Hey Laurie, my soapbox is bigger than yours :-)
And longer, too (readers: hit delete now if you wish to avoid
a long tirade!)
> <soapbox>
> Part of the requirement is that they carry "collector car insurance"
> [otherwise] you're still waiting all day in the emissions line.
Okay, so here in CA we don't have to go thru biennial smog checks
(though there's lots of other ways I suspect our new Guvnor will be
going after us shortly - read AB 2683 very, very carefully. Sidebar: he
held a 'media event' recently where he was smashing 'smog belching
clunkers'. Yeah, I think he was driving one of his Hummers).
But at least you get to keep your cars!
New CA state law here mandates (mandate [noun]: an authoritative
command) that the DMV revoke a vehicle registration if the liability
insurance is terminated. THIS IS NEW. The old law 'allowed' DMV to
pull the registration, this new one _requires_ they pull it (and all CA
insurance companies must report electronically all vehicle transactions,
so dropping insurance is instantly flagged). Now that's of no effect if a
person has only 'work' cars that are in use all year.
BUT... let's look at 'play' cars. I have Roadsters and other play cars. I
don't drive every car every season. And I can't afford to insure cars I'm
not using. So I drop liability (I keep the comp active) when I take a car
out of service for a while.
At the start of last winter the SRL went dormant (and I will reactivate it
'real soon now' as it has almost stopped raining). Currently, it's
registered. I can add insurance with a phone call to my agent and I'm
on the road. Simple.
But NOW, when I drop insurance next winter, DMV will pull my
registration. And that is a big deal! Why? Well, after DMV yanks the
registration, to reactivate it (mind you, at this point I've already
paid!) I will need to pay an additional reactivation fee. So I pay to
register it, and then if my insurance lapses I end up paying again!
Mind you, I also can't legally flat- or dolly-tow it on a public street
without active registration. I can't even roll the car onto the street to
load it onto a transport.
But that's nothing. Here's what REALLY bites: In many localities,
including here, it is against county code to 'store' unregistered cars.
Never mind it's ready to drive and otherwise legally parked in my driveway
just like every other car on my street. If it isn't registered, it's
against
code and I can be fined for its mere presence. And here, we don't
get a 'warning'. Code enforcement is now a revenue raiser, and the
first visit results in a hefty fine which can only be appealed by plunking
down an additional deposit before the hearing.
So by dropping insurance on a car I'm not driving, I risk a hefty fine and
the necessity to promptly (within 30 days) 'correct' the code violation,
which means disposing of the offending vehicles. Now THAT bites!
(note: no, it is not legal to simply park the vehicle behind the fence. It
must be contained within a fully-enclosed building - i.e. a garage. And
oh,
by the way, county code dictates how much garage I can even build. It's
based on a percentage of house size, so if I want more garage space, first
I have to add on to my house (and increase my property taxes).
Okay, people - beat THAT rant :-)
-- John
John F Sandhoff sandhoff@csus.edu Sacramento, CA
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