Keystone State Thread

Yeah. one of those, "REALLY?" moments?

I wasn't hurt and the damage appears to be cosmetic. WE'll see what happens when the insurance companies fight it out.

 

@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@shakerhood
@TnShooter

I think that PennDOT really sucks sometimes. Like most states, laws in Pennsylvania totally screw over the poor while really not affecting people with money.

One of my coworkers drives a 1994 Pontiac Firebird. He got his license suspended for driving without insurance; I keep the insurance on my truck up to date and think that driving uninsured is an incredibly stupid thing to do, but just hear me out…

He now has the money to get insurance, but obviously no insurance company will insure him until he has a valid license. Once the suspension has been served out, he still has to pay a substantial fine to restore his license. He lives like an hour away from here, and taking an Uber would cost a fortune. The Firebird is registered and inspected, but not insured. He doesn’t want to spent upwards of $50 a day roundtrip taking an Uber, so he rolls the dice and drives without insurance.

I am not a tattletale, so as long as he doesn’t hit my truck, I’m not getting involved in it.

 

I know, my coworker is a dunce, but this is a multipart post. Please stay tuned.

 

So, when I worked at this bar called Puck, one of the bartenders was this guy a couple years older than me who drove a 1999ish Acura TL. He got pulled for having expired inspection stickers, and got a ticket. He had a valid license at the time, but he had points on his license from prior tickets (I forget what)…

My coworker made a mistake that a lot of people seem to make when moving out on their own. He moved into an apartment, but never bothered to change the address on his license. He forgot about the expired inspection ticket until his mom notified him that there was mail from PennDOT; I believe that he might have also gotten pulled over again in this timeframe because a cop ran his license plate and found that his license was suspended (due to nonpayment of the inspection sticker ticket)…



Stupid on his part, but keep reading…

So, he goes to the DMV to get it sorted out. An expired inspection is not a moving violation, so he had no points for that. Unfortunately, he had more than six points from prior offenses and this triggered a “special points examination”, which meant he had to take a knowledge test.

He did this and was told by the DMV that his driving privileges were restored; I have no idea how long the original suspension was supposed to last, but he got a mandatory additional year tacked onto the original suspension that he was not told about.

He was out driving and got pulled over a third time because a cop ran his license plate, and it said that the registered owner of the car had a suspended license.

He didn’t get arrested and was even allowed to drive the Acura home because it was insured and registered, but this tacked on another year of suspension.

My coworker lost a decent-paying full-time job that was relatively far away because he could no longer legally drive, but luckily was making enough money bartending that he could keep his apartment.

He eventually did get his license back, but while there was a bit of absentmindedness on his part, I find it highly unfair that he lost his license for two years when the offense wasn’t a DUI or reckless driving.

 

@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@Just_A_Guy
@shakerhood
@steelcity2
@TnShooter

And then another coworker of mine from when I worked at Puck almost got his truck towed because of a fuckup on PennDOT’s part…

The truck in question was a 2011 Chevy Silverado 1500 that he bought in like 2016 and was making payments on. He decided to switch insurances because he found a company with a lower rate. This caused his truck to come up as uninsured in PennDOT’s computer system, and his registration was suspended without his knowledge.

A cop pulled him over fairly close to his house for no reason other than the fact that he ran the license plate and the the registration came back suspended.

My coworker was utterly dumbfounded. The truck was insured and inspected. The cop confiscated his license plate but let him drive the truck home. My coworker needed the truck for his other job as a driveway sealcoater, so he took a valid plate from another truck he owned but was a project and not street legal, and drove around until he got his registration reinstated.

FYI, I keep my truck 100% legal and am very OCD about it, but I would not take too kindly to anybody (even a cop) removing the license plate from my truck. My truck is my property, and I firmly believe that anything attached to it is my property as well…

 

Firebird guy is pretty risky, as I surmise the unlicensed driver could be an arrestable offense. I know it is here..though let's just say it's selectively enforced in recent years. Driving that kind of vehicle, for better or worse, is going to draw attention.

Props for the word "dunce", a favorite of mine

 

I’ve almost collided with inattentive Amazon drivers before…



The problem is the majority of them are young and inexperienced drivers who have never driven anything larger than a midsize sedan or a small SUV, and they are put behind the wheel of these massive Ford Transits and Ram Promasters.



They are also a seriously liability outside of their vans in my opinion; I have almost taken out a couple Amazon workers who think it is a good idea to park their van across the street from a house on a busy road and then mosey across the street without looking both ways.

We’re not talking quiet residential streets, but rather 2-lane roads with speed limits of up to 45 MPH!

I also once had a female Amazon driver flip out on me because I was taking pictures of an orange Pontiac Fiero parked on a public street in Doylestown, and she thought I was the meter maid taking pictures of her illegally parked van!

 

Most are, I’ve been doing that job for way too long. Most of the vans no longer have working back up cameras, sensors, or top view cameras
Not trying to defend the driver as I’ve managed for years without those things, but if they worked consistently it would be nice

 

But what if he hits your mom's or dad's car?

I mean, I don't want him to hit anyone or anything.
I can understand his situation. Some times, "You have to do, what you have to do".
I'd just hope exhausted all his resources before he gets behind the wheel.

My dad went to jail. Lost his license. Got them back, and then lost them again (Child Support)
Did he drive without a license? What do you think?
If you don't go to work to pay child support, you got to jail.
So........You go to work. With or without a license.

BTW, I think Tennessee change that law. They don't revoke a license for back child support.

 

I fully understand where you are coming from there. However, my parents and I have uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on our vehicles. We have USAA. My parents have a policy for their vehicles and the house, and I have my own policy for my truck. My truck is only worth like eight grand, so I find it highly doubtful that anyone with even the basic liability insurance required under Pennsylvania law would be ill-covered to replace my truck if it got totaled. However, uninsured is a different story, and I will keep full coverage on my truck no matter how much it depreciates in value!

 

Anytime someone loses their driver’s license for something not related to driving, it’s bullshit. If someone is behind on their child support, then how are they supposed to work so they can pay back the child support, if they can’t drive?!?!

I’m really glad that my girlfriend is incapable of getting pregnant…

 

@ABA180
@TnShooter

Don’t even get me started on the punishments imposed on otherwise law-abiding kids under the age of 21 just for drinking or even possessing alcohol underage; Pennsylvania was a bunch of Nazis about this until PennDOT got sued big time and lost…

One of the bartenders at Puck was born in 1992, and she lost her license for six months when she got pulled over and blew a .02 less than a month before her 21st birthday. She was driving her 1992 Saturn SL and had like three other people in the car, coming home from a party. They got pulled over solely for being a bunch of college are kids in a 20-year old shitbox car late at night.

My former coworker is made to a breath test, blows a .02, and gets arrested. She not only lost her license for six months but had to pay fines and legal fees amounting to about ten grand. Luckily, she had multiple jobs and was able to pay this off relatively fast.

I say again that she was maybe three weeks away from turning 21!

 

Things in life happen, when they do it's up to you to be responsible for your own actions and inactions. It's called being an adult. Hopefully they have learned some "life lessons", mainly being...



Before people get butthurt, think about your insurance costs and rates over the last 20 years. Those of us with even great records have gotten rate increases over the years to cover the cost of unlicensed, uninsured drivers wrecking into people. I have been hit by both of the above over the years and had to pay through my insurance to fix my vehicles.

 

I don’t break the law; I’m fully insured, my inspection is up to date, and my truck is registered for another year. My coworker with the Silverado didn’t break the law. Last time I checked, it wasn’t against the law to switch insurance companies. That was PennDOT’s fault. He did, however, break the law by putting a plate from his other truck on the Silverado…

 

@ABA180
@steelcity2
@TnShooter

The reason PennDOT got sued and lost is because a couple of guys from Philly got their licenses suspended for marijuana offenses; I don’t know if it was smoking it, being high on it, or simply possessing it. Regardless, neither of these guys was driving or anywhere near a vehicle for that matter.

They appealed the punishment and a judge took their side. They obviously still had fines for the possession of weed, but their driving privileges were restored.

Pennsylvania no longer suspends licenses for using or possessing drugs, but driving under the influence of any drug is obviously considered DUI.

Pennsylvania also no longer suspends the licenses of people under the age of 21 for simply possessing or consuming alcohol if they aren’t driving, which is just the way it should be!

 

No one breaks the law, until they get caught.
It’s how you handle the situation afterwards that makes the difference.

 

I never said you broke the law, I was saying the people you were telling the stories about need to stop. They are fucking things up for the rest of us.

 

On the subject of crimes that were no committed.
I really believe Mr. turner was NOT driving. He was sitting in a car drunk.
Really, he was…..
They interviewed him years later. He explained the situation.

https://youtu.be/wOX9FnhCcXg?si=3hCrA6vzHAcJnOkj

 

Random question…

Do you think my insurance rates have gone up due to bad drivers, inflation, or a combination? I have never lost my license or even gotten any points, and I have not had an at-fault accident in years. I drive an old 4-banger/automatic Tacoma, so I highly doubt my insurance company considers that a fast vehicle…