I Fought the Law and ...

Another riding season is upon us. Well for most us. Harley owners don't rise out of hibernation until it's 75 out but that's another jab for another time. I was able to ride into work a few times. One morning, a fellow co-worker pointed out that my license plate expired. I realized that I never received my renewal sticker notice for January.

Today, I went to the DMV. I explained to the woman greeter my story. She was able to print off my renewal form and send me to the sticker lady. The sticker lady, who was nice and friendly (this is rare for Illinois DMV employees), told me that the plates had expired and I was have to reapply for vanity plates.

I was confussed because my tags expired this past January.
Her reply, "Yes, they expired...... in 2008". She even showed me my info in her computer.

The first thing that went through my head was "DOH".

The sticker lady then gave me the paperwork that I needed to fill out and all the fees. Now, in my head, I am pretty confident that I was not riding around on an expired license plate for over a year. I figured Bandit Brother Matt has seen enough of my tail lights to notice the expired tag, if it was true. I explained to sticker lady that I will come back this weekend to complete the papers.

I return home and rush to the garage. I go to look at my plate with my eyes closed. I slowly open one eye, afraid in what I am going to discover. To my dismay, I had to take a double look. My tags since 01-2009. OK, I am not that bad off but I have a new problem. The Illinois computer says 2008 and I have a plate that clearly shows 2009. The good thing is that my license plate number is on the sticker so I couldn't forge this if I wanted to.

My next plan of action is to take the plate with me, back to the DMV, to state my case. Not how I want to spend my Saturday morning but I have to get'er done.

Stay tuned.