Q. Several times I’ve noticed temporary license plates on vehicles long after they expired. How soon should a new car owner expect to wait for their metal plates? I can understand that this is a low-priority-enforcement item for our police agencies.
– Jim Thomson, Huntington Beach
A. Virtually every vehicle on California roads needs temporary or permanent plates. No more hiding behind dealership advertisements slipped into the plate holders.
A heavy user of the temporary plates are new vehicles, which must have valid plates when rolling off of the lot. Dealers log into a Department of Motor Vehicles database and print out temporary plates with unique numbers on weatherproof paper.
Crooks can no longer drive around with so-called dealer plates – so cops, crime witnesses and automatic-license-plate readers can help find them. Yes, yes, crooks can slap on stolen plates from the same make and model of their ride and cross their miserable fingers in hopes of not getting nabbed, but it isn’t a perfect world, is it?
Also, it is tougher for laggards dragging on paying their annual registration tags to avoid getting pulled over.
“TLPs (temporary license plates) are valid until the customer receives the permanent license plates or up to 90 days after the date of sale,” Chris Orrock, a DMV spokesman, told Honk in an email. “Extensions are possible under certain circumstances. The 90-day expiration date is displayed on the TLP.”
It takes four to six weeks to get standard-issue permanent plates from the DMV, he said, and if for any reason the metal ones are behind schedule, extensions for paper plates can be had online or in a field office.
Now, getting personalized plates can take about eight months, Orrock said. So if you, say, buy a new car and want to get new personalized plates, you would get paper plates, then metal ones and, finally, the ones reading “GOHONK” or whatever other missive you get on them.
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Q. I am curious if or when lawmakers removed the requirement about crossing over double white lines to or from the carpool lane. I am increasingly observing vehicles crossing these lines with no consequence.
– Tim Chrisney, Arcadia
A. No, Tom, as you likely know, the law hasn’t changed: Drivers can never cross over those pairs of solid lines.
Probably just more impatient people out there these days, and just lucky to not have a California Highway Patrol officer in the area.
Sergio Rivera, an officer and spokesman for the CHP, said if an officer isn’t otherwise occupied with another work concern, the offender is likely going to get pulled over.
“It’s obvious,” he said of the violation. “We do see a lot of accidents because of that. (Others) aren’t going to expect someone to cross over.”
Driving tip: If you get in a carpool lane with double solid lines as a solo motorist by accident, keep going until there is a proper place to exit. Crossing over double solid lines is a moving violation, while getting cited for not having a passenger in a carpool lane is not.
HONKIN’ FACT: As of May 1, 17.4 million Californians have gotten a Real ID. Not bad, when the U.S. Census pegged the state’s adult population at 30.4 million as of last summer. Starting on May 7, 2025, adult passengers on domestic flights will need certain ID, and one of the acceptable ones is Real ID. Others include a passport.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
