THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Now here is one STUPID SHITHEAD! Washington DC colored man’s ‘NO TAGS’ vanity plate earns him $20,000 in tickets

Washington, D.C. driver Danny White thought he had a really good idea for a joke. But the joke's on him--to the tune of $20,000, reports local affiliate NBC4.

White's prank started 25 years ago when he got a vanity license plate reading, "NO TAGS." He told NBC4 that he was "Just having fun!" and that "D.C. don't get the joke. They don't get it."

The issue? Each time a car without proper identification is cited for a violation, a DMV employee enters "NO TAGS" into their paperwork. Because White's vanity plate is registered with the District of Columbia's DMV, his name and vehicle appear in the computer's system whenever a "NO TAGS" violation is entered. Notices for the fines are then mailed to White's residence.

Vanity tags have a long history of causing trouble for the DMV and other motorists; White is hardly alone in becoming a target for bad ticket karma. In 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported on California driver Nick Vautier, who got into trouble over his personalized license plate, which simply contained his initials, "NV." Unfortunately for Vautier, "NV" is also the California DMV's code for when a vehicle's plates are "Not Visible."

"I started to get random parking tickets from Los Angeles, where my car has never been," Vautier told the LAT. "For every type of car. Except a Mazda. Which is what I drive."

Vautier eventually gave up his vanity plate, which White refuses to do.

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http://jalopnik.com/5885753/man-gets-20000-in-tickets-for-vanity-license-plate

[Danny White] has received many, many tickets.

The ones issued to cars other than Chevrolets are dismissed with little more than a traffic-court appearance; he takes time off from work once every few months to clear the backlog. Tickets written for other Chevys, though, are harder to vacate. The situation has developed to the point where White can no longer re-register his truck.

The issue has prompted the District of Columbia to make changes in its ticket-writing procedures, now requiring a part of the VIN to be written in place of an absent plate.

Why didn't White get a less troublesome registration long ago? He has a ready answer: "If you pay for it, I'll change them." If the DC DMV has its way, though, that change may be coming regardless of who writes the check: White's beloved plate — and other confusing vanity licenses — may soon be recalled to help iron out the situation.