Q. How can I report an inappropriate personalized license plate?
– Chuck Trudeau, Nipomo
A. If you come across an offensive personalized license plate, there are a couple of ways to report it. You can visit the Department of Motor Vehicles’ website, dmv.ca.gov, and search for “Customer Support.” Alternatively, you can go the traditional route and send a complaint via snail mail to the DMV Policy Division at P.O. Box 825393, Sacramento, California, 94232-5393.
According to state law, the DMV is required to review all applications for personalized license plates, which are actually sequences of characters. Personalized license plates that convey sexual, vulgar, prejudiced, hostile, or police-related messages are strictly prohibited. The DMV takes into consideration foreign and slang meanings, as well as phonetic spellings.
“If members of the public come across a personalized plate they find offensive, they can contact the department,” said Ron Ongtoaboc, a DMV spokesperson. “All complaints received are carefully reviewed, and if a configuration is determined to fall under one of the prohibited categories, the department will request that the plates be returned.”
Honk, the inquirer, sought more information on personalized license plates, and Ongtoaboc graciously provided additional details.
As of January 1, there were a total of 1,123,008 personalized plates actively being used on the roads. Last year, there were 275,985 requests for personalized plates, with an average annual rejection rate of 10%, according to Ongtoaboc.
Since January 1, 2021, the DMV has received 28 complaints from the public regarding offensive personalized plates. However, only one case resulted in the plates being removed from circulation due to a configuration that misrepresented law enforcement, Ongtoaboc explained.
Q. Honk: So why are people allowed to stand on a moving bus, even though seat belt laws are in place for most vehicles? Weren’t seat belts introduced as a safety measure in the event of a collision? Standing on a bus doesn’t seem safe to me.
– Joanne Lopez, Long Beach
A. Joanne, a friend of Honk’s, posed this question while they were waiting for a ride home after a game at Dodger Stadium with Joanne’s husband. Several LA Metro buses were lined up to transport fans to a park-and-ride lot. Not wanting to stand during the journey, Honk and his friends let others who were willing to stand go ahead of them when the first bus ran out of seats. They opted to wait for the next bus and find seats.
Subsequently, Honk reached out to two major mass transit operators to get an answer for Joanne.
“If Metro chose to provide seat belts on its buses, their use would be mandatory, and violators could be fined,” said Patrick Chandler, a spokesperson for LA Metro. “However, public transit operators are not required to install seat belts on buses.
“Metro does not take a specific stance beyond what is mandated by regulatory agencies for public transit operators.”
Based on Honk’s experiences, standing passengers on mass transit vehicles are generally considerate and allow others to find something to hold onto. Permitting standing passengers also allows mass transit operators to deploy fewer buses, resulting in cost savings for taxpayers.
Next, Honk consulted Joel Zlotnik, a spokesperson for the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), which also permits standing. Zlotnik spoke with an operations expert at OCTA who explained that, under federal law, only the driver of a public transit bus is required to wear a seat belt.
The reasoning, as relayed by Zlotnik, is that public buses are significantly heavier and travel at slower speeds compared to other vehicles. Additionally, they are operated by professional drivers, reducing the likelihood of serious collisions involving buses. Furthermore, in the event of a crash, due to the size and weight of the bus, passengers are not at high risk of being jostled.
If OCTA buses were required to ensure that passengers were wearing seat belts, it would be challenging to enforce, according to the operations expert. Moreover, the buses would lose half of their capacity, as most buses have 35 seats and can accommodate an additional 35 standing passengers.
If you have any questions for Honk, feel free to reach out to him at [email protected]. Please note that he only responds to questions that are published. To read Honk’s responses online, visit ocregister.com/tag/honk. You can also follow Honk on Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
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