Red Tape in the Rain

This has not been my favorite week so far. I am cranking away, trying to finish up my week's work and do another week's worth of work (so I won't have to bring it with me on vacation) and somehow get a family of five ready to travel overseas. Oh, and all that other stuff like shopping and cooking and laundry and homework help and paying bills and endless chauffering to piano, sax, drums, dance, soccer practice, Hebrew school, playdates, etc. There is not enough Calgon in the world....

Yesterday I had Julie in the car on the way to her hip-hop dance class when I got pulled over by a local cop. It was very trafficky, so there wasn't any possibility that I was speeding. No, my inspection sticker had expired 2 weeks ago! I was appropriately mortified and contrite and ingratiating; the police officer was kind enough to let me off with a warning.

This morning after I walked Julie to school, I drove to my nearest gas station to get inspected. About 15 minutes later I learned that the Registry of Motor Vehicles produces a lovely four-color brochure titled, "My Vehicle Failed Inspection: What Do I Do Now?" Turns out my rear license plate is in such bad shape that some of the numbers can't be read clearly (which would have been a nice thing for the cop to point out yesterday, but...). I asked the guy if I could use touch-up paint, and he said then he'd have to fail me for sure, because apparently some people use that to change letters and numbers. (Bad people, not me!) And although my front plate is in good shape, we couldn't just swap them, because the non-removable registration sticker (which I did get last month, on schedule) is on the rear plate.

So I had to go to the dreaded RMV in the pouring rain. The Watertown RMV is the least oppressive I've ever been to, but that doesn't mean that it's pleasant. The guy at the station had said that I wouldn't need to wait in line, that the woman at the front who gives you your number would just order my new plate and give me a new registration sticker. Well, I explained what I needed, and she handed me a number and told me to wait. I said that I didn't think I needed to wait, but she was no longer listening to me. I sat down and noticed a sign warning that certain transactions had to be paid for in cash. I went back to the woman to ask whether I would need to pay cash and, if so, how much. She kind of sighed and spent the next 28 seconds ordering me a new plate, taking my $10, giving me a document that says that my new plate has been ordered (in case I get pulled over again), and handing me a sticker. So I really didn't need to wait, but she just felt like making me wait. And then not making me wait. These are the passive-aggressive types who work at the RMV. I asked her when the new plate would come, and she said, "14 weeks." I said, "You mean days, don't you?" "Weeks." So.

Back I went to the station, where they put the registration sticker on the front plate, put the front plate on the rear of the car, moved the illegible rear plate to the front, and gave me a new inspection sticker. Then I went home. When I went to put the documents in my glove compartment, I noticed that I didn't have my registration. Back I went to the station, where they had forgotten to give it back (and, I think, had probably in fact thrown it away by accident and had to retrieve it from the trash).

The part of this story that would be funny if I were just a wee bit less stressed out and exhausted is that for many years I have made a game of not getting my car inspected during the month when it is due, but rather waiting until the next month. There is absolutely no reason why this tiny act of subversion delights me so—surely it's not the prospect of saving $29 after 11 consecutive years of playing. I always imagine that if I got pulled over, I would be all oh-my-gosh-I-can't-believe-it, I had no idea it expired! But I never once got pulled over (not even that year when I actually waited two months beyond the expiration date). Naturally, this year, when it really was the last thing on my mind (and the last thing I had time for), I got pulled over. Serves me right, I suppose!

Comments

[Jonathan]

Lucky you didn't get a ticket - I've been told it counts as a moving violation, which is points on your insurance and a big bump in the insurance rate.

Moral of the story - don't play that game!-)

[Jimandrachel.wordpress.com]

Oh gosh, I can't believe it takes 14 weeks to get a new license plate! I remember registering my car in MA for the first time, I walked in & then out of the RMV with a shiny new plate and went to get the inspection! I wonder if there has been a run on new plates, and they were out?...Or maybe the lady just didn't feel like going to get one. :( So sorry it had to be now when you have so much on your plate! (pun)

[Karen]

Jonathan: Yikes! And I forgot to mention that I am also in the dangerous habit of driving around without my license, particularly when I'm just dropping the kids off and picking them up. If I'd been stopped for the inspection sticker and been unable to produce my license, THAT would have been bad.

[Karen]

Jimandrachel: For some stupid reason, I have a special "low number" plate, so it had to be ordered. Grrrr!

[Torque Wrench]

you really have a very busy schedule but luck is with you..I had my plate revised too because it was ruined during the snow storm

[steve]

Argh.