[Tom S.]

Yep, it happens! But.....the fines here for no insurance start at $500. and they most often impound your vehicle. Not a value minded decision for most people!

Inspections here are yearly and easy enough to pass if you keep your vehicle in decent condition. I keep all my vehicles in good condition, but recently an inspection caught me off guard. My tires looked fine, deep tread and little wear. They told me they failed and took me over to show me why. I had just driven through some white chalky dirt and it brought out the huge cracks in between the tread. All four tires...and I had just driven on the Interstate for a few hours a few day earlier at highway speeds. Fortunately, the weather was not too hot so they held.......

Sometimes they catch a bad light or a worn wiper, all for the good. Brakes are checked too.....all in all it does make some difference in the overall safety of travel.

Regards!

Fines don't seem to matter. In the first place, these people would be paying more than $500 for car insurance. So if they drive for 4 or 5 years and get caught, they still have beat the system. I can take you to any medium sized mall parking lot and show you at least one car with expired tabs. It's a pretty safe bet if the person doesn't have current license tabs, they don't have insurance. But the police won't write a ticket because the car is parked. We had an old van parked where I work out for over 3 months. The fitness place reported it to the police and they said unless the owner of the parking mall complained, they wouldn't do anything about it. I told the police it could either be stolen (it's popular to drop off stolen vehicles in parking lots) or could even have a body in it. They said they would check it out, but the van was there for another month before it disappeared.

I understand the police are busy, and in fact we just lost several officers due to the expiration of a government grant, but how they handle some things are pretty strange. Another example, I and another motorist followed a pick up truck with an obviously drunk on his butt driver. He stopped at a auto parts place, and we called the police. They said as long as he wasn't in the vehicle, they couldn't (wouldn't) do anything. This was despite a). Both of us willing to testify to his driving and b). he obviously wasn't going to stay there forever, as they didn't serve booze. They could have sent a car, parked a fair distance themselves and then pulled him over. This guy was seriously impaired, yet they weren't interested.

[reeftool]

In NY, the DMV keeps track of your auto insurance. Your insurance gets cancelled or lapses, DMV is notified and your registration is revoked. Cop cars now are fitted with license plate scanners so you will get caught easily.

Emission inspections are different in the NYC metro area than the rest of the state. Down there, they probe your exhaust. Up here, they just read your OBD codes and do a safety inspection. The VW incident is getting political. Don't be surprised if some states come up with a "special" inspection for the affected VW cars to insure that they are fixed. If I owned one and it ran fine, would I rush out to get a "fix" that got me worse fuel mileage? No way! Since most emissions inspections consist only of checking whether the "check engine" light is lit, you could drive it for years. I have read articles in the past week about VW offering payouts to affected owners so I suspect something is coming down the pike which will amount to more than a trip to the dealer to get the ECM flashed. They may try to take the cars off the road.

[Rupert]

Fines don't seem to matter. In the first place, these people would be paying more than $500 for car insurance. So if they drive for 4 or 5 years and get caught, they still have beat the system. I can take you to any medium sized mall parking lot and show you at least one car with expired tabs. It's a pretty safe bet if the person doesn't have current license tabs, they don't have insurance. But the police won't write a ticket because the car is parked. We had an old van parked where I work out for over 3 months. The fitness place reported it to the police and they said unless the owner of the parking mall complained, they wouldn't do anything about it. I told the police it could either be stolen (it's popular to drop off stolen vehicles in parking lots) or could even have a body in it. They said they would check it out, but the van was there for another month before it disappeared.

I understand the police are busy, and in fact we just lost several officers due to the expiration of a government grant, but how they handle some things are pretty strange. Another example, I and another motorist followed a pick up truck with an obviously drunk on his butt driver. He stopped at a auto parts place, and we called the police. They said as long as he wasn't in the vehicle, they couldn't (wouldn't) do anything. This was despite a). Both of us willing to testify to his driving and b). he obviously wasn't going to stay there forever, as they didn't serve booze. They could have sent a car, parked a fair distance themselves and then pulled him over. This guy was seriously impaired, yet they weren't interested.

I've had very similar experiences with cops. They don't often seem interested in what we report if it is preventative in nature.

As for insurance, some places are very tough...others not. Here I see 2-3 cars a week being towed for no insurance. It's a big moneymaker......and so is DUI...I wouldn't even browse in a liquor store and then drive around here!

I once reported a lady driver all over the road while on her cell phone and was behind her for miles as she went from lane to lane and up and down in speed. I stopped to get gas and headed on down the road toward Ft Worth about 30 miles away. Halfway there I came across her white Toyota 4-runner upside down, cops on the scene.....she had run off into a ditch and flipped upside down. She was dead...no seat belt and it threw her out and rolled over her. Turns out she was a Realtor and was talking business on the phone. I bet this happens more often than we realize?
Sometimes a cop can save our life...if they are around...or if they listen?

Regards!

[philbaum]

Okay, i'm a bit cynical about all this noise about VW's faux pas. And i'll tell you why. We're a 2 car family, my wife has a Honda Fit and i have the VW Jetta Sportwagon. The Fit has excellent mileage and can get 40mpg on the highway, maybe a bit less. Its an under 3000lb car. My VW jetta TDI (diesel) weighs about 3300 lbs, but gets even better mileage. When brand new, was getting 47 mpg on the highway, but lately with 16,000 miles on it, i'm getting 50mpg on it. My last car was a 1995 Chevy Van that, if lucky, got almost 20mpg on the road.

When i pull up to an American intersection, most of the cars are heavier and tower above mine. So if a government is worried about the production of greenhouse gases and global warming - which they absolutely should be, what enables the production of such large heavy vehicles that consume gas like there was no tomorrow. Well, fleet rules is the loophole. At least in the USA, car manufacturers are allowed to build monstrosity cars and trucks using loopholes that establish some mileage performance rule based on an entire fleet of cars. Not sure if trucks are excused entirely but it seems probable.

So sure, lets punish VW and all their small import vehicles that get such great mileage, and lets go on and produce all these luxury vehicles and huge trucks that waddle down the road with single occupancy and no-loads - that can hardly pass a gas station without stopping.

I understand the need for heavy farm vehicles and folks that need load carrying vehicles as part of income producing job, but really, the number of heavy vehicles today seems far out of whack with the practical needs of society. What an absolute waste of petroleum, and one of these days we will pay the price. Well we are now, we always have gotten a ton of rain in the Pacific Northwest and this year, almost nothing in rain all year until the last month or so. Scary weather shifts are happening out there but still the oil industry is saying "not to worry - global warming doesn't exist". Yeah, right :-( And the inconvenience of our weather is a minor problem compared to the storms experienced in the midwest and the east coast. And California with its 6 year drought.

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Last edited by philbaum; 11-13-2015 at 10:44 AM.

[Rupert]

Scary weather shifts are happening out there but still the oil industry is saying "not to worry - global warming doesn't exist". Yeah, right :-( And the inconvenience of our weather is a minor problem compared to the storms experienced in the midwest and the east coast. And California with its 6 year drought.

The real problem is cows not cars.....
Do cows pollute as much as cars? - HowStuffWorks

I have a solution and do my share to limit their numbers! We all can participate!

If tiny Mrs Rupert can put away a big Chicken Fried Steak...so can you!


Regards!

[lesmore49]

In my burg we have a nature site. Quite a good place, walking trails, Bison, deer,coyote, badgers, etc...a few lakes. Fishing, boating, sailing. Nice place, so close to a large urban area.

About 10 years ago they had a diorama of a North American prairie scene. In the text accompanying the diorama was a section about that before European settlement of the Great Plains (1500's or so), there were perhaps upwards of 60 million American Bison (Buffalo) and an estimated 40 million Pronghorn Antelope. All grass eaters of course.

They went onto say that the methane production of these grazing animals would of been huge, back then.

[WPRESTO]

V-A-V the trustworthiness of manufacturers versus their bald-faced efforts to deceive. General Mills introduced yet another new version of venerable Cheerios (a decent cereal) called Cheerios Protein. Reading the nutrient content chart you'll see 7 grams of protein instead of 3 in the original, but 17 grams of sugar instead on only one in the original, per serving. BUT WAIT! The recommended serving size for the Cheerios Protein is DOUBLE the serving size for the original, so when you correct for serving size, it's more like 3.7g protein instead of a mere 3, and 8 grams sugar instead of one. So, with a whopping 800% increase in sugar and a paltry 23% increase in protein, it's really Cheerios Extra Sweet.

[Rupert]

but 17 grams of sugar instead on only one in the original, per serving.

Sugar, highly addictive and more deadly that cigarettes.....all perfectly legal. Diabetes, heart failure, and all sort of other deadly diseases are linked directly to sugar intake. I think the RDA of sugar is about 28 grams.......it would be almost impossible to get through a day without exceeding that.

Regards!

[RobA_Oz]

The real problem is cows not cars.....
Do cows pollute as much as cars? - HowStuffWorks

I have a solution and do my share to limit their numbers! We all can participate!

If tiny Mrs Rupert can put away a big Chicken Fried Steak...so can you!


Regards!

You and Mrs Rupert need to watch out for feral vegetarians, Rupert.

Come to think of it, you could probably turn all that cow fat into a good diesel fuel with a bit of research...

[WPRESTO]

Sugar, highly addictive and more deadly that cigarettes.....all perfectly legal. Diabetes, heart failure, and all sort of other deadly diseases are linked directly to sugar intake. I think the RDA of sugar is about 28 grams.......it would be almost impossible to get through a day without exceeding that.

Regards!

Many health problems are blamed on sugar, some perhaps unfairly, but one very strong link is between cavities (dental caries) and consumption of refined sugar. The two pretty much go up in lock step.

[Nicolas06]

I'll pass on that suggestion. VW knew they were cheating. I don't buy into the immoral viewpoint that it's OK to circumvent the intent of the law, which is designed to provide a level playing field, just because you can find some technical loophole. That type of person is a scourge on the face of humanity.

It is well known that every car manufacturer cheat all the way to get better results at the tests. They asked some guy from another brand that explained it. Basically it is legal to remove all accessory equipment to make the car lighter. You also run the test always with the batteried full or even disable the system that refill the baterie on the go. You fill all the holes to increase aero dynamism so you can't even open the doors anymore. You increase the tires presures. You drive on special road that is full straight if possible that go a bit down and with special material that reduce friction. The test is run at very slow speed (35km/hour in europe) on a warm motor (diesel polute much more for short distance that based on the statistics is the typical car usage) and of course the drivers are trained to have the most efficiant driving behavior.

All of this is legal... Historically the manufacturers in europe let say "optimized" this way to get 10-20%. But with the new regulations that ask for even less polution the optimization grew even more to be in the 20-30%. I think some audi is at 38%.

And this is not even counting that the tests are done with unrealistic condition even officially. The city test should have lot of fire start/stops and fast accelerations and the extra urban test should include portions at 90km/h and 130km/h the legal speed limit. Not a stupid 35km/hour.

This kind of obvious for everybody including consummers. Some car say you should consume 3.8 l per 100km but in reality you still consumme 6.5 l per 100kms. The difference is the old car said 5 liters per 100km... the consumtion didn't change.

Basically the consumer knew it. The regulation system knew it and likely got quite lot of money and political advantages to let it go this way with stupid testing methodology. In europe, the states knew it, optimizing the taxes schemes so the light vehicule diesel that we excel to make got less taxes.

United State of course on the opposite has not interrest on diesel and that why the regulation is much more strict for NO2 but much more laxist for CO2. They just adapt to help their own manufacturers.

Fon't tell me didn't know. This is just at some point we could continue to do like if we didn't see it. And only the VW case will be handled, all the other will continue as before.

[kadajawi]

In my burg we have a nature site. Quite a good place, walking trails, Bison, deer,coyote, badgers, etc...a few lakes. Fishing, boating, sailing. Nice place, so close to a large urban area.

About 10 years ago they had a diorama of a North American prairie scene. In the text accompanying the diorama was a section about that before European settlement of the Great Plains (1500's or so), there were perhaps upwards of 60 million American Bison (Buffalo) and an estimated 40 million Pronghorn Antelope. All grass eaters of course.

They went onto say that the methane production of these grazing animals would of been huge, back then.

Methane production of cows varies depending on their diet. IIRC the stuff they are getting fed these days isn't suitable for cows, so they produce lots of methane. If cows were allowed to eat grass, as nature intended, they'd be much more harmless to the environment.

I don't want to stop eating meat, but less meat, sure can do that.

[WPRESTO]

Here's another note about BIG business. Sometime back in the 1980's (as I recall) I read an article about the IRS settling unpaid back taxes with large corporations for $0.10 or less per dollar owed. Why write off 90% or more of those unpaid taxes? Because the BIG corporations had a staff of lawyers whose annual salaries not only amounted to less than the tax owed, but by keeping the money, the corporations could invest it and earn enough from it to cover the salaries of those lawyers. The lawyers could keep the IRS tangled in the courts essentially in perpetuity, which for the BIG corporations would be cheaper (=more profitable) than paying the actual tax amount. The IRS consequently, was willing to excuse 90% or more of what was owed just to get something. Of course, the out-of-court settlement also involved no admission of guilt so no penalties for being in arrears. Whether this still goes on I do not know as I've not seen any recent article about such settlements. Think you could strike such a deal with the IRS if you made a mistake on your forms? Wealth is the GREAT UNEQUALIZER.

[Tom S.]

Here's another note about BIG business. Sometime back in the 1980's (as I recall) I read an article about the IRS settling unpaid back taxes with large corporations for $0.10 or less per dollar owed. Why write off 90% or more of those unpaid taxes? Because the BIG corporations had a staff of lawyers whose annual salaries not only amounted to less than the tax owed, but by keeping the money, the corporations could invest it and earn enough from it to cover the salaries of those lawyers. The lawyers could keep the IRS tangled in the courts essentially in perpetuity, which for the BIG corporations would be cheaper (=more profitable) than paying the actual tax amount. The IRS consequently, was willing to excuse 90% or more of what was owed just to get something. Of course, the out-of-court settlement also involved no admission of guilt so no penalties for being in arrears. Whether this still goes on I do not know as I've not seen any recent article about such settlements. Think you could strike such a deal with the IRS if you made a mistake on your forms? Wealth is the GREAT UNEQUALIZER.

How much of that 90% were fines and accrued interest? It's much like those ads for people who will help with credit card debt. All they do is get the late fees and interest waived and the bank settles for the amount originally owed. Which while the bank doesn't make money, they don't end up losing much either. Same applies to IRS. The IRS are quick to slap huge fines on people and companies, along with heavy interest, but if you hire a lawyer, they are also quick to eliminate those fines and interest, provided they're dealing with interpretation of rules vs. outright fraud.

[WPRESTO]

How much of that 90% were fines and accrued interest? It's much like those ads for people who will help with credit card debt. All they do is get the late fees and interest waived and the bank settles for the amount originally owed. Which while the bank doesn't make money, they don't end up losing much either. Same applies to IRS. The IRS are quick to slap huge fines on people and companies, along with heavy interest, but if you hire a lawyer, they are also quick to eliminate those fines and interest, provided they're dealing with interpretation of rules vs. outright fraud.

As I remember the article, the companies were paying 10% or less of the amount of back taxes owed, and NO penalties because the negotiated settlement included no admission of wrongdoing.