Somebody's Daughter and Somebody's Teacher reports her car almost failed inspection today - not because her lights or brakes or horn don't work, but because her license-plate cover obscured part of the vitally important "Spirit of America" slogan at the bottom. Sure enough, the Registry informs us of the vital importance of not covering up this vitally important part of the license plate:

And it's only electronic - no more paper notifications.

Massachusetts permits interest groups to use Commonwealth auto registration as a fund-raising and advocacy mechanism. As you know from an earlier post, "Massachusetts Choose Life says it is only 214 sign-ups away from getting the Registry of Massachusetts to begin offering "Choose Life" vanity plates..."

Massachusetts Choose Life says it is only 214 sign-ups away from getting the Registry of Massachusetts to begin offering "Choose Life" vanity plates - part of whose proceeds would then fund the group's mission.

The state requires non-profit groups to either sign up 3,000 motorists for a charity plate or 1,500 motorists if the group puts up a $100,000 bond. The plates would cost $40 - with $12 going to the state to pay for stamping out the plates at MCI Cedar Junction and the rest going to Choose Life (there is an additional fee for swapping out an existing Massachusetts plate).

If you hurry down to your nearest RMV office:

As Paul Keleher discovered.

Posted under this Creative Commons license in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

I probably missed an earlier story or something, but this Herald piece kinda rates a fail because it says the feds are investigating possible safety issues at new RMV offices at the Charlton and Natick rest stops without ever saying what those safety issues are. Anybody know?

Bobby Constantino accompanied a young guy to the Registry for his written exam today:

... After a few minutes, he came out from the testing room shaking his head. "Yo, Bobby man, I can't believe they just did that man. They just asked me what kinds of cars you can drive with a Class A license, which I am not applying for, a Class B license, which I am not applying for, a Class C license, which I am not applying for, the registration period for a motorcycle, which I am not applying for, and all kinds of other crazy questions that we didn't even go over. They didn't have any of the stuff about intersections, parking, passing, changing lanes or nothing like that, man. That was just a setup so they could take our money. For real." ...

Michael Graham charged with running red light, driving with a revoked license in Framingham, according to Jessica Heslam, who also posts Graham's statement on how it's all Rachel Kaprelian's fault, because under her command, the Registry no longer sends out notices of revocation, and he didn't know.

Innocent, etc.

The Herald reports transgendered people no longer have to provide a detailed letter from their doctor if they want to change the designated sex on their Massachusetts driver's licenses:

Under the new policy, a gender marker can be changed by the applicant submitting an updated application and a gender designation change form. The form attests to the gender that the applicant identifies himself or herself to be. That form must be signed by the applicant and a medical provider.

The Globe plays Snopes and reports the Registry is NOT calling them back in.