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Massachusetts

Started by hotdogPi, October 12, 2013, 04:50:12 PM

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Pete from Boston

Well, good luck.  It's obviously expensive but you just need to pick your priorities.  Feel free to PM with any neighborhood questions. 


The Nature Boy

#176
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2014, 09:25:41 PM
Well, good luck.  It's obviously expensive but you just need to pick your priorities.  Feel free to PM with any neighborhood questions.

Thanks! I used to live in New Hampshire so I'm familiar with the area in a macro sense. I felt like a country bumpkin walking around Boston today though, so much culture shock.

Yeah, the sticker shock is huge so far. You get what you pay for (to some degree) though, it is a great city.

roadman

Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2014, 06:18:18 PM
Perhaps worse here than New York, since that city is viewed as the taker and the ruiner of all that is pure and good in Deare Olde Boston.  It did not endear young me to the locals to show up here and remark regularly how things are not like New York, from whose environs I came.

The low number plate lottery was in response to the cultish coveting of said numbers and their provision mainly to the well connected.  I was tempted to enter because they invited all participants to a breakfast drawing and I wanted to see what oddballs are drawn to such a thing (plus: breakfast!) but I never did, and they moved it to Dan Rea's radio show, and I lost interest.
OMG - some "well connected" people have a low number plate.  SO WHAT! - it's not like state government has any REAL problems to deal with.  And if the issue of low plate numbers is really that serious (considering that Jerry 'seat belt laws deprive drivers of a basic freedom" Williams and Howie "I made my living off of Whitey Bulger" Carr were two of the reporters who harrassed the state into dealing with the (non) scandal of low number plates, I really doubt it is serious), then why didn't the RMV just recall the plates when due for renewal and not re-issue them?
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Pete from Boston

I don't really know much of the story besides what I said.  I also don't get why they were so coveted that people used their political connections to snag them. 

roadman

A common urban legend that goes back several decades is that police were more likely to cut you a break if you had a low numbered plate.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Duke87

Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2014, 05:07:03 PM
In other words, it's a badge of longevity and deep roots.  You can't get them anymore, you can't sell them, and you had to have been here 25 years ago to have them.  To some people this is a status symbol.

Does the registration have to have been kept continually the whole time? My parents still have their green MA plates sitting in a box in their garage for sentimental value but they haven't lived in Massachusetts since those plates were the current design. Would they in theory be able to use them again if they moved back to MA?
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

roadman

Quote from: Duke87 on November 24, 2014, 07:31:07 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2014, 05:07:03 PM
In other words, it's a badge of longevity and deep roots.  You can't get them anymore, you can't sell them, and you had to have been here 25 years ago to have them.  To some people this is a status symbol.

Does the registration have to have been kept continually the whole time? My parents still have their green MA plates sitting in a box in their garage for sentimental value but they haven't lived in Massachusetts since those plates were the current design. Would they in theory be able to use them again if they moved back to MA?

No.  Actually, they should have turned their plate back in to the RMV.  I'm surprised their insurance company didn't verify this before cancelling the policy.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Pete from Boston


Quote from: roadman on November 25, 2014, 09:31:14 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on November 24, 2014, 07:31:07 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2014, 05:07:03 PM
In other words, it's a badge of longevity and deep roots.  You can't get them anymore, you can't sell them, and you had to have been here 25 years ago to have them.  To some people this is a status symbol.

Does the registration have to have been kept continually the whole time? My parents still have their green MA plates sitting in a box in their garage for sentimental value but they haven't lived in Massachusetts since those plates were the current design. Would they in theory be able to use them again if they moved back to MA?

No.  Actually, they should have turned their plate back in to the RMV.  I'm surprised their insurance company didn't verify this before cancelling the policy.

You don't need to turn in plates to cancel a policy. You may, however, be required to either turn them in or submit an affidavit that they were lost or destroyed if you attempt to register another car in-state.  And, of course, if you reregister the car out-of-state, they couldn't care less what you did with your Mass. plates.

PHLBOS

Quote from: roadman on November 25, 2014, 09:31:14 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on November 24, 2014, 07:31:07 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2014, 05:07:03 PM
In other words, it's a badge of longevity and deep roots.  You can't get them anymore, you can't sell them, and you had to have been here 25 years ago to have them.  To some people this is a status symbol.

Does the registration have to have been kept continually the whole time? My parents still have their green MA plates sitting in a box in their garage for sentimental value but they haven't lived in Massachusetts since those plates were the current design. Would they in theory be able to use them again if they moved back to MA?

No.  Actually, they should have turned their plate back in to the RMV.  I'm surprised their insurance company didn't verify this before cancelling the policy.
Since many insurance companies operate in several states, they may have stayed with the same company when they transferred their registrations & insurance to another state.

Assuming that those old plates have long since expired I believe that the RMV considers the plate/registration in question number dead.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

The Nature Boy

Quote from: roadman on November 25, 2014, 09:31:14 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on November 24, 2014, 07:31:07 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2014, 05:07:03 PM
In other words, it's a badge of longevity and deep roots.  You can't get them anymore, you can't sell them, and you had to have been here 25 years ago to have them.  To some people this is a status symbol.

Does the registration have to have been kept continually the whole time? My parents still have their green MA plates sitting in a box in their garage for sentimental value but they haven't lived in Massachusetts since those plates were the current design. Would they in theory be able to use them again if they moved back to MA?

No.  Actually, they should have turned their plate back in to the RMV.  I'm surprised their insurance company didn't verify this before cancelling the policy.

Does any state actually enforce this though? I've seen a substantial number of license plates (even Massachusetts) at pawn shops over the years. They're fairly easy to get.

Pete from Boston


Quote from: The Nature Boy on November 26, 2014, 03:42:34 PM
Quote from: roadman on November 25, 2014, 09:31:14 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on November 24, 2014, 07:31:07 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2014, 05:07:03 PM
In other words, it's a badge of longevity and deep roots.  You can't get them anymore, you can't sell them, and you had to have been here 25 years ago to have them.  To some people this is a status symbol.

Does the registration have to have been kept continually the whole time? My parents still have their green MA plates sitting in a box in their garage for sentimental value but they haven't lived in Massachusetts since those plates were the current design. Would they in theory be able to use them again if they moved back to MA?

No.  Actually, they should have turned their plate back in to the RMV.  I'm surprised their insurance company didn't verify this before cancelling the policy.

Does any state actually enforce this though? I've seen a substantial number of license plates (even Massachusetts) at pawn shops over the years. They're fairly easy to get.

In Mass. you will continue being charged annual excise tax on the car unless you turn the plates in or file a lost/stolen/etc. affidavit. 

southshore720

When I changed from a standard MA plate to a charity MA plate, they instructed me to NOT return the plates and destroy them.  I've kept them in the event that they were wrong, but they haven't come after me yet and it's been 4 years!  I don't know if that's different when you leave the state...

DrSmith

I have twice had to return the plates before the insurance company would remove one of the vehicles off my insurance policy.  Until they could verify the plates were returned to the RMV, they would not remove the vehicle from my policy and continued to charge.

Pete from Boston


Quote from: DrSmith on November 26, 2014, 08:56:21 PM
I have twice had to return the plates before the insurance company would remove one of the vehicles off my insurance policy.  Until they could verify the plates were returned to the RMV, they would not remove the vehicle from my policy and continued to charge.

I have an uninsured (and thus undriven, of course) car with plates sitting out back until it gets exempt from emissions come January.  The insurance company gladly let it go. 

roadman

Quote from: southshore720 on November 26, 2014, 05:24:11 PM
When I changed from a standard MA plate to a charity MA plate, they instructed me to NOT return the plates and destroy them.  I've kept them in the event that they were wrong, but they haven't come after me yet and it's been 4 years!  I don't know if that's different when you leave the state...
When I changed from my standard plate to my ham radio plates, the RMV specifically requested that I return the standard plate when I picked up the new plates.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

machias

#190
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 26, 2014, 04:35:51 PM



In Mass. you will continue being charged annual excise tax on the car unless you turn the plates in or file a lost/stolen/etc. affidavit. 

I still have my green on white plate from when I moved from Mass. to N.Y. in 1990 and I've never been tapped for any excise tax.

The Nature Boy

The lesson here is that MA RMV is incredibly inconsistent when it comes to enforcing its own requirements.

Pete from Boston

#192

Quote from: upstatenyroads on November 28, 2014, 12:38:13 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 26, 2014, 04:35:51 PM



In Mass. you will continue being charged annual excise tax on the car unless you turn the plates in or file a lost/stolen/etc. affidavit. 

I still have my green on white plate from when I moved from Mass. to N.Y. in 1990 and I've never been tapped for any excise tax.

Move back to Mass. and try to register a car.

NJRoadfan

I love reading about how obsessive states are over license plates. Just do what most states do, when the registration runs out, the plate is "dead" and flagged as unregistered. As for those low numbered plates, NJ has a system built around political connections, the "courtesy" plate. You can only get a tag with 3 letters and one number if you have permission from someone in state government.

Duke87

Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 28, 2014, 01:10:38 PM
Quote from: upstatenyroads on November 28, 2014, 12:38:13 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 26, 2014, 04:35:51 PM
In Mass. you will continue being charged annual excise tax on the car unless you turn the plates in or file a lost/stolen/etc. affidavit. 
I still have my green on white plate from when I moved from Mass. to N.Y. in 1990 and I've never been tapped for any excise tax.
Move back to Mass. and try to register a car.

Makes sense. Massachusetts has no means of enforcing anything like this against people who no longer have any ties to the state. I suspect a lot of the plates you find in collections came from people who moved out of MA with no intention of ever returning and did not bother to cancel their registration or turn in their plates because they would have gained nothing by doing so.
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

signalman

Quote from: NJRoadfan on November 28, 2014, 03:12:38 PMAs for those low numbered plates, NJ has a system built around political connections, the "courtesy" plate. You can only get a tag with 3 letters and one number if you have permission from someone in state government.
The three letters have significance.  The first is the county code from where the senator resides that "sponsored" the registrant.  The second and thrid letters are the registrants initials.  Also, courtesies are only numbered 1-20.  The regular format is in an ABC 1 format, there's also a reverse format; 1 ABC.

As far as Trenton is concerned, they are merely vanity plates.  However, they do serve a purpose with police.  Basically the registrant is saying, "Don't fuck with me, I have political connections.  Go bother someone else."

Jim

Quote from: Duke87 on November 28, 2014, 05:33:11 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 28, 2014, 01:10:38 PM
Quote from: upstatenyroads on November 28, 2014, 12:38:13 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 26, 2014, 04:35:51 PM
In Mass. you will continue being charged annual excise tax on the car unless you turn the plates in or file a lost/stolen/etc. affidavit. 
I still have my green on white plate from when I moved from Mass. to N.Y. in 1990 and I've never been tapped for any excise tax.
Move back to Mass. and try to register a car.

Makes sense. Massachusetts has no means of enforcing anything like this against people who no longer have any ties to the state. I suspect a lot of the plates you find in collections came from people who moved out of MA with no intention of ever returning and did not bother to cancel their registration or turn in their plates because they would have gained nothing by doing so.

When I moved from Massachusetts to New York, I had no idea that my plates had to be turned in.  We canceled insurance, registered the cars in New York, and put the Mass plates up on the wall of the new garage.  Months later, I was contacted by a collection agency about overdue excise tax.  Somehow the government who wanted the tax money wasn't able to find me, but the collection agency could.  After many calls and letters, showing proof of insurance cancellation and registration in New York, and explaining that I never received any excise tax bill (the rest of my mail was forwarded by the USPS for a year or so, no idea why this one important piece would not have been), I was told there was nothing anyone could do.  I ended up driving back to Massachusetts to turn in the old plates.  I know I still had to pay the excise tax - it wasn't enough to fight any further but enough to be really annoying - but I think I eventually got them to waive the late fees.
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Alps

Quote from: signalman on November 29, 2014, 07:10:00 AM
Quote from: NJRoadfan on November 28, 2014, 03:12:38 PMAs for those low numbered plates, NJ has a system built around political connections, the "courtesy" plate. You can only get a tag with 3 letters and one number if you have permission from someone in state government.
The three letters have significance.  The first is the county code from where the senator resides that "sponsored" the registrant.  The second and thrid letters are the registrants initials.  Also, courtesies are only numbered 1-20.  The regular format is in an ABC 1 format, there's also a reverse format; 1 ABC.

As far as Trenton is concerned, they are merely vanity plates.  However, they do serve a purpose with police.  Basically the registrant is saying, "Don't fuck with me, I have political connections.  Go bother someone else."
There's a 9 ESQ living in my complex. I figured it was a personal plate saying he was a lawyer. OK, he has connections. That explains why he's such a fat asshole. (Note: He is both. I am not calling him an asshole for being fat, or vice versa.)

PHLBOS

Quote from: upstatenyroads on November 28, 2014, 12:38:13 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 26, 2014, 04:35:51 PM



In Mass. you will continue being charged annual excise tax on the car unless you turn the plates in or file a lost/stolen/etc. affidavit. 

I still have my green on white plate from when I moved from Mass. to N.Y. in 1990 and I've never been tapped for any excise tax.
Have you renewed the registration since then?  Standard registrations are renewed every 2 years via a plate sticker.  IIRC, the RMV likely considers a registration (& plate) dead several months (or even a year) after the registration expires.  If the registration is dead/long since expired; it's no longer considered to be legally registered in MA, and hence, not subject to the excise tax.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

southshore720

Driving up MA 3 this morning toward the Braintree junction with I-93, I was treated to a view of some horrible new black graffiti on the diagrammatic BGS for I-93.  How long do you think it will take MassDOT to clean this up or replace the sign altogether?

Furthermore, why do these houligans risk their lives by climbing on a sign bridge over a very busy highway?  Since when did overhead BGSs become the new canvass for vandalism?  Whatever happened to the classic brick wall?  I frequently see graffiti on the reverse side of BGSs so that the vandals have more liberty for their ugly gang tags.

This is where pipe gantry is advantageous...you don't have these losers climbing on the structures defacing property and risking their lives for nothing.



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