Temp Tags expired TODAY got pulled over

J

JFM1996

Guest
Jurisdiction
Ohio
So my temporary license plates expired TODAY and I was driving to get my new plates for my car. On my way, i was pulled over and the cop had asked for my license, proof of purchase and insurance. Unfortunately i didnt have my marandum title in my car so the officer (new to the force) wrote me a ticket and began the process if calling to have my car impounded. I even asked him if i could pull off into a parking lot and go to get my plates and come back to put them on my car and he insisted that their was no way he was letting me go to get plates for my car. He also wouldnt allowed me to take anything out of my car except my daughter and her car seat.
Can cops impound your car on the day temp plates expire?
I thought their has to be a warning first and the next time im pulled over with expired plates, THEN my car would be towed?
 
Can cops impound your car on the day temp plates expire?

YES.


I thought their has to be a warning first and the next time im pulled over with expired plates, THEN my car would be towed?

You thought incorrectly.

An expiration date has an implied warning, the 30 days the plate was valid.
 
If your temporary tags expired today, then the latest day you could legally drive with your temporary tags was yesterday. It is your responsibility to have the necessary documents with you when you drive; it is not the cop's responsibility (regardless of how long he has been on the force - his tenure with the force is immaterial to your issue) to let you drive without them.

If your temporary plates have expired, your car can be impounded regardless of whether they expired today or a year ago. I could find nothing on the OH website that guaranteed you a warning before you could be taken off the road.
 
If your car was impounded check the documentation for a vehicle code indicating the reason for the tow. Look up that vehicle code section and determine if it applies to your situation.
Typically a permit must be expired beyond a certain time proud for an impound to be justified, but you'll have to verify what the statute is in your case.
Regardless of what the statute says you can make a complaint to the PD (visit their lobby and speak to the boss). They can waive the impound fees if they decide the officer's actions were unreasonable.
You may also find there is an appeal process.
 
If your temporary tags expired today, then the latest day you could legally drive with your temporary tags was yesterday.

I'm not so sure about that. Seems to me that a 30 day temp plate would still be good on the 30th day.

I found a photo of a 30 day Ohio temp plate that was issued July 1 with an expiration date of July 30. July 30 is the 30th day.

That should mean that it's still good on the expiration date of July 30.

http://www.plateshack.com/y2k/Ohio4/oh2013temp.jpg

If today, April 10 2017 was the expiration date specified on the plate, then it should be good through midnight today.
 
I didn't read it that way - to me, "they expired today" means that the date shown as the plates being good through was the 9th.
 
Back
Top