! I was pulled over taking my kids to school this morning for having an outdated inspection sticker on my car (thanks, Honey!). As I was getting back in the car to leave, the officer called "Excuse me, Ms. Says! Hold on a second..." and listens to his radio for a minute. He tells me my license is suspended. I've only ever had one speeding ticket, last spring, when my husband was in the hospital. I remember telling my dad about it and asking him to take care of it for me, since I was at the hospital almost constantly for several weeks. He'd been picking up my mail and so forth. Apparently it slipped both our minds. I had to call husband at work (actually the dispatcher did it) and have him come pick us up and take us home. My speeding ticket, now with court costs and fines, totalled $234.36. I just got off the phone after paying the court with a credit card, and called the DMV number that the woman at the courthouse gave me. Yes, she said, they had gotten my receipt by fax. "Great," thinks me, "I'll have my trusty friend Angie hustle me up there tomorrow, and pick up my spanking-new license tomorrow. I hated that photo anyway!" Things are great, and I begin mentally making plans to take the brats to the county fair. "Not so fast!" screeched the shrill DMV harpy. "You must bring your birth certificate and marriage license, then pay a $45 reinstatement fee, and $12 for your new license." Hmmm, I think to myself. Will a human sacrifice work instead? Because certainly that would be easier. Now I have to go to the health department (which is another friggin' STATE, I might add) and get my birth certificate, and rummage around between the county and city records folks and find a marriage license. And go to the DMV, and do the other shit. This wouldn't be nearly so bad if I had a few days to deal with it, but I have a new job that starts Monday, and I must drive there. I also must transport my kids to school and back tomorrow (they never made it today). I just talked to Angie, and she has to work half a day tomorrow, from 6am to noon. So I can't even beg a ride from her. Grrr! The moral of the story is, boys and girls, Thou shalt not fuck with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Yea, verily.

08-26-2004, 03:06 PM	#2
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Do they hire shrill DMV harpies or do they have to train them? Gotta bring in that other stuff because they don't trust their old license? idiots __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

08-26-2004, 04:16 PM	#4
Chewbaccus Freethinker/booter Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 523	I get all kinds of nervous when I get in the car with my mother since her stickers expired. In July. Of last year. On the upside, I've developed an honest-to-God, Spidey-sense like ability to avoid danger. I can now spot a cop car from up to a thousand yards away, and even sense their presence when they're not actually in sight. No lie. Me and some friends were in a car once. I'm in the back seat, staring at the road as it goes by, when suddenly my head goes up and the following ensues Me: "Yo man, your stickers all right?" Driver: "Huh? Yeah, why?" Me: "Cop car's coming from the right." Driver: "What? Where do you see--" <cue cruiser turning from a side street onto the road off to our right, perpendicular to the highway we were driving on> And all were amazed. __________________ Like the wise man said: Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

08-26-2004, 04:33 PM	#6
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	DC opened a new DMV office in Georgetown, in which the people are helpful and friendly, and the lines are short enough for everyone to sit down. It's surreal. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

08-26-2004, 06:15 PM	#8
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	It shows proof of name change. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

08-26-2004, 05:46 PM	#7
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Marriage license????? The birth cert I can SORT of see... though I'm pretty sure in PA a driver's license, even an expired one, is valid ID to get a new driver's license... but what the hell good is a marriage license for identifying you? Also, it seems kinda harsh to suspend your license... without sending you a letter telling you it was suspended.

08-26-2004, 06:23 PM	#9
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Hmmm hadn't thought of that... I'm not sure we could find ours... of course Mrs. Dallas never actually changed her name (excepting in the fantasy world her mom resides in), so shouldn't ever be an issue for us.

08-27-2004, 02:02 AM	#11
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	Well Jane Says, I'm not usually a "topper" but I can relate to your story and would laugh at my own experience if a "fifteen minute call to GEICO" didn't point out that it would cost me an EXTRA $500 a year to switch to them. About eight years ago my wife and I got married and while we were away on our honeymoon our car was towed and junked. We just had moved to CT from NY and still had the NY tags on the car. (nasty court scene deleted for brevity) Naturally, I cancelled the insurance on the car. Fast forward six years: we are moving back to NY and I get pulled over for a bad tail light right in front of my new house. Cop lets me go with a 'fix it' ticket. Great. Five minutes later cop cars are flying up to my house from both directions and I'm surrounded. When he let me go my info hadn't come back from the dispatcher that I was driving with a suspended license for lapsed insurance. WTF? It seems that DMV doesn't forward mail to change of addresses. You know, important mail like "we're suspending your license" or "the asshat who towed and junked your car didn't turn in the plates and your car is still registered." I didn't even remember owning the p.o.s. car. Then it all came back to me. Two long, boring, painful circus–like court appearances later and I got the ticket waived. And a trip to DMV and various cash injections later I was compliant and on the road. Meanwhile this is still on my record, raising my insurance premiums and the butthole who reported my car abandoned and the asshat who towed and junked my car are not suffering enough. ps all that extra ID crap that they need from you is post 9/11 patriot act crap to make sure you aren't a terrist __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

08-27-2004, 04:13 AM	#12
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	Oh, the stories I could tell... When I was truely out of it at he height of my Co poisoning episode, I geot a couple of monor traffic tickets which I forgot ever happened. As a result, a bench warrent was placed on me, two cops showed up at my door one day to haul me off to jail; I had to pay the bondman a bunch of money, plus the tickets- now about quadrupled in cost, and my car insurance went sky high - all this at a time when I had no income since being poisoned is not exactly conducive to steady work. It was a nightmare. Traffic laws are little other than ways the states can add to their coffers - usually at the expense of those who can least afford it.

08-27-2004, 04:25 AM	#13
hollyoake The world has changed and i'm still in my underwear! Join Date: May 2004 Location: Gloucestershire UK Posts: 57	why can't they be that competant when dealing with real criminals?

08-27-2004, 04:42 AM	#15
hollyoake The world has changed and i'm still in my underwear! Join Date: May 2004 Location: Gloucestershire UK Posts: 57	it's just a case of they only catch who they can be bothered to reach for... therefore, it seems more worthwhile to do something really horrific doesn't it?

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