RMV

Finns have a better shot at a Massachusetts driver's license than Somalis

adamg — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:49:38 +0000

The Globe reports the RMV is moving to suspend the licenses of immigrants who flew to Arizona to get driver's licenses because that state lets applicants take an interpreter with them into the written test, while we don't.

Yeah, get that outrage out now about the lowlifes from overseas endangering all us excellent native drivers. What the Globe doesn't mention until the 13th paragraph, however, is that Massachusetts offers its written test in 26 languages - but many of those are languages of immigrants in, oh, the 1940s:

Advocates say that while the state does offer the driving test in many languages, the options are out of date - featuring Finnish and Hungarian, but not the languages of Somali Bantus or other recent refugees. The list needs to be expanded, they say.

Feds charge teen with butt crack sold drugs out of RMV men's room

adamg — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:41:32 +0000

Crime Boston has details of an 18-year-old indicted in federal court on charges he sold crack cocaine and heroin - which he allegedly stored in bags clenched in his buttocks - in the men's room at the Chinatown Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Court rules you can't be pulled over for putting tape over the motto on your license plates

adamg — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:10:44 +0000

The Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled today some evidence against a man charged with driving down I-93 while drunk and with a cracked windshield can't be used against him because he was initially pulled over for having black tape over "Spirit of America" on his license plate.

RMV apparently slips one past us unsuspecting car owners

roadman — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:59:10 +0000

Got my car inspected earlier today. As it is model year 1999, I was only expecting the safety check. Therefore, in reading the inspection report, I was suprised to learn they had also done an emissions check as well (BTW, the car passed both safety and emissions fine)

Just checked out the MassRMV "Vehicle Check" inspections page and come to find out that, sure enough, the old "safety every year, emissions every other year" inspection system has been eliminated. So both safety and emissions checks are now required at every inspection cycle.

Now, did I somehow miss prior announcements about this change, or is this indeeed something the RMV had slipped under the radar when nobody was watching?

Registry of Motor Vehicles doesn't really get this online transaction thing

adamg — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:56:57 +0000

Dan Kennedy reports:

... I paid up online. I got an e-mail confirming that I paid. Yet now I have to call the Registry just to make really, really sure. ...

Patrick to RMV: Tear down that fee

adamg — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:51:25 +0000

Word comes from Patrick aide-de-camp Doug Rubin that Gov. Patrick has told the RMV to rescind that $5 fee for talking to a live person, and find other ways to get people to interact with the registry online rather than in person.

Maybe for $5, the RMV clerks will pretend to be human

adamg — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:55:32 +0000

Mike Mennonno flunked the written part of his driver's test today, but that's not what got him grumpy at the Chinatown RMV.

RMV to charge $5 to talk to a person.

Ya know, those IT guys come in handy sometimes

adamg — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:52:00 +0000

Dvsjr was at a Registry office today when he sprang into action. He tweets:

Battery backup at the registry starts screeching. I'm in line, go up to the counter, "its ok maam Im an IT guy" reset the fuse. Clapping.

Violating the Spirit of America at the RMV, specifically, the Spirit of the First Amendment

adamg — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:33:13 +0000

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:

Registry resumes notifying drivers of expiring licenses, but you have to sign up for it

adamg — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:41:44 +0000

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

UHub Readers Choice on "Choose Life"

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:08:18 +0000

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..."

Anti-abortion group says it's close to getting Massachusetts license plates

adamg — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:02:32 +0000

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).

You can still see Richard Seymour in a Patriots uniform

adamg — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:24:55 +0000

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.

Herald implies new 'Pike RMV offices are death traps, but doesn't say why

adamg — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:28:48 +0000

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?

The new and stupider written driver's exam

adamg — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:39:27 +0000

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." ...