I know its normal to get asked for license, registration, and proof of insurance. But why ask for the registration? When I register every year, the county sends me a sticker with the plate number and expiration date to stick on the lic plate. The cops van see the plate and date right? Plus I'm sure they run the plate when they pull you over anyway. Seems to me they already know the registration status.

So why do they still ask for the registration paper?

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[–] 27 points 1 day ago (10 children)

It's not to check if it's registered. It's to check if it's registered to YOU. Does the name/signature on your license match the name/signature on the registration? If not, you'll need to explain why you're in possession of the car.

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  • [–] 6 points 15 hours ago (7 children)

    Wat? That makes no sense?

    "This car is registered to someone else."

    "Yes, I'm borrowing it"

    "..."

    "You must be a criminal?"

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  • [–] 10 points 15 hours ago (1 child)

    But that’s exactly how cops act?

    Like in this situation this cop can now say “your story makes no sense”

    And then proceed to escalate if they feel like it.

    Literally had this experience with a cop when I bought a car that day and drove it with my old plates on it (not an uncommon thing to not use the temp tags). Got pulled over while stopped at a train track because the cop ran my plates and was upset that the vehicle models didn’t match the registration. Threatened to impound my vehicle and everything.

    I got mad at the cop and straight up said “alright well my story does make sense, so I’m gonna tell you it again and you’re going to give me a ticket so I can leave” and then he got all pissy, wrote me a ticket and then I left. He pulled me over again about 2 minutes later because he forgot to give me my license back.

    For clarification, I’m a white guy and at the time I was an active member of the military (which was noted on my license). All, I’m saying is police officers are power tripping fuckwads more often than not.

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  • [–] 2 points 14 hours ago (4 children)

    This is why if you're lending your car it's a good idea to give them a signed note. Especially if they're going out of your state/ province/whatever. It might not help much, but typically car thieves don't have one.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (3 children)

    "I'm going to head over to the store"

    "One sec, let me just write you a note saying that I allowed you to borrow my car"

    An interaction dreamed up by the utterly deranged.

    Just to be clear, I'm not criticising your explanation here. I just think it's kind of absurd how US cops seem to act. Just the idea that you could be suspected of stealing a car if you don't own the car you're driving just seems crazy to me.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

    The store is in another state? If you trust them enough to lend them your car frequently the note can sit in the glove box.

    (Asking cold-weather people: does anyone keep any gloves in there?)

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  • [–] 1 point 8 hours ago (1 child)

    I'm not very familiar with the US, but I've driven borrowed cars through several countries over here in Europe without any other documentation that "Trust me bro, I'm borrowing this car" on plenty of occasions. In that regard it seems pretty strange that you would need more documentation to bring a car across state lines in the US.

    Also, it's pretty common here in Europe for people living near the border to shop on the other side (groceries or whatever). I can't imagine it's any less common in the US for people to have nearby shops in the next state.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 hours ago

    I'm not saying it's legally necessary. It's not. But cops tend to assume everyone is committing crimes, not just borrowing from a friend. And registration and driver's license are issued by each state, not nationally, so the database might not be as easily accessed by cops in a different state. So it would just be a thing you'd do to help your friend stay out of extra trouble if they get caught speeding or something.

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