Moving to DC with CA plates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you can but you would be breaking the law. And being cheap. Just pay it.

If your car is stolen or involved in an accident, you may also have a problem with a payment by your insurer if they determine that the car wasn't registered in compliance with local law and the change in location of the vehicle not reported to the insurance company.

[Anonymous]

PP here.

This is what you need to know about living in DC: The one thing about which they are EXTREMELY efficient is collecting revenue. This is especially true if vehicles are involved.

Anyone else remember when they arrested a naval officer for expired plates?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/expired-license-plates-in-dc-could-land-you-in-jail/2011/10/11/gIQAJjdhdL_story.html

Pay attention to the street signs. And the deadlines on your parking tickets.

Signed,
Paid $200 for a trip to the free Zoo
(We got back to the car mere minutes after rush hour ticketing started, and then I forgot to pay the damn thing so it doubled)

[Anonymous]

Well, I think from this thread and some of the earlier responses, you just got your first lesson on what it's going to be like living here. People in DC love interjecting their moral and ethic "code" on others. "Because it would be illegal." Yes, plenty of things are illegal but people do them anyway, such as crossing against a light.

I live in a building with 2 levels of garage and there are a ton of out of state plates in there. I know that in NY, the cops/DOT (whoever tickets) started making deals with garage owners to get into garages to check for out of state plates. They haven't started doing that here, but I do believe you have time. Let your plates and registration run out. As long as you don't park on the street often, you won't be caught. Unless of course, one of the busybodies in your building turn you in.

[Anonymous]

I don't see keeping one's car registration current to be a major ethical issue, but based on my personal experience, PP 13:41 is absolutely right: the only part of the DC city government that functions with any efficiency is the parking police. If the regular police force were half as efficient we'd be living in a different city...

Realistically speaking, if your CA plates are current and you will be ONLY parking in your garage, then yes you can probably go without changing your tags for a little while. Again, assuming no expired tags, you can probably also park occasionally on the street, as long as you don't park frequently in the same area. If you try to park in the same area on a regular basis, they will be onto you and you'll probably start getting ticketed--especially if you're in an area with very limited parking (like most of NW DC)--they are always looking for an excuse to give tickets. Once your tags expire, I wouldn't bother driving anywhere, you'll almost certainly get pulled over.

PP 13:54 may think we are all busybodies, but some of us are speaking from experience. I've gotten dozens of parking tickets and even was "booted" once. Sometimes it's just easier and cheaper to follow the rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see keeping one's car registration current to be a major ethical issue, but based on my personal experience, PP 13:41 is absolutely right: the only part of the DC city government that functions with any efficiency is the parking police. If the regular police force were half as efficient we'd be living in a different city...

Realistically speaking, if your CA plates are current and you will be ONLY parking in your garage, then yes you can probably go without changing your tags for a little while. Again, assuming no expired tags, you can probably also park occasionally on the street, as long as you don't park frequently in the same area. If you try to park in the same area on a regular basis, they will be onto you and you'll probably start getting ticketed--especially if you're in an area with very limited parking (like most of NW DC)--they are always looking for an excuse to give tickets. Once your tags expire, I wouldn't bother driving anywhere, you'll almost certainly get pulled over.

PP 13:54 may think we are all busybodies, but some of us are speaking from experience. I've gotten dozens of parking tickets and even was "booted" once. Sometimes it's just easier and cheaper to follow the rules.

13:54 here. I don't think your answer was busybody-like at all. I meant the people who jump in with the "you're doing something ILLEGAL" while clutching their pearls. There's just a lot of that here. I let my elderly dog off leash if he wants to dig in a bush for a rat or something and people will come by with the "It's the law to have your dog on a leash" crap. Yeah, that's true, but he's in a bush, not anywhere near you, and not interested in you, so why is this your problem? It just gets old in this city.

You are correct, if the police were half as on the ball here as the parking peeps, it would be a much better city.

[Anonymous]

Will you drive it back to California to get it inspected? Or just drive on an expired inspection?!?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see keeping one's car registration current to be a major ethical issue, but based on my personal experience, PP 13:41 is absolutely right: the only part of the DC city government that functions with any efficiency is the parking police. If the regular police force were half as efficient we'd be living in a different city...

Realistically speaking, if your CA plates are current and you will be ONLY parking in your garage, then yes you can probably go without changing your tags for a little while. Again, assuming no expired tags, you can probably also park occasionally on the street, as long as you don't park frequently in the same area. If you try to park in the same area on a regular basis, they will be onto you and you'll probably start getting ticketed--especially if you're in an area with very limited parking (like most of NW DC)--they are always looking for an excuse to give tickets. Once your tags expire, I wouldn't bother driving anywhere, you'll almost certainly get pulled over.

PP 13:54 may think we are all busybodies, but some of us are speaking from experience. I've gotten dozens of parking tickets and even was "booted" once. Sometimes it's just easier and cheaper to follow the rules.

13:54 here. I don't think your answer was busybody-like at all. I meant the people who jump in with the "you're doing something ILLEGAL" while clutching their pearls. There's just a lot of that here. I let my elderly dog off leash if he wants to dig in a bush for a rat or something and people will come by with the "It's the law to have your dog on a leash" crap. Yeah, that's true, but he's in a bush, not anywhere near you, and not interested in you, so why is this your problem? It just gets old in this city.

You are correct, if the police were half as on the ball here as the parking peeps, it would be a much better city.

I know a neighbor who throws chocolate deep in her yard to punish the off-leash dogs (and their owners). In this case, leash laws save lives.

[Anonymous]

You won't be able to get a residential parking street sticker, but this may not be an issue if you are always going to have it in a private garage.