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  • charlie12

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    That question came up a couple months ago on The Central Rants and Raves Facebook page. The person complaining about Central PD units not having a MVI.

    Some said LE was exempt and so on and it went back and forth. I was getting my MVI at a place I've been going to for over 20 years to get mine and they have been in business longer than that. I told them about the topic about Central PD and asked it they were exempt. The answer was no that LE was not exempt. I had already read the RS for exemptions and they are not listed. Why do some Departments have them and some don't if they are exempt?
     

    JBP55

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    That question came up a couple months ago on The Central Rants and Raves Facebook page. The person complaining about Central PD units not having a MVI.

    Some said LE was exempt and so on and it went back and forth. I was getting my MVI at a place I've been going to for over 20 years to get mine and they have been in business longer than that. I told them about the topic about Central PD and asked it they were exempt. The answer was no that LE was not exempt. I had already read the RS for exemptions and they are not listed. Why do some Departments have them and some don't if they are exempt?

    I was under the impression they used to be exempt. Maybe the LA. RS # changed at some time and they are no longer exempt?
     

    flamatrix99

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    I try and stretch my $18 worth every year....I skipped a year this time. It was due in October 2018 and I finally got one in Feb 2019 so it's good til 2020!
     

    noob

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    Car can't pass inspection, or you are breaking rules, be prepared to accept the consequences.

    I had a customer come in, mad as can be. Talking trash about Belle Chasse police, b/c they had the audacity to pull her over on a traffic stop over illegal tint and inspection sticker (they had a "sting" under the Woodland bridge), AND got mad b/c she doesn't have a license. Not FORGOT her License, SHE IS NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED ON THE ROAD!!! She stated that she hasn't had an ID for over 20 years and they threatened her with bringing her to jail, but let her go b/c she had her kid in the car. I stared at her with a blank expression. She was seeking sympathy, and all I could think about is how she would be liable in an accident. I told her, you know it's illegal to drive without a drivers license, she states she barely goes anywhere (though I see her every month). Then I say, if you don't have a license, the insurance on that car will probably not cover you and will not cover a claim you make, and you will end up getting sued by the other party. She told me, "so what, I don't have anything for them to take!!!".

    At that point I wanted to call NOPD and alert them of an unlicensed driver, but I knew they wouldn't respond.
     

    Magdump

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    In Texas it’s legal to ride in back of a pick-up. But at the same time the driver can be written for no seatbelt. That’s one I really don’t get. Seatbelts keep you in the vehicle because there is room to live in a accident. Keeps you from being ejected and possibly run over by others or your own car. I would like to see restraints on bikes to do the same. Cop motorcycles should be the first to lead by example.
    as someone who has been street riding sport bikes and standards for over 35 years, I hope you’re joking and will have a good laugh with you. The last thing I want is to be in any way tethered to a bike. That’s crazy
     

    Magdump

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    So far a few folks have answered in regards to law this, responsibility that and yeah I get it but do you also know there are guidelines the troopers must follow in this state for a checkpoint? Including that there must be adequate signage ahead and adequate accommodation for drivers to turn around and avoid the checkpoint. The location of the checkpoint must be reasonable. The off ramp and on-ramp checkpoints in Hammond are completely hidden until you’re on them. Definitely not a reasonable location, but they don’t want anyone seeing them ahead and avoiding their little excursion from the law. I’ve once had to bring my car to a near screeching halt because of where the trooper was located and due to the car he’d stopped as I was rolling into the hard turn. I was obeying traffic laws. The problem with the location is people are either trying to brake the car to a slower speed on a very short and sudden winding turn off ramp or they’re attempting to get up to speed with their head wrenched left looking for a gap in traffic. Either way, the driver winds up having to suddenly shut down the car. There’s no way in hell these troopers don’t see how unsafe the conditions are that they’ve created. All in an attempt to trap each motorist and check to see if they can write some tickets.
    It’s like this, if an activity performs a real public service or actually saves lives or appears to be such a must, as long as laws are followed, I agree. But to put people at risk while not following the laws and for no reason that is actually beneficial to the public is wrong. All Nazi gestapo papers please crap aside, I don’t want to live in a police state.
     

    Kraut

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    As far as MVIs, they're good for 30 days beyond their date, so you can technically get 13 months for the price of 12, stick it to the state! I see the MVI mainly as a $10 Administrative Tax, my car only get's "inspected" 1 time out of 5, the rest of the time I just pay $10 for someone to clean a small portion of the inside of my windshield and give me a sticker. I wonder if the state, all costs tallied, actually makes any profit from MVIs or if it costs them more to issue them than they actually take in.

    Beyond my personal opinion, though, it's still a law, and most LEOs I know see an expired MVI as a hint that the driver probably doesn't tend to other details and keep up their insurance, or renew their license, or go to court to avoid attachments, etc., etc. Just like many LEOs give a few MPH on speed before stopping, many LEOs don't make an MVI stop if it's only a couple months or so. Keeping it up to date is a relatively cheap way to avoid being noticed and singled out of a line of traffic. Same thing with registration renewal. I knew an officer who had moved from CA and it blew his gaskets that people didn't keep up with the cheap costs here as opposed to what it cost him in CA and other states he had lived in. He'd turn around and add those violations to tickets, and we had to slow him down because he was turning a $10-40 administrative cost into $400+ tickets.

    Not sure if it's always the case, but I mostly assume when I see the Troop on the ramps like that that they are working the seatbelt grant OT or maybe that LACE grant that some of them got "Zuricked" over last year.

    As for checkpoints, there are specific guidelines regarding checkpoints for non-visible violations like insurance or DWI, but as others have previously stated, standing at the curb and observing a violation is legit traffic enforcement.
     
    Last edited:

    thperez1972

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    So far a few folks have answered in regards to law this, responsibility that and yeah I get it but do you also know there are guidelines the troopers must follow in this state for a checkpoint? Including that there must be adequate signage ahead and adequate accommodation for drivers to turn around and avoid the checkpoint. The location of the checkpoint must be reasonable. The off ramp and on-ramp checkpoints in Hammond are completely hidden until you’re on them. Definitely not a reasonable location, but they don’t want anyone seeing them ahead and avoiding their little excursion from the law. I’ve once had to bring my car to a near screeching halt because of where the trooper was located and due to the car he’d stopped as I was rolling into the hard turn. I was obeying traffic laws. The problem with the location is people are either trying to brake the car to a slower speed on a very short and sudden winding turn off ramp or they’re attempting to get up to speed with their head wrenched left looking for a gap in traffic. Either way, the driver winds up having to suddenly shut down the car. There’s no way in hell these troopers don’t see how unsafe the conditions are that they’ve created. All in an attempt to trap each motorist and check to see if they can write some tickets.
    It’s like this, if an activity performs a real public service or actually saves lives or appears to be such a must, as long as laws are followed, I agree. But to put people at risk while not following the laws and for no reason that is actually beneficial to the public is wrong. All Nazi gestapo papers please crap aside, I don’t want to live in a police state.

    As has been stated before, it's not a checkpoint. It's a foot patrol. It's you driving past a cop who is observing your vehicle. If he observes something in plain view, like an expired brake tag or a seatbelt not being worn, he has probable cause for the stop. As was explained before, the things they are looking for can also be observed from a moving police car and people don't see any problems with that. A checkpoint is when they stop every car to check for more than what's in plain view, like registration and/or insurance.
     

    Bangswitch

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    As has been stated before, it's not a checkpoint. It's a foot patrol. It's you driving past a cop who is observing your vehicle. If he observes something in plain view, like an expired brake tag or a seatbelt not being worn, he has probable cause for the stop. As was explained before, the things they are looking for can also be observed from a moving police car and people don't see any problems with that. A checkpoint is when they stop every car to check for more than what's in plain view, like registration and/or insurance.

    I get it, it’s legal, but it’s also semantics. And it’s definitely fleecing the citizenry. I don’t have a problem with the officers, my problem is with the head-shed and the local and parish governments who pay LSP overtime to do these *foot patrols*. Are expired mvi’s illegal? Sure, but there is little benefit to the public. Do they make you stop and have your car towed? No, so if the expired mvi was actually dangerous, it’s still a danger to the citizens. The rub is each jurisdiction gets to set the rates for various tickets. Tangipahoa set the MVI at $200 so there is no doubt in my mind it’s about collection to the people that pay the overtime. To the dudes on *foot patrol* it’s a chance to make OT doing a job they must love, and who wouldn’t want to make some OT outside in the sunshine.

    My source just so happens to be veteran LSP. I’m not entirely sure how the money flows from the parish to the Trooper but I know that’s the direction of flow.

    I moved back to Mississippi some years back and we don’t do MVI’s here anymore. I can’t see any increase in accidents due to bad brakes or tinted windows or anything, but I haven’t put pen to paper or looked at any data. Just my seat of the pants observation. At the end of the day it all boils down to elected officials we put little to no effort out when it comes to local and state elections, it’s no wonder we get the officials we deserve.
     

    thperez1972

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    I get it, it’s legal, but it’s also semantics. And it’s definitely fleecing the citizenry. I don’t have a problem with the officers, my problem is with the head-shed and the local and parish governments who pay LSP overtime to do these *foot patrols*. Are expired mvi’s illegal? Sure, but there is little benefit to the public. Do they make you stop and have your car towed? No, so if the expired mvi was actually dangerous, it’s still a danger to the citizens. The rub is each jurisdiction gets to set the rates for various tickets. Tangipahoa set the MVI at $200 so there is no doubt in my mind it’s about collection to the people that pay the overtime. To the dudes on *foot patrol* it’s a chance to make OT doing a job they must love, and who wouldn’t want to make some OT outside in the sunshine.

    My source just so happens to be veteran LSP. I’m not entirely sure how the money flows from the parish to the Trooper but I know that’s the direction of flow.

    I moved back to Mississippi some years back and we don’t do MVI’s here anymore. I can’t see any increase in accidents due to bad brakes or tinted windows or anything, but I haven’t put pen to paper or looked at any data. Just my seat of the pants observation. At the end of the day it all boils down to elected officials we put little to no effort out when it comes to local and state elections, it’s no wonder we get the officials we deserve.

    It's not semantics. They are 2 entirely different things. And it's not fleecing the citizenry. Expired MVI's are illegal. And there's an easy and proven method for not getting an expired MVI ticket. Don't have an expired MVI. There's an easy and proven method for not getting a seatbelt ticket. Wear your seatbelt. If your rub is the cost of the tickets, address that issue. As it stands, you're been addressing the cops enforcing the laws. Sure, OT is great. Standing out in the sun for hours in uniform is not.
     

    Bangswitch

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    It's not semantics. They are 2 entirely different things. And it's not fleecing the citizenry. Expired MVI's are illegal. And there's an easy and proven method for not getting an expired MVI ticket. Don't have an expired MVI. There's an easy and proven method for not getting a seatbelt ticket. Wear your seatbelt. If your rub is the cost of the tickets, address that issue. As it stands, you're been addressing the cops enforcing the laws. Sure, OT is great. Standing out in the sun for hours in uniform is not.

    Fair enough I guess those uni’s get hot with the vest and all the gear.

    There is no doubt the law is the law, and I couldn’t care less what you call it. That’s why it’s semantics. What motivates the detail is worth discussing though, because that’s what makes it fleecing. It’s also why that at area in Hammond has been know for that very type of policing for 10 years, but it’s all on the lawmakers, the judges who set the fines, and those tasked with assigning this type of detail.

    And again it ain’t the officer’s fault. I used to know one of the guys who worked that detail kind of regular.

    When you get a speeding ticket generally you immediately stop speeding for a bit. Same goes for most moving violations which is why they tend to help lower speeds and in turn hopefully make roads safer. An expired MVI does not guarantee an unsafe vehicle nor does a valid mvi guarantee a safe one. If it gets the driver to go for inspection and there is nothing to fix, it’s no safer, but if the driver has something wrong with their vehicle when inspected and they get a failure, they are still allowed to drive around with it. And if memory serves me a failure will keep you from getting a ticket for a certain amount of time. If that vehicle is a danger then why is it allowed to be on the road?

    Again I’m not opposed to enforcing laws, but the fervor and regularity this particular law is singled out and specifically enforced really tips the hand of those tasked with establishing a plan for enforcement.
     

    Bangswitch

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    Additionally:

    Forgetting and letting a brake tag lapse is easier than remembering to replace it. There is no effort by anyone in power to encourage compliance. There is only a penalty for failure to comply. If they mailed a reminder like they do for your license, and license plate, or even ran a half baked campaign like they do for seatbelts, I would be encouraged that the state was interested in participation, but none of that happens. It’s a lousy law and there is no reason it has to be the way it is. If they combine your plate and brake tag as one process, and if you failed you don’t get to just drive away, I would be more inclined to believe that it’s not just a money grab.

    It fine if you choose to disagree with me you can’t be right all the time. :D
     

    JBP55

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    Bangswitch, Why do you care so much about Louisiana MVI enforcement if you are a resident of Mississippi?
     

    Emperor

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    Fair enough I guess those uni’s get hot with the vest and all the gear.

    There is no doubt the law is the law, and I couldn’t care less what you call it. That’s why it’s semantics. What motivates the detail is worth discussing though, because that’s what makes it fleecing. It’s also why that at area in Hammond has been know for that very type of policing for 10 years, but it’s all on the lawmakers, the judges who set the fines, and those tasked with assigning this type of detail.

    And again it ain’t the officer’s fault. I used to know one of the guys who worked that detail kind of regular.

    When you get a speeding ticket generally you immediately stop speeding for a bit. Same goes for most moving violations which is why they tend to help lower speeds and in turn hopefully make roads safer. An expired MVI does not guarantee an unsafe vehicle nor does a valid mvi guarantee a safe one. If it gets the driver to go for inspection and there is nothing to fix, it’s no safer, but if the driver has something wrong with their vehicle when inspected and they get a failure, they are still allowed to drive around with it. And if memory serves me a failure will keep you from getting a ticket for a certain amount of time. If that vehicle is a danger then why is it allowed to be on the road?

    Again I’m not opposed to enforcing laws, but the fervor and regularity this particular law is singled out and specifically enforced really tips the hand of those tasked with establishing a plan for enforcement.

    This Statute would garner far more revenue if it were enforced:

    C.(1)(a) If the operator of a motor vehicle is unable to show compliance with the provisions of this Part by displaying the required document when requested to do so, the motor vehicle shall be impounded and the operator shall be issued a notice of noncompliance with the provisions of this Part on a form to be provided by the department. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 32:852(E), such notice may be sent by first class mail. A copy of the notice of noncompliance shall be provided to the towing or storage company and a copy shall be forwarded to the office of motor vehicles within three calendar days after the notice of noncompliance was served. The notice of noncompliance shall serve as notice of administrative hearings rights. In addition, the law enforcement officer shall remove the license plate from the vehicle if the vehicle is registered in Louisiana. The law enforcement officer shall deliver the vehicle license plate to the chief of the agency which employs the officer, or to a person in that agency designated to receive such license plates. In those cases in which a motor vehicle is not impounded, a copy of the notice of noncompliance shall be attached to the vehicle license plate and both shall be delivered to the nearest office of motor vehicles within three calendar days after the notice of noncompliance was served.

    Nowadays, most of the folks in this category are on their phones (while underway), too! They are now a monetary threat to whomever they crash into, as well as a serious health risk or potential life threat. These individuals should be of the highest priority for LSP and others. But they are not.

    You should be angry with why they are only on the on/off ramps in Hammond. Why aren't they rotating to different locations? I'll bet there are far more violators of all these laws to be had on the on/off ramps of I-110 in Baton Rouge. But you already know why they won't set up these checkpoints there.

    As a practicing law abider, I have no problems with any law enforcement agency enforcing any laws. What I have a big problem with, is when enforcement becomes a net gain only based on selecting certain demographics in which to enforce. Which makes more sense? Catching seat belt violators in Hammond, or wasting time trying to collect on tickets in Scotlandville? ;)

    As time goes on, you will see even more of a very sad correlation between poverty and less strict enforcement across the board. How's that for Justice Reform?
     

    thperez1972

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    Fair enough I guess those uni’s get hot with the vest and all the gear.

    There is no doubt the law is the law, and I couldn’t care less what you call it. That’s why it’s semantics. What motivates the detail is worth discussing though, because that’s what makes it fleecing. It’s also why that at area in Hammond has been know for that very type of policing for 10 years, but it’s all on the lawmakers, the judges who set the fines, and those tasked with assigning this type of detail.

    And again it ain’t the officer’s fault. I used to know one of the guys who worked that detail kind of regular.

    When you get a speeding ticket generally you immediately stop speeding for a bit. Same goes for most moving violations which is why they tend to help lower speeds and in turn hopefully make roads safer. An expired MVI does not guarantee an unsafe vehicle nor does a valid mvi guarantee a safe one. If it gets the driver to go for inspection and there is nothing to fix, it’s no safer, but if the driver has something wrong with their vehicle when inspected and they get a failure, they are still allowed to drive around with it. And if memory serves me a failure will keep you from getting a ticket for a certain amount of time. If that vehicle is a danger then why is it allowed to be on the road?

    Again I’m not opposed to enforcing laws, but the fervor and regularity this particular law is singled out and specifically enforced really tips the hand of those tasked with establishing a plan for enforcement.

    It's not just semantics. One is more invasive and has more restrictions. The other is a cop watching cars pass and stopping people he observes breaking the law. You not caring about the different legal requirements does not make it a semantics issue.

    There are 4 possibilities with respect to the cars and tags:

    1. Valid MVI and safe car
    Move along.

    2. Invalid MVI and unsafe car
    Ticket. Failure to fix the car results in more tickets. Failure to pay the tickets results in a suspended driver's license and a possible arrest at the next foot patrol or traffic stop. All incentives to correct the problems.

    3. Invalid MVI and safe car
    Preventable ticket. There is a 60 day window within which they could have found less than an hour to get the vehicle inspected. I would suggest the driver go from the traffic stop to an inspection station and get a new tag. Then he should go to the city attorney at the date and time on the ticket and let them know it was a case of poor time management and not a case of faulty equipment. The city attorney may or may not drop it or reduce it. In any case, the experience should be an incentive to use better time management skills in the future.

    4. Valid MVI and unsafe car
    No ticket. This could be an issue with an inspection location. But it's not a reason to not enforce the law.

    If the law is enforced regularly, that's even more of an incentive to make sure the sticker in your field of view every time you drive is up to date. The state does not maintain a database if your MVI status. There's no way for them to help you remember to get your car inspected.

    The scope of the original question was the legality of the ticket. It now seems like you're now looking into the motivation behind the law that resulted in the ticket. But there's been no presented scenario that explains why someone who violated the law shouldn't get a ticket.

    And I would agree with you but there's no point in both of us being wrong.
     
    Last edited:

    Bangswitch

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    Bangswitch, Why do you care so much about Louisiana MVI enforcement if you are a resident of Mississippi?
    I lived in South Louisiana for 10years. Although I have no vested interest anymore, but that doesn’t make the law less crappy. I mean we comment on other states’ laws all the time here
     

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