Vanity License Plate Mix-Up Earns DC Resident $20,000 in Tickets
- Posted on February 17, 2012 at 3:33pm by
Becket Adams
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What started out as a simple joke has turned into a $20,000 pain in the neck wallet for one D.C. resident.
Danny White thought it would be a good gag to have his vanity license plates read, “NO TAGS.” He told NBC Washington that he was ”Just having fun!” and that ”D.C. don’t get the joke. They don’t get it.”
How has this turned into a thousands-of-dollars problem for him?
“Each time a car without proper identification is cited for a violation, a DMV employee enters “NO TAGS” into their paperwork. Because White‘s vanity plate is registered with the District of Columbia’s DMV, his name and vehicle appear in the computer’s system whenever a “NO TAGS” violation is entered,” writes Eric Pfeiffer for Yahoo! News. “Notices for the fines are then mailed to White’s residence.”
See the news update via NBC Washington:
White drives a Chevrolet Avalanche truck. So, whenever a ticket arrives citing a non-Chevy vehicle, he doesn’t have much trouble getting those dismissed. However, he isn‘t so lucky when tickets meant for someone else’s Chevy come his way. He has to take time off of work to go to his local DMV, stand in what is always a long line, and try to sort things out.
“How do I prove it’s not mine?” White says he asked DMV employees. “They say, ‘I don’t know.’ You don’t know? It’s your system, figure it out. ‘I don’t know’ isn’t an answer. I got to get this done.”
Because his record with the DMV is so long, White has been unable to register or renew his license. So he decided to contact a local news team to help him get things “squared away.”
“For two months, the News4 I-Team swam through an alphabet soup of government bureaucracy. D.C.’s DMV sent us to DPW, who sent us to DDOT, who sent us… back to the DMV,” NBC 4 reports. “Who told us the computers are not set up to red flag problematic tags like Danny’s.”
After White’s local news station talked with DMV Director Lucinda Babers, she sent out a memo instructing all ticket writers that instead of writing “NO TAGS” or “NONE” for cars that lack proper ID, they must cite the last six digits of the cars Vehicle Identification Number and mark the state as “XX.”
“It was funny at the time, but now it’s gone to the point, hey, I’m losing too much time off of this,” Danny said.
And despite what it has cost him in time to tried to get the ticket confusion corrected, White refuses to switch out his plates.
“Everybody asks that magic question!” he said. “‘Why don’t you get rid of them?’”
He said he always responds, “‘Are you going to buy me new tags?’ They say, ‘No.’ I say, ‘There’s no need for me to buy tags I already have.’ If you pay for it, I’ll change them. If not, fix the computer.”
However, White may have to get new tags whether he likes it or not: Babers told NBC 4 she’s considering recalling White’s tags along with any other confusing vanity plates to avoid similar problems altogether.
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Comments (48)
kevinj319
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 6:07pmThis is actually an issue for the programmers of the software. There should be a checkbox or selection that indicates the vehicle has no tags, because typing NO TAGS in the field will always be interpreted by the computer as the plate literally being “NO TAGS,” and for humans it may be interpreted either way.
You should never have to type NO TAGS, NONE, NA, or anything else in the box if there are no tags. This is just bad software design.
Report Post »Common Sense Sally
Posted on February 19, 2012 at 10:34amThat‘s the gov’t for you! No common sense! ;)
Report Post »MTCOWBOY711
Posted on February 19, 2012 at 1:31pmIn two years the government will have this solved @ $3.5 million per year.
Report Post »righthanddrive
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 9:53amWay to go Danny White. Let the DMV fix their computers. Do not be the like the lady who changed her travel plans because TSA did not have a female agent to do the security check. It is time we asked our government to work for us. And if anybody reads this post, please repeat/re-type whatever it if you agree with the concept.
Report Post »Maji
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 1:32pmWait… $20,000 dollars in fines ,fees etc. OR $120 dollars for tags…wait wait…I can’t decide!!!
Not to mention the time effort.
Yep, thats a enigma there!
Report Post »watashbuddyfriend
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 8:31amNow, this seems to be a case of the DMV doing profiling, and I thought DEMS were against that!
Report Post »piper60
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:36pmI suppose that’s what he gets for confusing bureaucrats. Every time one or more of them gets confused, WE pay.
Report Post »Thisstinks
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:34pmHis choice of a vanity plate is perhaps poorly thought out, but I think you are being overly critical of him. I guess most of you are too young to remember Dean Martin and his vanity plate that read “Drunky.”
Report Post »Cherry Hill Guy
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 8:08pmCheck out Snopes on “NOPLATE”. This has happened to several people throughout the years.
Report Post »Free_Thinker
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 7:42pmStupid is as stupid does.
Report Post »Bill Rowland
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 8:06pmThe first time I heard this story I was stationed at Ft Meade. I rertired from there in 1984 so its been around a few years. The other one circulating then had the two gang bangers deciding to steal a night deposit box by chaining it to their rear bumber and jerking it out of the wall. Needless to say they jerked their bumber off and drive away, leaving the bumber and the License Plate laying on the ground. Couldn’t figure out how the cops got to their house before they did.
Typical Obumbler voters
OMG
Report Post »ColoradoMaverick
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 7:24pmI guess the joke is on him!
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 7:15pmThat will teach him or maybe not.
Report Post »goodgrubguy
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 7:13pmThere was a story in Ca a few years back of a person that sent in a credit card app with “ No Name” on it. and they actually sent her a card with “NoName” on it.
Report Post »Marci
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 4:58amGoodgrub….someone from Discover actually sent a card to my husband in the name of Donald Duck. He called and let them know that he was pretty peeved as he had needed his card immediately, they tried to get it back from him, he said absolutely not. We still have it in a safe.
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 7:12pmKCUS-SPOC….and when the officer takes a look in their rear view mirror you’ll never make it as far as the DMV. Probably won’t even make it home.
Report Post »gr8t2bfree
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 6:52pmThis is too stupid to comment on.
Report Post »Captain Crunch
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 6:02pmWhat an idiot. That would be like someone getting a plate that reads “Terrorist”, DUIAMI. Just asking for problems.
Report Post »davisgarvey
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 6:17pmWhile you’re right…he is “asking for trouble,” I must applaud his cleverness…obviously he’s outsmarted the folks at the DMV.
Report Post »Dancing_In_The_Ruins
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 3:48amI wouldn’t call it out smart, perhaps not thought out.
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:13pmOur government @ work & just imagine how they’ll manage your health care & your budget when they can’t tell the difference between NO TAGS & NO – TAGS or someone without tags & someone with tags .
Report Post »@leftfighter
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:39pmWow. Talk about your sense of humor backfiring on you.
Lesson to you sit-down comedians out there: Don’t be this guy.
Report Post »countryfirst
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:56pmAnd we all think it will be easy to get rid of Obama care, governments have a hard time keeping fairly decent regulation and law straight. This is just proof of what’s coming on the federal side of things.
Allen Grayson said” the republican fix for health insurance is to die quickly”. The ways thing are going sooner may be better
Remember the qoute “ I am from the government and here to help”
Report Post »PlowMan
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:10pmAgreed
Report Post »KAdams
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 11:48pmHahaha Alan Grayson….
http://www.youtube.com/user/schmoyoho#p/c/736C3116AD309B58/5/LnoD3NUux3M
Report Post »MusicMan5220
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:50pmWhat, are you that thick, man? I suppose that you think that DC stands for “Da Capitol”, too!
Report Post »To be honest, I am genuinly surprised that you’re not more surprised that DC actually issued you those plates to begin with! Maybe they will recall those plates and allow you to have
“MEIDIOT”
kaydeebeau
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:56pmuh… he is not the idiot – that would be the Gov‘t and yet since our gov’t is WE the people – considering the state of our gov’t – I guess that makes us the idiots
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:38pmGood thing that he did not have: HOT-CAR!
Report Post »sooner12
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:28pmWhite is an idiot.
Report Post »newmexicopatriots
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:42pmYou’re an idiot
Report Post »Polarized America
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:22pmSorry about that Blazers,… a little troll got on my nerves and i got carried away
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:14pmIf this did not show the endemic problems within our governmental system; then this would be hilarious.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:08pmSorry to say this guy, learn your lesson and get the plate changed. It was one of those ‘it seemed like a good idea’ moments that has come back to bite you hard.
Report Post »newmexicopatriots
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:42pmMaybe the Washington D.C. should change thier computer system? I found this article SOOOOO funny. Every time I can cause trouble for government agencies, or see somebody else doing so, I say, Hell Yes! We need more people like this.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 3:59pmMaybe DMV-FAIL?
I still want PMPN8EZ…
Report Post »Tea-Party-Amercan
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 3:58pmThats just more proof the progresives are trying to take over our freedoms. The Blacks arent even safe Look there even turning on there own. And Blacks are the most pretected people in America.
Report Post »Lesterp
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:00pmI hope you are just a troll!
Report Post »9111315
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:34pmIf the truth hurts, just call them a troll . . . or a Nazi
Report Post »rpp
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 3:52pmEveryone involved here, with the possible exception of the journalists covering the story, are idiots; White, the DMV, the DMV director, the individual who approved his vanity plates, everyone.
Report Post »Lesterp
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 3:48pmNow he needs one that says M-T-WALIT
Report Post »AntipasMetochos
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:07pmGreat post, LESTERP. I was thinking along the same lines. Perhaps he should replace the “T” with his choice of B, F, H or N.
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