Red lights in future for holders of green tags (Printed Dec. 21, 2007)
By James V. Horrigan
Staff Writer
As 2007 turns into 2008, those Scarborough drivers who have failed to renew their registrations and are still sporting green registration tags will become a lot more noticeable.
“People just forget about them,” said town excise agent Liz Hernandez, the official charged with issuing all vehicle registrations, including automobiles, trucks, ATVs and snowmobiles, as well as boats.
Although registrations must be renewed each year, Maine does not require communities to send out reminder notices as the time for renewal draws near, Hernandez said. Scarborough is one community that does not.
“It’s a state where you must take that responsibility unto yourself,” Hernandez said.
Although other states notify owners when registrations are due to expire – and Maine sends out reminders when driver licenses are up for renewal – The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles spokesman Don Cookson said there are several reasons why it isn’t done here.
“First and foremost, it would be a tremendous expense,” Cookson said. “And secondly, when your registration is in need of being renewed it is the responsibility of the motor vehicle operator.”
Both Cookson and Hernandez however say it’s more than just the expense involved and the need for individual accountability.
“There are other reasons that a person may or may not renew a registration,” he said.
Sometimes, Hernandez said, people take a car off the road and garage it all winter. The time and expense involved in sending those individuals a reminder would be pointless, she said.
In other instances the effort would only be ignored, Cookson said.
“We would be sending notifications to people who are fully aware that their registration has expired and they have no intention of renewing it to begin with,” he said.
Maine state law requires a warning be issued to any motorist found with an expired registration of less than 30 days.
“Essentially, it’s a grace period,” Cookson said.
If a registration has been expired for more than 29 days but less than 150, a ticket is issued, he said.
“If it’s more than 150 days it becomes a criminal offense and you have to have a court date set and appear before a judge,” Hernandez said.
Although municipal excise agents in Maine are able to keep a running tab of how much revenue they generate through automobile registrations and excise taxes, Hernandez said it is impossible to determine how many lapsed registrations might be on vehicles owned by Scarborough residents or how much money the town has lost because of them.
She said however the number of local vehicles with expired registrations is not significant.
“I know there are some out there but I can’t tell you from my system how many because it doesn’t keep track of who has expired and who has not,” Hernandez said.
When a person with expired tags decides to renew a vehicle registration, the full fee is charged and the renewed registration expires twelve months from the end of the lapsed period, Cookson said.
“You’re not getting away with anything. Basically you just put yourself in jeopardy and run afoul of the law for driving without an updated registration,” Cookson said.
The criminal offense for registrations expired for longer than five months is similar to what other states do for any overdue renewal, regardless of the amount of time involved.
In New Hampshire, where renewal notices are sent out to vehicle owners on the last day of the month before expiration, individuals who seek to renew a lapsed registration must convince the local town clerk that he or she did not operate the vehicle when it was unregistered – even if it was only one day.
The Granite State statute requires an individual show “a preponderance of evidence” before the clerk can issue the renewal. Examples include suspension or revocation of an individual’s license for a majority of time since the expiration occurred, provided the person had not been arrested for a driving offense committed in that time.
Other acceptable reasons include serious illness or absence from the state during the time in question. If those don’t apply, vehicle owners must produce “other convincing proof of non-operation.”
Unlike Maine however, New Hampshire will pro-rate the registration fee in instances where the evidence is acceptable.
Staff Writer
As 2007 turns into 2008, those Scarborough drivers who have failed to renew their registrations and are still sporting green registration tags will become a lot more noticeable.
“People just forget about them,” said town excise agent Liz Hernandez, the official charged with issuing all vehicle registrations, including automobiles, trucks, ATVs and snowmobiles, as well as boats.
Although registrations must be renewed each year, Maine does not require communities to send out reminder notices as the time for renewal draws near, Hernandez said. Scarborough is one community that does not.
“It’s a state where you must take that responsibility unto yourself,” Hernandez said.
Although other states notify owners when registrations are due to expire – and Maine sends out reminders when driver licenses are up for renewal – The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles spokesman Don Cookson said there are several reasons why it isn’t done here.
“First and foremost, it would be a tremendous expense,” Cookson said. “And secondly, when your registration is in need of being renewed it is the responsibility of the motor vehicle operator.”
Both Cookson and Hernandez however say it’s more than just the expense involved and the need for individual accountability.
“There are other reasons that a person may or may not renew a registration,” he said.
Sometimes, Hernandez said, people take a car off the road and garage it all winter. The time and expense involved in sending those individuals a reminder would be pointless, she said.
In other instances the effort would only be ignored, Cookson said.
“We would be sending notifications to people who are fully aware that their registration has expired and they have no intention of renewing it to begin with,” he said.
Maine state law requires a warning be issued to any motorist found with an expired registration of less than 30 days.
“Essentially, it’s a grace period,” Cookson said.
If a registration has been expired for more than 29 days but less than 150, a ticket is issued, he said.
“If it’s more than 150 days it becomes a criminal offense and you have to have a court date set and appear before a judge,” Hernandez said.
Although municipal excise agents in Maine are able to keep a running tab of how much revenue they generate through automobile registrations and excise taxes, Hernandez said it is impossible to determine how many lapsed registrations might be on vehicles owned by Scarborough residents or how much money the town has lost because of them.
She said however the number of local vehicles with expired registrations is not significant.
“I know there are some out there but I can’t tell you from my system how many because it doesn’t keep track of who has expired and who has not,” Hernandez said.
When a person with expired tags decides to renew a vehicle registration, the full fee is charged and the renewed registration expires twelve months from the end of the lapsed period, Cookson said.
“You’re not getting away with anything. Basically you just put yourself in jeopardy and run afoul of the law for driving without an updated registration,” Cookson said.
The criminal offense for registrations expired for longer than five months is similar to what other states do for any overdue renewal, regardless of the amount of time involved.
In New Hampshire, where renewal notices are sent out to vehicle owners on the last day of the month before expiration, individuals who seek to renew a lapsed registration must convince the local town clerk that he or she did not operate the vehicle when it was unregistered – even if it was only one day.
The Granite State statute requires an individual show “a preponderance of evidence” before the clerk can issue the renewal. Examples include suspension or revocation of an individual’s license for a majority of time since the expiration occurred, provided the person had not been arrested for a driving offense committed in that time.
Other acceptable reasons include serious illness or absence from the state during the time in question. If those don’t apply, vehicle owners must produce “other convincing proof of non-operation.”
Unlike Maine however, New Hampshire will pro-rate the registration fee in instances where the evidence is acceptable.
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