Seized license plate

[lil brown]

About 2 weeks ago I was driving home at midnight on shaganappi trail/John Laurie, a couple days after I came back from Vancouver to pick up my car. I get pulled over and an officer walks straight to my window (JDM car) and says I was going 105 which was not true- more like 90 and theres only one other car on the road anyways (limit 80).
I explain to him I just washed my car and was driving home. He asks about the car, after some talking he goes and sits in his cruiser for a while. Him and his partner come and take off my plate and write me a ticket for unauthorized use of plate and tell me to go home.I explain to the officers that my insurance policy on the car started a couple days ago and I had 14 days before I needed to get the car properly registered. The plate I was using was off My old car I sold. They told me they were unsure if I could do that and went back to the cruiser. They came back a few minutes later and told me somebody deregistered my plate and that it was inactive so I'm confused at this point and just say okay thank you and go home.
A couple days later I go to the registry and I am told:
1. Officers can not seize my license plate
2. From a search of my plate number, it was active anyway

I decide to buy a transit Pass so I can get my OOP done and drive around for 7 days. After getting my OOP I have 14 days to get the car registered or I have to get it inspected again. A couple days later, I speak with the officer and he tells me I can't my plate back until Monday, June 4 because the place where my plate is, is closed and he doesn't work until monday or something. I say okay fine, I'll speak to you Monday. Yesterday I get a call back saying the plate is needed for evidence and I can't get it until the date on my ticket. This is turning into a hassle now and I need to get the car registered soon unless I want to pay for another OOP. I could just buy a new plate but I don't think it's fair that I have to do all this even though I've done nothing wrong. Is there something I can do about this besides letting it slide and having to buy a new plate?
Makes me mad that I have to pay because they don't know what they can/can't do.

[Dilmah]

Welcome to life, contrary to what mommy has been telling you for the past 12 years, life is not fair and you need to stop saying “it’s not fair”. If what they did was wrong then you have two options. Pay or fight.

[Go4Long]

I don't know where you're getting your information, but I'm pretty sure you're wrong. You have 14 days from the date you take posession of the car to get it properly registered. When you do your OOP, or when you get insurance has nothing to do with it.

[spikerS]

Do you still have the vehicle the plate was assigned to?

[ekguy]

To serve and protect lol.

[Zero102]

1) In-transit permits are valid for 1 trip only, not to just drive around for 7 days
2) You don't mention once whether you actually did sell your old car, or the date you bought your new car
3) WTF is this 14 days until you have to register it post-oop crap? The car needs to have some variety of registration to be driven for those 14 days, simply getting an OOP does not function as registration for those 14 days. It only means that if you don't turn the form in and register a plate to the car within 14 days you need a new inspection.

You don't need _THAT_ plate to register the car, if you really don't want your OOP to expire just go in and get a new plate when you register it. If you really feel it is unjust and the officer is incorrect then you will now be fully registered and legal while you read through all of the advice in this forum about fighting tickets and what you can do.

[FraserB]

The person at the registry is retarded, the police do have the legal authority to seize plates. In this case the seizure WILL hold up in court and the plate IS evidence. If you are cleared at trial, you probably get it back. If convicted, I dont think you will.

[schocker]

Originally posted by Zero102
1) In-transit permits are valid for 1 trip only, not to just drive around for 7 days

Hmm, didn't know that, I just drove around with no plate and one of those when I brought back my last car

[narou]

I'm pretty sure they tell you that verbally and it is probably stated in whatever documentation they make you go through.

[spikerS]

I know when I bought an in transit sticker, I had to provide the location of the car, and the shop's address I was taking it to, and it was good for a 1 way trip.

[JustGo]

Originally posted by FraserB
The person at the registry is retarded, the police do have the legal authority to seize plates. In this case the seizure WILL hold up in court and the plate IS evidence. If you are cleared at trial, you probably get it back. If convicted, I don't think you will.

This. However, even if he is convicted, he is still able to get his plate back. Just has to ask. There would be no reason for it to be withheld from him after the matter is settled.

[lil brown]

1) durrrr I got a F'n in transit permit valid for 7 days. Why would I post that i did if it wasn't even possible... Come on. I'll post a pic if anyone is concerned enough
2) Old car sold. New car bought around a week before I got the ticket. Plate expires October of this year. Unless I go to the registry and deregister it, the plate will be active until expiration date.
3) after you buy a car, you HAVE to get insurance immediately (to drive it) and you have 14 days from the start of your insurance policy (or purchase date?) to register it. Same date for me and most people other anyway.
Now, once you get your car OOP'd, the inspection paper is valid for 14 days and your car must be registered within that time. Otherwise you will need to get it re-inspected.
I spoke to 2 people working at the registry, and both said the same thing. Besides how do they expect you to drive home without a plate, that's illegal anyway lol. Plus it's my F'n property

[blitz]

If the car you took the plate off of has been sold and re-registered by the new owner, your current plate does not show up in the police system.

[Kijho]

That's some bulllllshit man, I hope you get it figured out.
Fight the shit outta' this in court - how much hassle and loss of potential earnings from not being able to travel to work this can cause you and such.

[Traffic_Cop]

You cannot put an Alta licence plate on an OOP vehicle. That is mis use of a licence plate, and yes the plate gets seized.

The plate is not your property, it is the property of Ab regestries.

Police acted lawfully. You screwed up!

[schocker]

Traffic cop, why does it not work on OOP vehicles? Just curious.

Just info from the TAS for those curious

Transfer of plates
86(1) If ownership of a private passenger vehicle passes from one
person to another, the new owner may operate, or permit another
person to operate, the newly acquired motor vehicle while it is
displaying a licence plate that issued to the new owner with respect
to the registration of another private passenger vehicle.
(2) If ownership of a commercial vehicle passes from one person
to another, the new owner may drive, or permit another person to
drive, the newly acquired vehicle while it is displaying a licence
plate issued to the new owner with respect to the registration of
another vehicle of the same class of commercial vehicle.
(3) The licence plate may be displayed on the newly acquired
vehicle for not more than 14 days from the date its ownership
passes to the new owner if the new owner intends
(a) to apply to register the vehicle, and
(b) to have the displayed licence plate reissued for use on the
vehicle.
(4) The owner or operator of the vehicle shall carry
(a) proof of ownership of the newly acquired vehicle,
(b) a valid financial responsibility card relating to the vehicle,
and
(c) proof that the licence plate is issued in respect of a vehicle
registered as owned by that owner.
(5) A person to whom a licence plate is issued may apply to the
Registrar to transfer the plate to another vehicle to be registered in
the applicant’s name if the application is made within 14 days after
the applicant becomes the owner of the other vehicle.
(6) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply if the vehicle is a
commercial vehicle used for the transportation of goods or
passengers for compensation.

[Traffic_Cop]

Originally posted by schocker
Traffic cop, why does it not work on OOP vehicles? Just curious.

Just info from the TAS for those curious

Because the vehicle hasnt been certified to an Alberta standard.

[schocker]

Originally posted by Traffic_Cop


Because the vehicle hasnt been certified to an Alberta standard.

Ok, that makes sense thanks.

[Go4Long]

I'm going to disagree with Traffic_Cop on this one (and I usually agree with you, so don't take it personally please), two weeks from the purchase date until the vehicle is required to be registered. Insurance is required immediately, although I know with my old insurance policy it automatically covered me for 2 weeks with a new vehicle as well (which I learned when I was pulled over and hadn't updated my insurance and the company wrote me a letter stating I was covered under that clause)

The fact that it "hasn't been certified to an alberta standard" is irrelevant. You have the two weeks. The info that Schocker posted is the law in black and white, it doesn't stipulate that a vehicle that came from another province is exempt, there for the law applies as written unless there is another sub section that is not included here specific to out of province vehicles.

[FraserB]

Can you insure a vehicle that has not completed the OOP process though?

As for doing anything about it or trying to get them to re0imburse you for costs, it will never happen since the officers acted in good faith and followed the law as it was written. Why would you trust the registry people? They have no clue about the law, their training involves data entry and the operating methods of the debit machine.