The Inspection Sticker Trap

The police have secretly laid a trap for all car buyers. As with speed traps and other sorts of traps, this one exists solely to provide an opportunity for the police to hand out ticket. After all, everyone knows about the ticket quotas which cops have, right?

This new trap is a subtle one. It requires a network of spies and impeccable timing on the part of the officers who are running it. They have to catch you at just the right moment, or it’s too late. What makes it even trickier for the cops, is that it only works in cases where somebody buys a used car privately; hence the need for a spy network.

Most people who are selling cars privately don’t worry too much about little details like expired inspection stickers and license plates. Why should they spend money on things like that, when they aren’t driving the car? So, you buy a car and it’s everything is expired. Somehow, you’ve got to drive that car home, and do so without getting caught. That’s why the timing is so crucial.

As you turn the corner a couple of blocks from home, you suddenly see some pretty flashing lights in your rear view mirror. Yes, they’ve got you. They’ve been waiting for this moment from the time they first heard you were looking for a car. Now, they’ve got you and they’ve got you good. It’s a double-whammy ticket, both expired license plates and expired inspection. Yes! Extra points for a double header!

It doesn’t do any good to try and explain the situation, that’ll get you nowhere. They already know the situation and have been waiting for it. The officer will patiently explain, from behind his cheshire grin, that you should have taken care of the license plates before you drove the car home. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t have another car to go to the license bureau, that’s your problem, not theirs.

Of course, they never bother with the real trap, that of the sticker. I mean, think about it. How are you supposed to take your car to get an inspection sticker, without driving it? Are you supposed to carry it on your back?

Let’s see, you can’t drive the car to the inspection station to get the sticker if you don’t have the sticker; but you can’t get the sticker if you don’t take the car to the inspection station. So, where do you get the sticker from?

Like I said, it’s a trap. The cop gets to hand out a ticket, and you get the great joy of helping to pay the high costs of your city’s government. All thanks to the diligent efforts of your local police department.