Truck with same plate as my FJR!

[Crash Cash]

So I got a nice letter from FDOT saying I've been running tolls, and it shows the plate of some F-150 truck thing. Since I don't even own a 4-wheeled vehicle, I figure it's a slam-dunk, except I look at the rear of the FJR, and sure enough it's the exact same plate number!

You can see it's a car plate in the picture and the numeral spacing is quite different, but still, somehow the morons at the FDOT have issued two plates with the same number.

Fortunately I have group legal aid as a benefit at work, so if I can't clear it up with a couple of phone calls, I can send in the land sharks. Something tells me though, that this is going to be a "fun" one.

 

[FJRBluesman]

Good luck! Look forward to how this turns out.

 

[TruWrecks]

Take your bike and the picture to a vehicle licensing office and request that they verify the picture against your bikes plate. Request that since it is obviously a mistake ask them to drop the charges against you. The request a replacement plate with a new number at their cost, since they made the mistake. Be polite and professional. They should have no problem getting it corrected. Chances are that the F150 is using a modified plate. They should be able to track down the owner with a partial plate and vehicle description.

 

[RsvlFeej]

Something tells me though, that this is going to be a "fun" one.

You mean you don't look forward to helping two long-entrenched bureaucracies (DMV and toll road legal trolls) correct a mistake neither one will recognize as a problem that needs to be addressed in some manner other than you paying all the fines?

Your only hope is suicide. Your antecedents will still have to deal with the problem, but your life is now over. Sorry. Wanna sell (you won't need money where you're going) give me your bike before you shuffle off this mortal coil?

 

[Old Michael]

Yeah, real troubling when the gov't. screws up numbers like that.

I hope my SSAN number (491-44-8521) is assigned to only me.

And RsvlFeej, you are ON FIRE this evening!

 

[RsvlFeej]

And RsvlFeej, you are ON FIRE this evening!

Wife works for the gubmint - I no longer attempt to apply logic when her mind is made up.

 

[mcatrophy]

Here in the UK almost all road policing is done by cameras, not by policemen. Many of the ungodly put false plates on their cars, usually copied from a vehicle of the same type and colour.

So, it is becoming increasingly common for innocent drivers to get unwelcome notices of prosecution, and as usual, the owner of the "genuine" car has to prove his innocence, which can be very difficult to do.

Meanwhile, the bad guy speeds, doesn't pay for his fuel, pays no road tax or insurance, and drives on with impunity.

Bring back proper police and road patrols, please. I'd much rather be looking out for police than speed cameras, and the general standard of driving might start to improve again.

Back on topic, perhaps this wasn't a mistake by the "morons at the FDOT ", but a nasty guy who's been to the UK, and learnt something from us!

 

[boaks]

Yeah, real troubling when the gov't. screws up numbers like that.I hope my SSAN number (491-44-8521) is assigned to only me.

And RsvlFeej, you are ON FIRE this evening!

chances are very good that someone else has your the same ID number as you. there are only 387,420,489 possible combination for a nine digit number and there are an estimated 303,824,640 ppl in the US. There is Def some reusing going on! give it another 10 years and see how many people have your number!

 

[zzzzip]

My state issues the same numbers/letters, sometimes with a space in a different part of the number, sometimes not, for multiple vehicles-- just different types of vehicles-- m/c, car, truck/pickup, etc.

They actually will use the exact same letters/numbers for personalized, or "vanity" plates on any vehicle. I've seen a m/c, car, and pickup with the same "vanity" word belonging to the same guy. I've seen the same characters on on vanity plates on different vehicles belonging to different people-- they were just different types of vehicles.

Missouri is a strange country. <_<

B)

 

[mophead]

Missouri is a strange country.

And that Southwest corner is a damn fine place to ride a FJR!

 

[Wanderlust]

Shouldn't be a problem straightening this out. My sister has a disability plate that had the same number as a truck that blew a toll. The picture of the rear of the vehicle once actually looked at was enough to clear it up.

 

[Bounce]

chances are very good that someone else has your the same ID number as you. there are only 387,420,489 possible combination for a nine digit number and there are an estimated 303,824,640 ppl in the US. There is Def some reusing going on! give it another 10 years and see how many people have your number!

yeah, but only 100,000,001 are actually here legally and have SSNs.

 

[palerider]

Your antecedents will still have to deal with the problem,

You mean "descendents?"

 

[palerider]

Back on topic, perhaps this wasn't a mistake by the "morons at the FDOT ", but a nasty guy who's been to the UK, and learnt something from us!

Hmmm. Actually, there are a lot of Brits in Florida (the weather, don't you know).

 

[just roy]

good luck getting anything logical from a government agency. i had a bike stolen in California and reported it stolen. seven months later it was issued a ticket for parking in a handicapped zone. at the time i was in the Persian gulf. after providing proof of the theft and my deployment it was decided that they wouldn't put points on my license( i had a NY license and they couldn't put points on it anyway) but i was still required to pay the $500 fine and late fees. their logic was if i couldn't produce the name of the person riding the bike i was responsible for any violations it got. i refused and now the great state of California wants to arrest me. my tank bag was on my bike when it was stolen and the guy got my NY drivers license and actually had the balls to produce it for a chp who pulled him over for speeding on a different bike. the cop ticketed him in my name and let him go. they also wanted me to pay that ticket. i thought it was a chance to catch the guy from the bike info on the ticket but the officers handwriting was to poor to tell what the plate # was. the only thing good on the ticket was that it was a black vfr and the driver was male hispanic.

 

[Crash Cash]

good luck getting anything logical from a government agency.

And this is exactly why I pay for the legal aid benefit at work. It really helps for someone to go to bat for you that can deal with the system.

The state toll system already tried instantly suspending licenses without much of a attempt at contacting the drivers about their violations, until someone finally went to court and the judge said they had to restore about 350 licenses and refund a big chunk of fines, and stop doing that. I believe it was a fireman who lost his job because of the suspension. And I think this letter is a result of that. Previously, they would have suspended my license and I would have found out about it from a cop at the side of the road.

Also, some of the Florida cities are doing red-light cameras even though the state has said it's not legal. They're doing various dodges to get around this, and basically anyone who shows up without a lawyer is SOL, but anyone who has a lawyer is OK. The counties are trying to intimidate everyone into paying their tickets, but they really don't want to go to court because there's a good chance it'll all be ruled illegal and they'll have to pay back fines. All of the people so far are stupid enough to just cough up the dough. It doesn't help that the local fish-wrapper rag is pushing the cameras as hard as it can.

I go through one of these intersections every day on the way to work, and even though I'm not stupid enough to run red lights on a motorcycle (or any other vehicle) I'm still sure I'll win the lottery of defective or misadjusted equipment some day.

And I used to work for the state of Florida (at UCF) when I was a college student. When I was laid off once, I got a job as an expressway toll collector. On my application, they asked if I'd ever worked for the FDOT before, and I said no. Then one day, I was called into the boss's office and fired for lying on my application. They said "we ran a payroll search and you worked for the state before!" - "but that's not what you asked!" - "I don't care! get out!"

I took it to court, the judge took one look at the application and ordered back pay, a letter of apology from the manager that fired me, and a letter of reprimand for him.

There was also one time I was stuck in traffic on Orange avenue in downtown Orlando, stopped at a stoplight, and I put my visor up because of the heat. One of the bicycle cops wrote me up for it. I didn't say anything, because I wore prescription glasses and I knew this trumped the visor law. When we went to court, the guy got a pretty good dressing-down by the judge for not knowing the law. My lawyer got court costs, his fees, and my time away from work (at consultant's rates!) paid by the Orange County Sheriff's department.

So yeah, the state around here is pretty damned retarded. I'm hoping this'll be cleared up with a couple of phone calls, but I always pack a loaded lawyer.

 

[SacramentoMike]

Yeah, real troubling when the gov't. screws up numbers like that.I hope my SSAN number (491-44-8521) is assigned to only me.

And RsvlFeej, you are ON FIRE this evening!

I sense trouble coming. 491-44-8521 is MY Social Security number, you scoundrel!

 

[Fred W]

chances are very good that someone else has your the same ID number as you. there are only 387,420,489 possible combination for a nine digit number and there are an estimated 303,824,640 ppl in the US. There is Def some reusing going on! give it another 10 years and see how many people have your number!

Huh?

Lessee, since we are using the decimal system there are 10 possible numbers for each number place (zero is a possibility in any position), and there are nine numbers, so the number of possible combinations of a 9 digit is 10^9 or 1 billion.

I know that there are certain number combinations that are invalid (like 000-00-0000) but there can't be 600 million invalid combos.

 

[Gizmo]

Yeah, real troubling when the gov't. screws up numbers like that.I hope my SSAN number (491-44-8521) is assigned to only me.

And RsvlFeej, you are ON FIRE this evening!

Uh Ohhh...that splains a lot