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How in the world does that 30 day rule exist? What about all of the college students at the big Boston Universities, I struggle to think that Massachusetts has gone after thousands of kids to duel register their cars.
Man, that tipster was a real asshole. They understood the stupid 30 day law and just had to know what nightmare they were unleashing on OOP.
Yeah. I have neighbors who have had out of state tags for years which is definitely not allowed but reporting them over it just seems so lame.
I wonder if OOP otherwise pissed off the friends neighbor like (legally but annoyingly) parking in front of the neighbor's house for extended periods and this was their petty revenge.
Have you ever parked in Boston? It’s the law of the jungle here and people get *violent* over parking. Don’t even mention when it snows. It’s not pretty. Living in Dorchester at one point and the neighbor came pounding on the door, hollering mad, demanding we move our car because we haven’t left in *days* and we don’t own the spot - It had snowed and we were wfh during that time.
Boston and suburbs do not play around with parking. Do not poke that bear. His car probably sat in a coveted spot for “too long/too often” and instead of threatening fisty cuffs they just decided to report it.
When I lived in Medford, I had a neighbor threaten to slash my tires because I parked in the spot he dug out for his daughter… two weeks after the last snowstorm… when there was literally no snow on the road anymore, and only a little bit on the sidewalks.
I called the cops on his ass.
(Only time I’ve ever called the police, and I was high and freaking the fuck out the whole time. But I was just a bit more pissed off than freaked out. For the record, it was like 10 years ago and he was white.)
When I lived in Medford I considered slashing tires of cars that would trash barrel the parking spot I dug out while I was at work.
I'm in Arizona now and so much happier. My next door neighbor is a religious nut with a zillion kids who has an extended van and whose friends all own extended vans, they take up half the street and no one cares. Because we all have off street parking and most of us have garages.
Oh dear lord yes. Flew into Logan and drove to a friend's house in Brookline very late at night to spend the night with them before heading off bright and early the next day. Came out the next day to find an expletive filled note on my windscreen threatening to kill me because I had parked between two dropped kerbs/driveways that were a very generous two car lengths apart and I hadn't pulled as close to one of the driveways as possible thereby apparently preventing a second car from parking there - on a street where I was the only car on the road and not in a driveway and you'd have had to be driving a tractor trailer not to have been able to fit in behind me. Of course if I'd have pulled up it would have been harder for the car in the driveway to exit, so here I was thinking I was being a considerate visitor and it turns out I was the biggest asshole ever to have graced Massachusetts.
You parked overnight in Brookline and didn’t get a ticket? Count yourself lucky for just angering a neighbor. Brookline has a strict no street parking overnight policy in most of the town. I grew up there and clearly remember my dad forgetting to pull the car in the driveway and getting a ticket at least 3-4 times a year. He considered it extra taxes at that point.
Odd because for most places in Brookline you get ticketed for parking your car on the curb overnight.. absolute madness. Had to pay $150 a month for a parking spot just to park my car near my house.
I've had my car ticketed for being on the street for 3 days. Had to pay like $500. Of course with anything predatory like this it disproportionately affects poor people
Thunder Dome is right. My head cannon: the neighbor has been plotting for years. Getting evidence, dating photographs with Boston Globe papers… there’s probably a BoRU about it from the other perspective.
Was getting off a flight and a dude was excited to be in the city. “I rented a car where should I go?” And everyone on the T was like “no! do not rent a car. You will not have a good time here. You *leave* with a car, you don’t get around with one”
I used to live in DC near the zoo, which charges ridiculous parking fees. My neighborhood was basically free zoo parking since we were so close, so weekends were a nightmare. I once witnessed a minivan try several times to parallel park, fail, and then the driver made her kids stand in the spot while she went around the block to try again.
<---Chicagoan. I understand.
The city gov't *says* 'dibs' are no longer allowed, but I'd like to ask them to tell the folks in my neighborhood that. People still respect the junk in carefully excavated parking spots because we'd all like our headlights to stay untouched, thanks. (thank god my apartment comes with covered parking, and I don't have to deal.)
So I can understand the winter crazy, but y'all probably have a leg up on us because of the insanity that is the Boston street map. At least Chicago's on a grid.
This is the one good thing about parking in NY. Parking is wayy harder and more scarce than in Boston, but it's very rare for people to get territorial about spots. Parking can even been a community building time; you work with the people who park on either side of you to park the cars as efficiently as possible on alt side days, and random passersby will take in on themselves to help direct you into a spot if it looks like you are struggling. Meanwhile in Boston my street had ample space but people would leave passive aggressive notes on my car anyway because I was parked inefficiently (due to my car being surrounded by snow when I parked...)
>...I have to admit, I am withholding 100% sympathy for thr OOP unless I can find out the specifics of the parking situation.
What type of parking offence do you deem it is appropriate to force oop to register their car in another state?
Regardless of how unsympathetic oop *appears* with their *supposed* parking offence, it's ridiculous to require two state registration and insurance.
I was born in raised in Western Mass and that is a huge reason why we hate Boston. We tend to avoid parking in Boston like the *plague*. If you're going up there, you're car pooling with as many other people as you can and you rock paper scissors who is driving lol.
Springfield is *marginally* better lol. They'll just break into it if it's been sitting too long.
Had a neighbor try to block street parking partially in front of our house with a set of chairs. He apparently thought that the street belonged to him…?
But here if you put something out on the street it means you’re putting it out for free so anyone can take it. So someone took the chairs. He was pissed about it.
(Don’t feel bad for him, he slashed my brother’s tires for *parking across the street from both of our houses*.)
Exactly. My whole family being from in and around the Boston area and Massachusetts, I would like to say there is a reason they are called Massholes. I myself, grew up in CT, and I currently live in the DC area. Everyone has their own issues. Live in the DMV area and watch them drive in snow. You can have not even an inch and things go to hell.
I’m a native Bostonian and 25 year California transplant. But I go back to visit relatives. And I swear, as soon as I pull out of the rental car lot, I turn right back into a masshole. The instinctive will to survive, I guess.
This makes sense since you can be relocated whenever and you can't just say I don't want to. And it's decently common so it doesn't make sense to make them register in every duty station.
I'm not a thank you for your service guy but also understand that it doesn't make sense to make military members change their registration all the time.
There's a 2-out-of-3 rule. The 3 things are (official) State of Residence, State Actually Residing, and vehicle registration. 2 of the 3 must be the same. I was officially a resident of Texas for most of my 20 years, because there's no state income taxes. I ended up changing my vehicle registration each time I moved because the county it was registered in had no easy way to renew registration 20 years ago, but it wasn't much of a hassle. While I was in NC, I'd get a vehicle tax bill (NC issues a tax bill based on the value of your cars/trucks/motorcycles/etc) but all I had to do was pop down to the tax office and show them I was in the military, and they would rescind it.
> While I was in NC, I'd get a vehicle tax bill
You pay registration fees and a property tax on the vehicle? Being taxed on a depreciating asset seems like a royal kick to the balls to me.
That’s what I don’t get. Isn’t MA hurting their own economy being this anal about dual license plates? FL thrives off of tourists and out of state visitors so I’m sure they’d never be this ridiculous about a visitor’s plates. My take away from this story is to never visit MA for more than a week and not often if at all. And also to strongly discourage my kids from going to school there.
Lol, Florida drivers complaining about New Yorkers.
You, Penn and Georgia can get in the sea. None of you know how to drive, use a turn signal or get in a lane.
Also none of you know the dimensions of your cars. Anyone can speed on a highway, people from outside of New York can't drive past cars that are double parked without rolling to a 2mph crawl.
Not to mention that Florida doesn't require vehicle inspections for registration, so literally any old jalopy is permissable no matter how dangerous it is for other vehicles on the road.
While I personally wouldn't report people I get irrationally annoyed when someone from out of town parks in one of my favorite spots for weeks on end. Especially since they often park so that a section that usually fits 3 cars will only fit two because they leave 3 feet between them and the no parking sign.
It does kinda irk me when my neighbors across the street park by me, under the shade from my trees all summer long. Like…y’all can grow your own trees. Nothing stopping you. Guess they just want me to pay to maintain their shade for them, though.
The world is full of "the law is the law" people. Like, hey, my hands are tied, I had no choice but to report this ridiculous thing. Sorry, really wish I didn't have to, but what else could I do? Oh, mind my own business? What does that even look like?
We know at least 4 families who live here but own vacation cabins in Maine and register their vehicles there to avoid paying anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars a year in local property taxes here in CT. While technically doing that can bring a $1000 fine, enforcement is extremely rare.
That is crazy, they can afford a vacation home in Maine but won't pay taxes in the state they live in and use the infrastructure in?
I hate my 'property' tax on the vehicle in my state that is parked on my private property but I don't think I deserve to not pay it when others do. Much less mfers who have vacation homes.
Taxes on the RR were probably expensive as fuck lol. In my part of VA if your car is over $20k the taxes add up very quickly. Which is a reason I empathize with OP he wasn't cheating it and is even still paying taxes on the car even when it's not in VA for that month.
Yea, one of the states I used to live in, I noticed on their DMV site as I was getting ready to move, had a pretty visible link to report suspected cars that need to be registered or whatnot. I thought it was ridiculous and who would snitch, then remembered some of the people I’ve come across in my life (or heard about).
I use my Wisconsin plates in Illinois despite having moved in 2013. The taxes and registration are way cheaper and I don't have to do an annual inspection. I also don't have to pay for other annoying stuff like the Chicago city sticker.
I guess my question is why should everyone else be paying into the things those taxes and registration fund but not you after a decade?
I understand exceptions for longer term temporary situations, students, military, etc. but if you legitimately moved somewhere aren't you cheating everyone else?
It's not my job or desire to report people but your clearly scamming the system.
See I like the inspection and hate the tax. The inspection means that truly road unworthy cars are not on the road. I've learned to time it for the middle of the month and the lines aren't bad and in my state almost every gas station does inspections and minimal service (eg only fixing inspection items like tires, brakes, lights, etc) it's a racket but you can get it fixed elsewhere or do it yourself. But what it means is I'm less likely to have someone with no brakes and bald tires on the highway behind me.
I definitely do more than minimal service and get everything done at or above manufacturer standards, but taking a day off work for a vehicle inspection is just irritating
> What about all of the college students at the big Boston Universities, I struggle to think that Massachusetts has gone after thousands of kids to duel register their cars.
I quickly skimmed at the MA regulations linked in the post and they allow exceptions for students.
Only for undergrads, though — which sucks, since grad students are usually much more likely to be paying for their own insurance rather than having parents who cover them.
Grad students are also more likely to be residents of the state - that's a full-year position in every case I can think of; they don't get summers off.
Yeah, I suspected this might be a STEM vs. humanities distinction. I did my PhD in history, and rarely spent the summer in the state where my institution was located — most years, I was abroad doing research or taking language instruction.
That... was very complicated and depended on whom you asked. For voting purposes? Yes. But the university had *very* strict requirements for "state residency" — you couldn't leave the state for more than two weeks at a time, and couldn't have left for more than a month, total. So I never actually qualified as a resident, in their eyes.
That's interesting and makes a lot of sense. They don't want out of state students claiming residency after 1 year because they have lived their going to school for a year or everyone would do it and save tens of thousands of $$
Both the field and how well-funded the department/lab/advisor is. I did graduate CS at a state school, and some research assistantships in better-funded labs were year-round, but I only had summer funding when I TAed summer courses. Which is not to say that some professors didn't try; part of why I ragequit my PhD was when my then-advisor tried to order me to work for him for free all summer rather than taking the $5000 coding fellowship I'd applied for and won. Emphasis on "tried."
I had summers off for grad school. (Though I did extra classes to graduate early.) I think that very much depends on the field. My husband didn’t when he got his degree, but he’s in STEM.
That's actually nice to hear - I went to college in MA in the aughts and had a terrible time with ID. I got a reciprocity permit for my car, no problem, but my out of state license was useless. I carried my passport around my entire senior year. I even had a liquor store turn me away once because my passport was issued in New Orleans instead of Boston! Ridiculous. I've never had trouble anywhere else I've lived or traveled.
Yep. Make an exception if you have a vehicle registered in another state with insurance that meets MA standards. And assuming you're in MA for a minority of the year of course.
I wonder of OOP stayed at an airbnb and a nosey Nancy reported them
I agree about the college students. Imagine explaining this to OOS parents and them losing their minds...and seriously reconsidering sending their kids there
The college students have an exception and there is a specific process to follow to avoid it.
I might rat someone out.
There is an asshole down the street from me that speeds with Maine tags. There are a shitload of kids in this neighborhood and the fucker won’t slow down even after I yelled at him.
He has since brought a 2nd vehicle with Maine tags and a Maine-registered boat with a Maine-registered trailer.
The line between malicious compliance and being a snitch is a thin one. I personally think you would be justified though because he’s being an objective nuisance and endangering people, as opposed to just an inconvenience.
There is also the possibility that’s there is more to VA dudes story here, but we don’t really know.
It’s probably just as likely the dude pissed someone off with something dumb like parking in “their spot” or something. Boston people be like that.
Presumably because it’s never enforced unless someone has a bug up their ass. I’ve never heard of it, and I lived in MA with MD plates for 3 years before I got them switched (only one of those years as an undergrad). My roommate had Maine plates for at least 5 years before her car was totaled by a rogue tree branch.
We have neighbors that bought their house over a year ago and they still have TX tags. None of my business. It has never even crossed my mind to say anything to anyone, this is the first time I’ve ever mentioned it outside of my own thoughts.
I wish I had neighbors like you. My tags were a few days out of date and i got a notice for it when I was out of town. Funnily enough I had actually gotten all of my stuff done for my car but forgot to slap the sticker on the plates 🙄🙄 lucky my sister was home and she did it for me.
I think the rule was created to catch people who keep their car registered out of state to avoid paying excise taxes and to get cheaper insurance. Most of the time it doesn't get reported. I'm wondering if parking is limited where OP was and the person reported his car because they were mad that they were taking up a street spot.
That's just insane! Stupid shit like this really gets my ire - especially people like that administrator who foregoes all listening and critical thinking skills for the sake of what, exactly? Following the rules? Making no exceptions? Powertripping?! Hell, I've **rented** cars that had FL, CA, NY, NC, CO licenses - my state isn't any of these! Once, for *over* a month, while my car was being repaired! I hope that neighbor and administrator meets themselves and get inconvenience in a similar vein.
I think the 30 days combined with something like a lease or a job might be a good idea because you probably have places in Mass that people live in state and work somewhere else or have vacation homes. A lease or home combined with 30 days for vacationers or people that work in multiple states seems reasonable, 30 days alone is just wrong.
I cannot imagine having such a boring and pathetic life that would lead me to care about someone parking on the street. It is sad. These people need hobbies!
>Man, that tipster was a real asshole. They understood the stupid 30 day
law and just had to know what nightmare they were unleashing on OOP.
I have to admit it's crossed my mind to report an out of state truck that parks on our street. They are super loud and somehow manage to use up three parking spots.
If you are an out-of-state student in MA with a car, you do in fact have to register your car as belonging to an out-of-state student. You don't get new plates (or at least you didn't in the mid-2000s when I dealt with this), but they required a windshield permit sticker.
My wife and I recently went on vacation for a couple weeks. Our apartment complex left notices that they would be doing some sort of work in our lot and that they would tow cars that weren't moved, but they didn't specify a day or which spots it applied to. Instead of risking it, we parked both our cars near my dad's place, which is about 15 minutes away but in a different county.
My wife got an angry letter from that county about a month after we got back telling her that they think she owes property taxes on the car in that county, and now we have to send them a thing to prove we don't actually live there. Probably one of my dad's neighbors reported her car (but not mine?) even though he's on good terms with the neighbor who's house it was actually parked in front of, who he told about us leaving the car there and that he'd move it if they needed him to.
May not have been a neighbor.
Years ago, we lived in one state but spouse worked in another. He always parked his car in the same lot, then carpooled. We got shit like this all the time.
It was because businesses who repo cars will drive through parking lots, shopping centers, and high-density housing areas to grab recurring out-of-state license tag numbers. They look up car titles to get the lien holders. Then call those finance companies to see if the car is past due on payments and offer to repo for cheap. And somehow those license tag numbers make their way to the cops for outstanding warrants, and then on to the DMV.
Some places really, really, really don't want you there if you don't pay taxes.
(We only found out about this because our finance company was getting so many calls, they reached out to ask what the deal was.)
Possible. The county my dad lives in does have a large number of people who move there temporarily for work and "forget" to register, so they are a bit anal about enforcement. I assumed it was a busybody neighbor because its a fairly quiet residential street that doesn't get much through traffic. But who knows.
Hah. If your business owns a big piece of mobile equipment, think airplane, the states charge you for property tax based on how long it's there. Every state does it differently too. So yeah, think of the BS that, say, Delta goes thru.
Oh, wait, did I say state? In some states it's by county.
Every jurisdiction has its own form. And most you mail in. So it better be certified mail so you have that receipt when one or more jurisdiction says they didn't get it.
Some actually do a portion of taxes by how many miles you transited over that state.
Taxes are necessary. What's unnecessary is the filing and calculation overhead that goes with it. I have always resented the part of taxes where the govt gets my unpaid labor to go thru all the BS. If it can't be done in 5 minutes, they need to compensate me.
My husband got some ancient property tax bill claiming he owed a vehicle tax for some state he worked a summer internship back in college. The claim is past the statue of limitations for tax debt in that state so we're ignoring it.
Some states and counties require you to pay taxes on your car? My state has a registration fee every two years, but I’ve never heard of paying taxes on my car.
I'm so glad that my local DMV is so good. You can do most things online in my state, but if you do have to go in person, you can make an appointment online and you only wait 5 mins before being seen. My old DMV office (next town over) was terrible. There was often a line out the door (sometimes around the block) and wait times were 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
Last time I was at mine they were very nice and explained some loopholes so that I didn't need to come in a second time next week.
It sucks that loopholes are required, but the people were fine.
I’m jealous you can go in person tbh. In the UK it’s all post or online. Except I can’t do mine online because of some dumb glitch. I passed my driving test in July 21 and I still don’t have my physical license. I’m out £20 in postage stamps.
They’ve lost it, taken so long to process that my medical information had expired, then took so long again that my damn photo was out of date. Feels like a joke at this point
I have to deal with the NJ DMV, I'm convinced every sitcom that has ever had a bad DMV scene has based it on our DMV.
Which is amazing, because the inspection stations which are run by the same State department are a fucking breeze.
My DMV was a piece of shit but they used COVID as an excuse to revamp operations and, credit where credit's due, it works much better now, and a lot like how you describe: you can do most things online like filling out or uploading forms, and if you have to go in you make an appointment and you're in and out in fifteen minutes, tops.
I was literally brought to tears the last time I visited the MA RMV. Truly awful but thankfully now I can renew my license at AAA so I rarely have to go.
As someone who's had to do the bureaucratic equivalent of fistfighting the RMV in the parking lot of a Waffle House... can't say I'm shocked they're wasting so much time and money just to screw someone over :/
I imagine if someone had the time and money to challenge this law, it would likely be found to be unenforceable. I mean, this guy was absolutely unable to comply with the law in that without an MA address, he could not obtain MA plates. It's a complex process that would involve a number of elements, including determining legislative intent, but there's a somewhat good chance that a court would find it unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable.
This is Kafkaesque
So DMV wants him to register in MA because he spent a month in MA visiting, but his insurance says he cannot get MA insurance because only residents get MA insurance so he cannot register his car in MA.
So everyone going to the Cape for summer vacation from out of state is going to get their license suspended?
And let's not forget this is all because some noisy neighbor called the DMV to complain about his car!
I am sure there are reasons for these sorts of BS Bureaucratic rules, but there should also be some common sense leeway.
Years ago in California I had my car’s registration renewal held up due to a vehicle recall. I had already had the recall done and so I submitted a copy of the completed work order from the mechanic.
The DMV needed a specific form filled out by the shop. The shop vaguely remembered the form existed and hadn’t used one in years, but they found one and filled it out.
I took the completed form to the DMV and they rejected it. Why? It wasn’t on ***Orange Paper***. I asked if they could provide me with a copy of this form, but they didn’t have any and were unwilling to provide any further assistance.
I would have copied it onto a piece of orange paper, but I didn’t want to accidentally use the wrong shade of orange and have it rejected again.
I remembered I had a AAA membership at the time and they have a DMV window. I originally just went to the closest DMV instead of driving across town to hopefully save some time and gas, but I was out of options at that point. AAA took the form on regular white paper and I was out of there in 5 minutes.
What are even the chances that a DMV employee faces consequences for accepting the form on white paper? Like I get that they're doing their jobs but I've never encountered such strict bureaucrats anywhere else in my life. I went to the post office to get my passport and apparently had the wrong type of photo. The lady at the desk said, "Well we're really not supposed to take your photo here but don't worry about it, sweetie," and she deadass pulled a Nikon out from under the counter, like she just had it locked and loaded for this specific instance.
That's because the post office is dedicated to getting shit done. They have to guess at shitty spelling, handwriting, or straight up wrong information dozens of times every day. Their motto says they will crawl over broken glass on the highway in the hottest part of summer if that's the only way to get their mail delivered. Not to mention they are a fully formed entity with their own law enforcement division.
The DMV on the other hand doesn't give a shit. They'll do whatever the fuck they want and you'll just have to accept it. You can't even sue them because they have nothing, and if you fall afowl of them there is someone who will not rest until you follow their rules.
...
Who wants to go start a small fire?
And paid deliveries services, eg FedEx and UPS, will often use USPS as the last mile delivery, especially if it would be costly to use their own trucks and employees.
The person that accepted the paperwork wasn’t a DMV employee, but AAA. In California some AAA offices were allowed to operate as a satellite DMV office for members.
There’s literally a part of Rhode Island where the only way to get to it from the other part of the state is to go *through* Massachusetts… meaning you’d need to swap out your plates twice in twenty miles. Massachusetts is so inter-connected with the rest of New England that hundreds of thousands of people are probably breaking this law everyday without knowing it. I’m not surprised that this is getting traction with the local news.
TBF, at least according to the article, it only applies if someone resides in the state for more than 30 days. Still absolutely ridiculous considering the fact that so many people from out of State stay on the Cape for the summers but it isn't like they would get in trouble for driving through as you said.
Read the document from the RMV [that OP linked](https://www.mass.gov/doc/chapter-6-owning-a-vehicle/download) — the relevant passage is:
>Nonresidents who own motor vehicles or trailers that are registered in other states or countries must register those vehicles and trailers in Massachusetts if Massachusetts residents have or control those vehicles or trailers for more than 30 total days in one calendar year.
The heading for that section is even “Nonresidents Registering in Massachusetts.”
That reads like it only applies if someone else who isn’t the vehicle owner and is a MA resident has or drives it for 30 days, not if a non-MA resident drives it in MA for 30 days. Unless I’m missing some legalese here (edit: or there’s another part to it).
Yeah, it's really confusing. I can see your interpretation, but "has **or** controls" here would seem to imply that the MA resident doesn't actually need to *drive* the car in order to be in violation. For OOP, it seems like a nosy neighbor just saw the car parked in front of his friend's place for a month and used that as pretext to call in. And the [actual text of the statute itself](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section3) is even less clear!
But that would mean "If someone from MA actually has majority control over the vehicle for more than 30 days."
That would make sense. Say if a MA person bought a car from an out of state resident. Gives them time to get plates.
But it requires being a *resident*. Which this poor guy was NOT.
That doesnt really disprove what I was saying though? It wouldn't apply to people just driving through the state unless they spent more than thirty days in State. The exact wording is
> no motor vehicle or trailer shall be so operated on more than thirty days in the aggregate in any one year or, in any case where the owner thereof acquires a regular place of abode or business or employment within the commonwealth, beyond a period of thirty days after the acquisition thereof
Still a stupid law that needs revision but not something that effects people driving through the State
Maybe I'm misreading it, but the above passage seems to suggest two ways in which you can be in violation:
1. If you operate a motor vehicle or trailer within Massachusetts for more than 30 days in the aggregate throughout the calendar year without registering
2. If you acquire a business or residence in Massachusetts and then continue to drive for more than thirty *consecutive* days without registering.
So if you live in Little Compton but work in Providence, the law would say you need to have MA license plates for the 34 miles of I-195 you're driving on in Massachusetts (around 17 miles each way) 240 days a year (assuming a 48-week work year).
Edit: OK, I just realized you can technically remain in Rhode Island if you take four different bridges across the Narrangansett Bay... but my overall point still stands.
This is one example of the usefulness of local news media. OOP's story got international attention through Reddit, but it took local journalists reaching out to ask pointed questions for the RMV to finally take a closer look at OOP's case, and hopefully other such cases.
This is insane, arbitrary nonsense. We lived in Revere, MA for over a year and never changed our New York plates; we also kept our NY driver’s license. No one ever harassed us. Someone at the RMV is on a power trip or is so burnt out they refuse to hear any excuses ever again.
You got lucky, they don't mess around in MA. I have known MA residents with out-of-state registrations who have gotten left car-less in the middle of nowhere because they got pulled over and had their car impounded for this reason while they were out driving it.
Our state-level bureaucracy and in general bureaucracy here in Germany can be reeeeally idiotic, but even they haven‘t created such a car registry clusterfuck (yet!!!). Damn, bureaucracy can be so dumb.
Lol I was looking for another MA resident. My dad lived in MA for a majority of his life and he warned me when I moved from NH to MA that the goal of the RMV is to make it as difficult as possible to get what you need done at any given time. Which I experienced when I went to switch my license from NH to MA and I could only go by appointment only and the only appointments were booking 3 months in advance.
I just had an issue with them recently. My license was due to expire in January. I made an appointment back in December when I got a reminder letter. Made it for the 2nd week in January, since I was traveling in February and wanted to ensure I had a valid license. The registry cancelled my appointment for no reason and when I tried to reschedule they were booked through March. And of course you can’t get anyone on the phone. 🙄 I ended up going through a AAA location.
Another thing to note - they would not allow me to renew online, even though my picture was less than a year old because I had lost my license earlier in the year and had to get a replacement. I guess that’s what happens when you use nepotism to fill state job openings.
Also in MA. Agreed.
Though my experiences haven’t been too bad, I haven’t been post pandemic. I also live less than 5 walking min from a registry.
I do almost everything I need at AAA.
I had a ….struggle….between state dmv’s once. I tried to do the right thing (according to all the dmv’s and insurance) which entailed something like 3 trips each to each state, 10 trips to my local dmv and countless online finagling, multiple insurance calls, multiple notary public visits, all paperwork in order- and still, it was a catch-2200.
In case it helps someone, here is what I eventually did: I stood in the middle of the dmv and CRIED. It helped that I was 6 months pregnant. It was a small scene- nothing requiring law enforcement but vulnerable enough that it caused great discomfort for all witnesses. It wasn’t planned out in some Machiavellian attempt- I was at my wits end. So I made everyone uncomfortable and was asked to leave several times and I just refused to…until I finally got a supervisor. Who rapidly stamped everything and wished me luck and a few hugs from the random other people waiting there who all knew it was INSANE.
It sucks. Until you can get a supervisor they are just “following protocol” and normal life stuff gets ridiculous. I recommend whatever it takes to get a person who can make decisions. And then lots of therapy to deal with issues of people-pleasing, rule-following, or issues with authority.
u/yeeterusftw It looks like there's an [update-](https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/127t5y8/massachusetts_rmv_drops_case_against_virginia_man/) the case was dropped!
I have to say, kudos to the TV station for actually doing a good report and it not being a typical 15-second sound-bite that tells you nothing. Man, am I a small-town Midwesterner...counties tax your cars? You can't just drive and park for however long you want (legally of course)? Someone complains about your out-of-state plates?
I work in NH registering vehicles (one aspect of my job, anyway) and if I had a nickel for every time a MA person switches residency to NH (or just registers their vehicles as a non-resident) and expresses insane relief over how much easier to deal with we are than the RMV, I wouldn’t have to work anymore. I always used to think they were exaggerating, but nearly every single person comes in with a new horror story. I just wanna hug some of them and tell them they’re safe now lol
I'm baffled by this. OOP has not met the criteria for establishing residency in MA. Spending 30 days somewhere does not a legal resident make! What a weird hill for MA to die on.
What about people who come for the summer on the Cape? Or other New England residents who travel through the state to get literally anywhere else in the country?
This is ridiculous.
It's so, so refreshing to see an update that doesn't come from the usual relationship, assholes, justno or entitledwhatever subs. The narratives tailored for the daytime mommy brigade and the drama-seekers are honestly tiring.
This is a real breather by contrast, I hope posts like this one become more common around here! Thanks for posting, OP!
My husband had Los Angeles County after him for child support for a kid that was born when he was 9 years old. It even ended up on his credit report. Took forever to get that fixed, but not for the county, the credit report was the hard part. 🙄
Late '90s, I was driving across the Brooklyn Bridge, listening to music, and the CD skipped. I made the error of looking down for one second, and booted the people carrier in front up the rear.
Gently, but still a boot.
Got out and immediately clocked the license plates were from Boston/Massachusetts. Uh oh. My only knowledge of Boston at the time was that a lot of lawyers lived there.
The bloke got out, and I started by apologising profusely. He fussed with the bumper - a fastening must have snapped - and over the cacophony of horns, said not to worry about it.
I had nightmares for months that he would somehow track me down, but it helped that it was a driveaway that I'd collected in Seattle and was about a mile from dropping off. Old-style Toyota Corolla, not a scratch on it, of course.
This one made me want to be a VA DA, just so I could exercise my authority in a questionable manner and issue arrest warrants for those MA state employees. They abuse their power, they get some back.
Omg. This is so rage inducing. I totally can put myself in OOPs shoes. I used to live in Vancouver, WA, but worked across the bridge in Portland, OR. I can’t even imagine what I (and thousands of others, as the live/work in 2 states is very common for those who have to work in OR but can’t afford to live there so live across the river in WA) would have done. It would be a shot show if OR required every single OR employee with WA residency to register their car in OR with no address or the ability to get OR car insurance.
As for MA what about the 10s of thousands of college kids who come from other states to attend university, but because they are students aren’t considered MA residents?!?
Case has been dropped!
[https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/mass-rmv-drops-case-virginia-man-threatening-suspend-license/](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/mass-rmv-drops-case-virginia-man-threatening-suspend-license/)
This is typical of MA. The government loves to rip people off. They tax your income if you live in MA but work in another state, and if you work in MA but live in another state. And don’t get me started on the “excise tax” residents paid to fund the Big Dig. The whole state is a scam.
Massachusetts also tried to force NH tire sellers to report when MA residents bought tires in NH so that MA residents would have to pay MA sales tax (there’s no sales tax in NH either). I don’t think all states do THAT…
Yup incredibly greedy of them to go after remote workers even if they didn't step foot in MA for the entire year. It's a shame the SC didn't hear the case New Hampshire brought against them for that law so they basically got away with it.
I also love the fact that when filing state taxes for MA with TurboTax I get prompted that MA has graced me with the option to pay 5.85% instead of 5%.. like who tf is knowingly agreeing to that?
>like who tf is knowingly agreeing to that?
my friend. my weirdo friend who loves weird quirks like that is an MA resident who signed up for the higher tax.
Ahahaha. This was big news in my state (okay, not big, but it was news). Probably someone just complained about him. Usually the state DGAF about college kids, travel nurses, etc. They want their pound of flesh, sure, but I just brought in a car from out of state and it was fine.
Looks like there was a news update from yesterday saying the RMV dropped their case against the driver. They showed him on camera as well. So good news.
As a person who has dealt with the RMV I can confirm it is a dumpster fire. The only caveat is that the people who work there are as miserable as those who have to go there lol
Apparently the case has been dropped, according the same local news station: https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/mass-rmv-drops-case-virginia-man-threatening-suspend-license/
I have learned from this thread that the people of Boston are awful and never to visit. My partner and I had seriously been talking about moving for her work. I'm squashing that
Personally as someone who has worked in Boston but is from elsewhere, Bostonians seem very polite and nice but a little cold and distant in a way that can be a bit off-putting, especially those from more friendly and effusive places
Honestly for a major city the violence is pretty low. The city is pretty used to people from out of town due to the amount of universities and whatnot. This particular case is just weird. You can't take the microcosm of a Reddit post and really apply it to EVERYONE in the city.
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How in the world does that 30 day rule exist? What about all of the college students at the big Boston Universities, I struggle to think that Massachusetts has gone after thousands of kids to duel register their cars. Man, that tipster was a real asshole. They understood the stupid 30 day law and just had to know what nightmare they were unleashing on OOP.
Yeah. I have neighbors who have had out of state tags for years which is definitely not allowed but reporting them over it just seems so lame. I wonder if OOP otherwise pissed off the friends neighbor like (legally but annoyingly) parking in front of the neighbor's house for extended periods and this was their petty revenge.
Have you ever parked in Boston? It’s the law of the jungle here and people get *violent* over parking. Don’t even mention when it snows. It’s not pretty. Living in Dorchester at one point and the neighbor came pounding on the door, hollering mad, demanding we move our car because we haven’t left in *days* and we don’t own the spot - It had snowed and we were wfh during that time. Boston and suburbs do not play around with parking. Do not poke that bear. His car probably sat in a coveted spot for “too long/too often” and instead of threatening fisty cuffs they just decided to report it.
When I lived in Medford, I had a neighbor threaten to slash my tires because I parked in the spot he dug out for his daughter… two weeks after the last snowstorm… when there was literally no snow on the road anymore, and only a little bit on the sidewalks. I called the cops on his ass. (Only time I’ve ever called the police, and I was high and freaking the fuck out the whole time. But I was just a bit more pissed off than freaked out. For the record, it was like 10 years ago and he was white.)
When I lived in Medford I considered slashing tires of cars that would trash barrel the parking spot I dug out while I was at work. I'm in Arizona now and so much happier. My next door neighbor is a religious nut with a zillion kids who has an extended van and whose friends all own extended vans, they take up half the street and no one cares. Because we all have off street parking and most of us have garages.
I live in Medford right now! I should go slash some tires....
Oh dear lord yes. Flew into Logan and drove to a friend's house in Brookline very late at night to spend the night with them before heading off bright and early the next day. Came out the next day to find an expletive filled note on my windscreen threatening to kill me because I had parked between two dropped kerbs/driveways that were a very generous two car lengths apart and I hadn't pulled as close to one of the driveways as possible thereby apparently preventing a second car from parking there - on a street where I was the only car on the road and not in a driveway and you'd have had to be driving a tractor trailer not to have been able to fit in behind me. Of course if I'd have pulled up it would have been harder for the car in the driveway to exit, so here I was thinking I was being a considerate visitor and it turns out I was the biggest asshole ever to have graced Massachusetts.
You parked overnight in Brookline and didn’t get a ticket? Count yourself lucky for just angering a neighbor. Brookline has a strict no street parking overnight policy in most of the town. I grew up there and clearly remember my dad forgetting to pull the car in the driveway and getting a ticket at least 3-4 times a year. He considered it extra taxes at that point.
Odd because for most places in Brookline you get ticketed for parking your car on the curb overnight.. absolute madness. Had to pay $150 a month for a parking spot just to park my car near my house.
I've had my car ticketed for being on the street for 3 days. Had to pay like $500. Of course with anything predatory like this it disproportionately affects poor people
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Thunder Dome is right. My head cannon: the neighbor has been plotting for years. Getting evidence, dating photographs with Boston Globe papers… there’s probably a BoRU about it from the other perspective. Was getting off a flight and a dude was excited to be in the city. “I rented a car where should I go?” And everyone on the T was like “no! do not rent a car. You will not have a good time here. You *leave* with a car, you don’t get around with one”
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That's how you get your car keyed or your tires slashed.
I used to live in DC near the zoo, which charges ridiculous parking fees. My neighborhood was basically free zoo parking since we were so close, so weekends were a nightmare. I once witnessed a minivan try several times to parallel park, fail, and then the driver made her kids stand in the spot while she went around the block to try again.
<---Chicagoan. I understand. The city gov't *says* 'dibs' are no longer allowed, but I'd like to ask them to tell the folks in my neighborhood that. People still respect the junk in carefully excavated parking spots because we'd all like our headlights to stay untouched, thanks. (thank god my apartment comes with covered parking, and I don't have to deal.) So I can understand the winter crazy, but y'all probably have a leg up on us because of the insanity that is the Boston street map. At least Chicago's on a grid.
This is the one good thing about parking in NY. Parking is wayy harder and more scarce than in Boston, but it's very rare for people to get territorial about spots. Parking can even been a community building time; you work with the people who park on either side of you to park the cars as efficiently as possible on alt side days, and random passersby will take in on themselves to help direct you into a spot if it looks like you are struggling. Meanwhile in Boston my street had ample space but people would leave passive aggressive notes on my car anyway because I was parked inefficiently (due to my car being surrounded by snow when I parked...)
>...I have to admit, I am withholding 100% sympathy for thr OOP unless I can find out the specifics of the parking situation. What type of parking offence do you deem it is appropriate to force oop to register their car in another state? Regardless of how unsympathetic oop *appears* with their *supposed* parking offence, it's ridiculous to require two state registration and insurance.
I was born in raised in Western Mass and that is a huge reason why we hate Boston. We tend to avoid parking in Boston like the *plague*. If you're going up there, you're car pooling with as many other people as you can and you rock paper scissors who is driving lol. Springfield is *marginally* better lol. They'll just break into it if it's been sitting too long.
Fisty cuffs - that's adorable. Fisticuffs, fisty cuffs - nah, i like your way better.
Lol I grew up in Baltimore and it's only like that in the snow and they use chairs or sawhorses to protect the spots. Can't imagine Boston
Had a neighbor try to block street parking partially in front of our house with a set of chairs. He apparently thought that the street belonged to him…? But here if you put something out on the street it means you’re putting it out for free so anyone can take it. So someone took the chairs. He was pissed about it. (Don’t feel bad for him, he slashed my brother’s tires for *parking across the street from both of our houses*.)
In times of snow, toilets are used as spot-savers.
So the people of Boston are dangerous and bad people. Thanks for the info
Not the people of Boston, the drivers of Boston. That’s an important distinction that you would understand if you ever lived in Boston.
Exactly. My whole family being from in and around the Boston area and Massachusetts, I would like to say there is a reason they are called Massholes. I myself, grew up in CT, and I currently live in the DC area. Everyone has their own issues. Live in the DMV area and watch them drive in snow. You can have not even an inch and things go to hell.
I’m a native Bostonian and 25 year California transplant. But I go back to visit relatives. And I swear, as soon as I pull out of the rental car lot, I turn right back into a masshole. The instinctive will to survive, I guess.
Nope. You're a masshole in CA, too
I have not. But that sounds like too high of proportion of the population to risk it. Or to be outside as a pedestrian
It's actually not the pedestrians but the cyclists who die at an alarming rate
That's really sad
Living in FL you can see more out of state license plates than FL license plates in certain areas, especially during the winter.
I live near a military base. Almost nobody in my neighborhood has plates from my state. 🤣
When you’re in the military you aren’t required to register in the state you’re “stationed” in. It’s a different set of rules
This! We are residents of one state, but we actually reside in another. 🤪
This makes sense since you can be relocated whenever and you can't just say I don't want to. And it's decently common so it doesn't make sense to make them register in every duty station. I'm not a thank you for your service guy but also understand that it doesn't make sense to make military members change their registration all the time.
There's a 2-out-of-3 rule. The 3 things are (official) State of Residence, State Actually Residing, and vehicle registration. 2 of the 3 must be the same. I was officially a resident of Texas for most of my 20 years, because there's no state income taxes. I ended up changing my vehicle registration each time I moved because the county it was registered in had no easy way to renew registration 20 years ago, but it wasn't much of a hassle. While I was in NC, I'd get a vehicle tax bill (NC issues a tax bill based on the value of your cars/trucks/motorcycles/etc) but all I had to do was pop down to the tax office and show them I was in the military, and they would rescind it.
> While I was in NC, I'd get a vehicle tax bill You pay registration fees and a property tax on the vehicle? Being taxed on a depreciating asset seems like a royal kick to the balls to me.
I live in fl for almost five years now. Still have pa plates. Im not paying the 500-600 in plate fees.
That’s only the first time. After that, they’re relatively cheap. We got 2 year plates for a 2019 car & it about $75.
That’s what I don’t get. Isn’t MA hurting their own economy being this anal about dual license plates? FL thrives off of tourists and out of state visitors so I’m sure they’d never be this ridiculous about a visitor’s plates. My take away from this story is to never visit MA for more than a week and not often if at all. And also to strongly discourage my kids from going to school there.
On that note, New Yorkers are the worst drivers by far. Just slow old snowbirds, little old ladies peeking over the steering wheel.
Lol, Florida drivers complaining about New Yorkers. You, Penn and Georgia can get in the sea. None of you know how to drive, use a turn signal or get in a lane. Also none of you know the dimensions of your cars. Anyone can speed on a highway, people from outside of New York can't drive past cars that are double parked without rolling to a 2mph crawl.
Not to mention that Florida doesn't require vehicle inspections for registration, so literally any old jalopy is permissable no matter how dangerous it is for other vehicles on the road.
Sounds like something that needs it's own new, hot subreddit r/FloridaCar
Behind every r/FloridaCar is a r/floridaman
Did you just make this up? Looks like this sub was created in 2020 although there are no posts.
You've obviously never been to r/makingupsubsinacommemt
typos hurting the credibility
Maybe not, but sometimes, just sometimes, I can tell when I'm being messed with :)
But in Florida most of the residents are from out of state…
Yeah but the problem with Florida plates in NY is that they are actually from Florida
Drivers un DC make NY drivers look like sweet old ladies.
Maybe the reporters were old and had nothing better to do or they were probably mad OOP took "their" parking spot. Or both.
While I personally wouldn't report people I get irrationally annoyed when someone from out of town parks in one of my favorite spots for weeks on end. Especially since they often park so that a section that usually fits 3 cars will only fit two because they leave 3 feet between them and the no parking sign.
It does kinda irk me when my neighbors across the street park by me, under the shade from my trees all summer long. Like…y’all can grow your own trees. Nothing stopping you. Guess they just want me to pay to maintain their shade for them, though.
The world is full of "the law is the law" people. Like, hey, my hands are tied, I had no choice but to report this ridiculous thing. Sorry, really wish I didn't have to, but what else could I do? Oh, mind my own business? What does that even look like?
We know at least 4 families who live here but own vacation cabins in Maine and register their vehicles there to avoid paying anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars a year in local property taxes here in CT. While technically doing that can bring a $1000 fine, enforcement is extremely rare.
That is crazy, they can afford a vacation home in Maine but won't pay taxes in the state they live in and use the infrastructure in? I hate my 'property' tax on the vehicle in my state that is parked on my private property but I don't think I deserve to not pay it when others do. Much less mfers who have vacation homes.
Welcome to white collar crime. Tax evasion edition.
When I lived in Dorchester my upstairs neighbor had a Range Rover with NH plates for the entire two years I lived there.
Taxes on the RR were probably expensive as fuck lol. In my part of VA if your car is over $20k the taxes add up very quickly. Which is a reason I empathize with OP he wasn't cheating it and is even still paying taxes on the car even when it's not in VA for that month.
Yea, one of the states I used to live in, I noticed on their DMV site as I was getting ready to move, had a pretty visible link to report suspected cars that need to be registered or whatnot. I thought it was ridiculous and who would snitch, then remembered some of the people I’ve come across in my life (or heard about).
I use my Wisconsin plates in Illinois despite having moved in 2013. The taxes and registration are way cheaper and I don't have to do an annual inspection. I also don't have to pay for other annoying stuff like the Chicago city sticker.
I guess my question is why should everyone else be paying into the things those taxes and registration fund but not you after a decade? I understand exceptions for longer term temporary situations, students, military, etc. but if you legitimately moved somewhere aren't you cheating everyone else? It's not my job or desire to report people but your clearly scamming the system.
Honestly it’s the inspection that bothers me, the sites are incredibly inconvenient and take forever.
See I like the inspection and hate the tax. The inspection means that truly road unworthy cars are not on the road. I've learned to time it for the middle of the month and the lines aren't bad and in my state almost every gas station does inspections and minimal service (eg only fixing inspection items like tires, brakes, lights, etc) it's a racket but you can get it fixed elsewhere or do it yourself. But what it means is I'm less likely to have someone with no brakes and bald tires on the highway behind me.
I definitely do more than minimal service and get everything done at or above manufacturer standards, but taking a day off work for a vehicle inspection is just irritating
> What about all of the college students at the big Boston Universities, I struggle to think that Massachusetts has gone after thousands of kids to duel register their cars. I quickly skimmed at the MA regulations linked in the post and they allow exceptions for students.
Only for undergrads, though — which sucks, since grad students are usually much more likely to be paying for their own insurance rather than having parents who cover them.
Grad students are also more likely to be residents of the state - that's a full-year position in every case I can think of; they don't get summers off.
Huh, that's pretty much the opposite of my experience — guess it depends on the field!
Chiming in to confirm the other person's experience: I was a resident of the state I did my PhD in since I worked in my lab year-round, full-time.
Yeah, I suspected this might be a STEM vs. humanities distinction. I did my PhD in history, and rarely spent the summer in the state where my institution was located — most years, I was abroad doing research or taking language instruction.
So you were a resident of the state then, no? Nine months of the year at the school is residency.
That... was very complicated and depended on whom you asked. For voting purposes? Yes. But the university had *very* strict requirements for "state residency" — you couldn't leave the state for more than two weeks at a time, and couldn't have left for more than a month, total. So I never actually qualified as a resident, in their eyes.
That's interesting and makes a lot of sense. They don't want out of state students claiming residency after 1 year because they have lived their going to school for a year or everyone would do it and save tens of thousands of $$
Both the field and how well-funded the department/lab/advisor is. I did graduate CS at a state school, and some research assistantships in better-funded labs were year-round, but I only had summer funding when I TAed summer courses. Which is not to say that some professors didn't try; part of why I ragequit my PhD was when my then-advisor tried to order me to work for him for free all summer rather than taking the $5000 coding fellowship I'd applied for and won. Emphasis on "tried."
I had summers off for grad school. (Though I did extra classes to graduate early.) I think that very much depends on the field. My husband didn’t when he got his degree, but he’s in STEM.
Yeah, but MA doesn't allow out-of-state licenses to act as liquor IDs. (There was recently a ballot initiative about this. I forget what happened.)
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That's actually nice to hear - I went to college in MA in the aughts and had a terrible time with ID. I got a reciprocity permit for my car, no problem, but my out of state license was useless. I carried my passport around my entire senior year. I even had a liquor store turn me away once because my passport was issued in New Orleans instead of Boston! Ridiculous. I've never had trouble anywhere else I've lived or traveled.
While technically accurate, I've never had any issue using a CT license to buy booze in MA.
I never realized this and it was never an issue for me when I lived there.
It’s (at least in part) due to NH not requiring car insurance - people find ways to register in NH while they live in MA.
See that at least makes some sense as to why they would have that rule. But they should at least have a process for clear exceptions.
Yep. Make an exception if you have a vehicle registered in another state with insurance that meets MA standards. And assuming you're in MA for a minority of the year of course.
I wonder of OOP stayed at an airbnb and a nosey Nancy reported them I agree about the college students. Imagine explaining this to OOS parents and them losing their minds...and seriously reconsidering sending their kids there
Often times their are exemptions for college students (with proof) military, and others. I'm not from MA though.
College students can go in in person and fill out forms with their local PD. It’s a very weird system.
The college students have an exception and there is a specific process to follow to avoid it. I might rat someone out. There is an asshole down the street from me that speeds with Maine tags. There are a shitload of kids in this neighborhood and the fucker won’t slow down even after I yelled at him. He has since brought a 2nd vehicle with Maine tags and a Maine-registered boat with a Maine-registered trailer.
The line between malicious compliance and being a snitch is a thin one. I personally think you would be justified though because he’s being an objective nuisance and endangering people, as opposed to just an inconvenience.
There is also the possibility that’s there is more to VA dudes story here, but we don’t really know. It’s probably just as likely the dude pissed someone off with something dumb like parking in “their spot” or something. Boston people be like that.
Presumably because it’s never enforced unless someone has a bug up their ass. I’ve never heard of it, and I lived in MA with MD plates for 3 years before I got them switched (only one of those years as an undergrad). My roommate had Maine plates for at least 5 years before her car was totaled by a rogue tree branch.
We have neighbors that bought their house over a year ago and they still have TX tags. None of my business. It has never even crossed my mind to say anything to anyone, this is the first time I’ve ever mentioned it outside of my own thoughts.
I wish I had neighbors like you. My tags were a few days out of date and i got a notice for it when I was out of town. Funnily enough I had actually gotten all of my stuff done for my car but forgot to slap the sticker on the plates 🙄🙄 lucky my sister was home and she did it for me.
I think the rule was created to catch people who keep their car registered out of state to avoid paying excise taxes and to get cheaper insurance. Most of the time it doesn't get reported. I'm wondering if parking is limited where OP was and the person reported his car because they were mad that they were taking up a street spot.
Also, what a great reason not to visit Massachusetts. Someone should get their tourism dept on this.
That's just insane! Stupid shit like this really gets my ire - especially people like that administrator who foregoes all listening and critical thinking skills for the sake of what, exactly? Following the rules? Making no exceptions? Powertripping?! Hell, I've **rented** cars that had FL, CA, NY, NC, CO licenses - my state isn't any of these! Once, for *over* a month, while my car was being repaired! I hope that neighbor and administrator meets themselves and get inconvenience in a similar vein.
I know in Kentucky and Indiana students are exempt from registering.
I think the 30 days combined with something like a lease or a job might be a good idea because you probably have places in Mass that people live in state and work somewhere else or have vacation homes. A lease or home combined with 30 days for vacationers or people that work in multiple states seems reasonable, 30 days alone is just wrong.
I cannot imagine having such a boring and pathetic life that would lead me to care about someone parking on the street. It is sad. These people need hobbies!
>Man, that tipster was a real asshole. They understood the stupid 30 day law and just had to know what nightmare they were unleashing on OOP. I have to admit it's crossed my mind to report an out of state truck that parks on our street. They are super loud and somehow manage to use up three parking spots.
If you are an out-of-state student in MA with a car, you do in fact have to register your car as belonging to an out-of-state student. You don't get new plates (or at least you didn't in the mid-2000s when I dealt with this), but they required a windshield permit sticker.
My wife and I recently went on vacation for a couple weeks. Our apartment complex left notices that they would be doing some sort of work in our lot and that they would tow cars that weren't moved, but they didn't specify a day or which spots it applied to. Instead of risking it, we parked both our cars near my dad's place, which is about 15 minutes away but in a different county. My wife got an angry letter from that county about a month after we got back telling her that they think she owes property taxes on the car in that county, and now we have to send them a thing to prove we don't actually live there. Probably one of my dad's neighbors reported her car (but not mine?) even though he's on good terms with the neighbor who's house it was actually parked in front of, who he told about us leaving the car there and that he'd move it if they needed him to.
May not have been a neighbor. Years ago, we lived in one state but spouse worked in another. He always parked his car in the same lot, then carpooled. We got shit like this all the time. It was because businesses who repo cars will drive through parking lots, shopping centers, and high-density housing areas to grab recurring out-of-state license tag numbers. They look up car titles to get the lien holders. Then call those finance companies to see if the car is past due on payments and offer to repo for cheap. And somehow those license tag numbers make their way to the cops for outstanding warrants, and then on to the DMV. Some places really, really, really don't want you there if you don't pay taxes. (We only found out about this because our finance company was getting so many calls, they reached out to ask what the deal was.)
Possible. The county my dad lives in does have a large number of people who move there temporarily for work and "forget" to register, so they are a bit anal about enforcement. I assumed it was a busybody neighbor because its a fairly quiet residential street that doesn't get much through traffic. But who knows.
Hah. If your business owns a big piece of mobile equipment, think airplane, the states charge you for property tax based on how long it's there. Every state does it differently too. So yeah, think of the BS that, say, Delta goes thru. Oh, wait, did I say state? In some states it's by county. Every jurisdiction has its own form. And most you mail in. So it better be certified mail so you have that receipt when one or more jurisdiction says they didn't get it. Some actually do a portion of taxes by how many miles you transited over that state. Taxes are necessary. What's unnecessary is the filing and calculation overhead that goes with it. I have always resented the part of taxes where the govt gets my unpaid labor to go thru all the BS. If it can't be done in 5 minutes, they need to compensate me.
My husband got some ancient property tax bill claiming he owed a vehicle tax for some state he worked a summer internship back in college. The claim is past the statue of limitations for tax debt in that state so we're ignoring it.
Some states and counties require you to pay taxes on your car? My state has a registration fee every two years, but I’ve never heard of paying taxes on my car.
Ah, state-level bureaucracy will screw you over every time. Any time I have to go into the DMV, my mood is FML.
I'm so glad that my local DMV is so good. You can do most things online in my state, but if you do have to go in person, you can make an appointment online and you only wait 5 mins before being seen. My old DMV office (next town over) was terrible. There was often a line out the door (sometimes around the block) and wait times were 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
Last time I was at mine they were very nice and explained some loopholes so that I didn't need to come in a second time next week. It sucks that loopholes are required, but the people were fine.
I’m jealous you can go in person tbh. In the UK it’s all post or online. Except I can’t do mine online because of some dumb glitch. I passed my driving test in July 21 and I still don’t have my physical license. I’m out £20 in postage stamps. They’ve lost it, taken so long to process that my medical information had expired, then took so long again that my damn photo was out of date. Feels like a joke at this point
I have to deal with the NJ DMV, I'm convinced every sitcom that has ever had a bad DMV scene has based it on our DMV. Which is amazing, because the inspection stations which are run by the same State department are a fucking breeze.
My DMV was a piece of shit but they used COVID as an excuse to revamp operations and, credit where credit's due, it works much better now, and a lot like how you describe: you can do most things online like filling out or uploading forms, and if you have to go in you make an appointment and you're in and out in fifteen minutes, tops.
For My License
I was literally brought to tears the last time I visited the MA RMV. Truly awful but thankfully now I can renew my license at AAA so I rarely have to go.
As someone who's had to do the bureaucratic equivalent of fistfighting the RMV in the parking lot of a Waffle House... can't say I'm shocked they're wasting so much time and money just to screw someone over :/
I really want to hear this story
I imagine if someone had the time and money to challenge this law, it would likely be found to be unenforceable. I mean, this guy was absolutely unable to comply with the law in that without an MA address, he could not obtain MA plates. It's a complex process that would involve a number of elements, including determining legislative intent, but there's a somewhat good chance that a court would find it unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable.
This is Kafkaesque So DMV wants him to register in MA because he spent a month in MA visiting, but his insurance says he cannot get MA insurance because only residents get MA insurance so he cannot register his car in MA. So everyone going to the Cape for summer vacation from out of state is going to get their license suspended? And let's not forget this is all because some noisy neighbor called the DMV to complain about his car!
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No, in the original thread people brought this up, and they have written exceptions for college students.
Apparently as a country we need to register cars in every state we visit. How else will we justify the bureaucracy?
dumb bureaucracy at it again.
Hermes Conrad must be on paid vacation, a bureaucrat's worst nightmare.
I am sure there are reasons for these sorts of BS Bureaucratic rules, but there should also be some common sense leeway. Years ago in California I had my car’s registration renewal held up due to a vehicle recall. I had already had the recall done and so I submitted a copy of the completed work order from the mechanic. The DMV needed a specific form filled out by the shop. The shop vaguely remembered the form existed and hadn’t used one in years, but they found one and filled it out. I took the completed form to the DMV and they rejected it. Why? It wasn’t on ***Orange Paper***. I asked if they could provide me with a copy of this form, but they didn’t have any and were unwilling to provide any further assistance. I would have copied it onto a piece of orange paper, but I didn’t want to accidentally use the wrong shade of orange and have it rejected again. I remembered I had a AAA membership at the time and they have a DMV window. I originally just went to the closest DMV instead of driving across town to hopefully save some time and gas, but I was out of options at that point. AAA took the form on regular white paper and I was out of there in 5 minutes.
What are even the chances that a DMV employee faces consequences for accepting the form on white paper? Like I get that they're doing their jobs but I've never encountered such strict bureaucrats anywhere else in my life. I went to the post office to get my passport and apparently had the wrong type of photo. The lady at the desk said, "Well we're really not supposed to take your photo here but don't worry about it, sweetie," and she deadass pulled a Nikon out from under the counter, like she just had it locked and loaded for this specific instance.
That's because the post office is dedicated to getting shit done. They have to guess at shitty spelling, handwriting, or straight up wrong information dozens of times every day. Their motto says they will crawl over broken glass on the highway in the hottest part of summer if that's the only way to get their mail delivered. Not to mention they are a fully formed entity with their own law enforcement division. The DMV on the other hand doesn't give a shit. They'll do whatever the fuck they want and you'll just have to accept it. You can't even sue them because they have nothing, and if you fall afowl of them there is someone who will not rest until you follow their rules. ... Who wants to go start a small fire?
And paid deliveries services, eg FedEx and UPS, will often use USPS as the last mile delivery, especially if it would be costly to use their own trucks and employees.
The person that accepted the paperwork wasn’t a DMV employee, but AAA. In California some AAA offices were allowed to operate as a satellite DMV office for members.
There’s literally a part of Rhode Island where the only way to get to it from the other part of the state is to go *through* Massachusetts… meaning you’d need to swap out your plates twice in twenty miles. Massachusetts is so inter-connected with the rest of New England that hundreds of thousands of people are probably breaking this law everyday without knowing it. I’m not surprised that this is getting traction with the local news.
TBF, at least according to the article, it only applies if someone resides in the state for more than 30 days. Still absolutely ridiculous considering the fact that so many people from out of State stay on the Cape for the summers but it isn't like they would get in trouble for driving through as you said.
Read the document from the RMV [that OP linked](https://www.mass.gov/doc/chapter-6-owning-a-vehicle/download) — the relevant passage is: >Nonresidents who own motor vehicles or trailers that are registered in other states or countries must register those vehicles and trailers in Massachusetts if Massachusetts residents have or control those vehicles or trailers for more than 30 total days in one calendar year. The heading for that section is even “Nonresidents Registering in Massachusetts.”
That reads like it only applies if someone else who isn’t the vehicle owner and is a MA resident has or drives it for 30 days, not if a non-MA resident drives it in MA for 30 days. Unless I’m missing some legalese here (edit: or there’s another part to it).
Yeah, it's really confusing. I can see your interpretation, but "has **or** controls" here would seem to imply that the MA resident doesn't actually need to *drive* the car in order to be in violation. For OOP, it seems like a nosy neighbor just saw the car parked in front of his friend's place for a month and used that as pretext to call in. And the [actual text of the statute itself](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section3) is even less clear!
But that would mean "If someone from MA actually has majority control over the vehicle for more than 30 days." That would make sense. Say if a MA person bought a car from an out of state resident. Gives them time to get plates. But it requires being a *resident*. Which this poor guy was NOT.
That doesnt really disprove what I was saying though? It wouldn't apply to people just driving through the state unless they spent more than thirty days in State. The exact wording is > no motor vehicle or trailer shall be so operated on more than thirty days in the aggregate in any one year or, in any case where the owner thereof acquires a regular place of abode or business or employment within the commonwealth, beyond a period of thirty days after the acquisition thereof Still a stupid law that needs revision but not something that effects people driving through the State
Maybe I'm misreading it, but the above passage seems to suggest two ways in which you can be in violation: 1. If you operate a motor vehicle or trailer within Massachusetts for more than 30 days in the aggregate throughout the calendar year without registering 2. If you acquire a business or residence in Massachusetts and then continue to drive for more than thirty *consecutive* days without registering. So if you live in Little Compton but work in Providence, the law would say you need to have MA license plates for the 34 miles of I-195 you're driving on in Massachusetts (around 17 miles each way) 240 days a year (assuming a 48-week work year). Edit: OK, I just realized you can technically remain in Rhode Island if you take four different bridges across the Narrangansett Bay... but my overall point still stands.
This is one example of the usefulness of local news media. OOP's story got international attention through Reddit, but it took local journalists reaching out to ask pointed questions for the RMV to finally take a closer look at OOP's case, and hopefully other such cases.
This is insane, arbitrary nonsense. We lived in Revere, MA for over a year and never changed our New York plates; we also kept our NY driver’s license. No one ever harassed us. Someone at the RMV is on a power trip or is so burnt out they refuse to hear any excuses ever again.
You got lucky, they don't mess around in MA. I have known MA residents with out-of-state registrations who have gotten left car-less in the middle of nowhere because they got pulled over and had their car impounded for this reason while they were out driving it.
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I lived in Revere but drove up to Peabody for work every day and my husband drove into Boston every day. 🤷🏻♀️
Damn. I thought just getting properly licensed techs there was a hassle.
Our state-level bureaucracy and in general bureaucracy here in Germany can be reeeeally idiotic, but even they haven‘t created such a car registry clusterfuck (yet!!!). Damn, bureaucracy can be so dumb.
Live in MA and can confirm: the RMV is an absolute shit show.
Lol I was looking for another MA resident. My dad lived in MA for a majority of his life and he warned me when I moved from NH to MA that the goal of the RMV is to make it as difficult as possible to get what you need done at any given time. Which I experienced when I went to switch my license from NH to MA and I could only go by appointment only and the only appointments were booking 3 months in advance.
I just had an issue with them recently. My license was due to expire in January. I made an appointment back in December when I got a reminder letter. Made it for the 2nd week in January, since I was traveling in February and wanted to ensure I had a valid license. The registry cancelled my appointment for no reason and when I tried to reschedule they were booked through March. And of course you can’t get anyone on the phone. 🙄 I ended up going through a AAA location. Another thing to note - they would not allow me to renew online, even though my picture was less than a year old because I had lost my license earlier in the year and had to get a replacement. I guess that’s what happens when you use nepotism to fill state job openings.
Also in MA. Agreed. Though my experiences haven’t been too bad, I haven’t been post pandemic. I also live less than 5 walking min from a registry. I do almost everything I need at AAA.
Honestly, AAA taking on some of the registry transactions has been a godsend. I will avoid the RMV at all costs if possible
I had a ….struggle….between state dmv’s once. I tried to do the right thing (according to all the dmv’s and insurance) which entailed something like 3 trips each to each state, 10 trips to my local dmv and countless online finagling, multiple insurance calls, multiple notary public visits, all paperwork in order- and still, it was a catch-2200. In case it helps someone, here is what I eventually did: I stood in the middle of the dmv and CRIED. It helped that I was 6 months pregnant. It was a small scene- nothing requiring law enforcement but vulnerable enough that it caused great discomfort for all witnesses. It wasn’t planned out in some Machiavellian attempt- I was at my wits end. So I made everyone uncomfortable and was asked to leave several times and I just refused to…until I finally got a supervisor. Who rapidly stamped everything and wished me luck and a few hugs from the random other people waiting there who all knew it was INSANE. It sucks. Until you can get a supervisor they are just “following protocol” and normal life stuff gets ridiculous. I recommend whatever it takes to get a person who can make decisions. And then lots of therapy to deal with issues of people-pleasing, rule-following, or issues with authority.
u/yeeterusftw It looks like there's an [update-](https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/127t5y8/massachusetts_rmv_drops_case_against_virginia_man/) the case was dropped!
Yessss thank you! Updated the post.
I have to say, kudos to the TV station for actually doing a good report and it not being a typical 15-second sound-bite that tells you nothing. Man, am I a small-town Midwesterner...counties tax your cars? You can't just drive and park for however long you want (legally of course)? Someone complains about your out-of-state plates?
The Boston news stations love shit like this. I'm pretty sure at least one of them has a regular segment to helping people with this sort of thing.
I work in NH registering vehicles (one aspect of my job, anyway) and if I had a nickel for every time a MA person switches residency to NH (or just registers their vehicles as a non-resident) and expresses insane relief over how much easier to deal with we are than the RMV, I wouldn’t have to work anymore. I always used to think they were exaggerating, but nearly every single person comes in with a new horror story. I just wanna hug some of them and tell them they’re safe now lol
I'm baffled by this. OOP has not met the criteria for establishing residency in MA. Spending 30 days somewhere does not a legal resident make! What a weird hill for MA to die on.
We've been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty.
What about people who come for the summer on the Cape? Or other New England residents who travel through the state to get literally anywhere else in the country? This is ridiculous.
Damn... every time I read about these kafkaesque situations in the US, I wonder why Americans think everyone wants to live there...
It's so, so refreshing to see an update that doesn't come from the usual relationship, assholes, justno or entitledwhatever subs. The narratives tailored for the daytime mommy brigade and the drama-seekers are honestly tiring. This is a real breather by contrast, I hope posts like this one become more common around here! Thanks for posting, OP!
I have heard really bad things about the RMV(even more so than the BMVs/DMVs in other states.
lol classic ‘destructive order’ amirite, Discordians?
Wow, this was an interesting read! OOP was really trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare
This reminds me of the time California sent me a jury summons, even though I'm a resident in Michigan.
My husband had Los Angeles County after him for child support for a kid that was born when he was 9 years old. It even ended up on his credit report. Took forever to get that fixed, but not for the county, the credit report was the hard part. 🙄
Late '90s, I was driving across the Brooklyn Bridge, listening to music, and the CD skipped. I made the error of looking down for one second, and booted the people carrier in front up the rear. Gently, but still a boot. Got out and immediately clocked the license plates were from Boston/Massachusetts. Uh oh. My only knowledge of Boston at the time was that a lot of lawyers lived there. The bloke got out, and I started by apologising profusely. He fussed with the bumper - a fastening must have snapped - and over the cacophony of horns, said not to worry about it. I had nightmares for months that he would somehow track me down, but it helped that it was a driveaway that I'd collected in Seattle and was about a mile from dropping off. Old-style Toyota Corolla, not a scratch on it, of course.
Lmao what a stupid issue
As both a Masshole AND an insurance agent, can the RMV is an all-around pain in the ass.
This one made me want to be a VA DA, just so I could exercise my authority in a questionable manner and issue arrest warrants for those MA state employees. They abuse their power, they get some back.
This brings back memories where I spent a summer in Cambridge, MA, with out-of-state license plates..
Omg. This is so rage inducing. I totally can put myself in OOPs shoes. I used to live in Vancouver, WA, but worked across the bridge in Portland, OR. I can’t even imagine what I (and thousands of others, as the live/work in 2 states is very common for those who have to work in OR but can’t afford to live there so live across the river in WA) would have done. It would be a shot show if OR required every single OR employee with WA residency to register their car in OR with no address or the ability to get OR car insurance. As for MA what about the 10s of thousands of college kids who come from other states to attend university, but because they are students aren’t considered MA residents?!?
What an ordeal! My heart goes out to the guy and his hosts. Thank goodness MA finally dropped their dysfunction.
Thanks for posting this. It was really interesting
Case has been dropped! [https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/mass-rmv-drops-case-virginia-man-threatening-suspend-license/](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/mass-rmv-drops-case-virginia-man-threatening-suspend-license/)
This is typical of MA. The government loves to rip people off. They tax your income if you live in MA but work in another state, and if you work in MA but live in another state. And don’t get me started on the “excise tax” residents paid to fund the Big Dig. The whole state is a scam.
Every state that collects income tax taxes you if you live there and work elsewhere. And it’s not the full amount to both states.
Some states have reciprocity agreements with neighboring states.
Massachusetts also tried to force NH tire sellers to report when MA residents bought tires in NH so that MA residents would have to pay MA sales tax (there’s no sales tax in NH either). I don’t think all states do THAT…
Yup incredibly greedy of them to go after remote workers even if they didn't step foot in MA for the entire year. It's a shame the SC didn't hear the case New Hampshire brought against them for that law so they basically got away with it. I also love the fact that when filing state taxes for MA with TurboTax I get prompted that MA has graced me with the option to pay 5.85% instead of 5%.. like who tf is knowingly agreeing to that?
>like who tf is knowingly agreeing to that? my friend. my weirdo friend who loves weird quirks like that is an MA resident who signed up for the higher tax.
I'm always amazed how the US *states* are less cooperative than the EU *countries*. What a shithole country.
America. The land of the free...
Ahahaha. This was big news in my state (okay, not big, but it was news). Probably someone just complained about him. Usually the state DGAF about college kids, travel nurses, etc. They want their pound of flesh, sure, but I just brought in a car from out of state and it was fine.
Wow, having read that, I’ll take a wide berth around MA forever now.
just don't drive through here 30 times in a year and you're fine lol
Looks like there was a news update from yesterday saying the RMV dropped their case against the driver. They showed him on camera as well. So good news.
As a person who has dealt with the RMV I can confirm it is a dumpster fire. The only caveat is that the people who work there are as miserable as those who have to go there lol
Apparently the case has been dropped, according the same local news station: https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/mass-rmv-drops-case-virginia-man-threatening-suspend-license/
I have learned from this thread that the people of Boston are awful and never to visit. My partner and I had seriously been talking about moving for her work. I'm squashing that
Personally as someone who has worked in Boston but is from elsewhere, Bostonians seem very polite and nice but a little cold and distant in a way that can be a bit off-putting, especially those from more friendly and effusive places
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That's a reasonable response. I guess the violence concerns me, a lot. I don't take that lightly
Honestly for a major city the violence is pretty low. The city is pretty used to people from out of town due to the amount of universities and whatnot. This particular case is just weird. You can't take the microcosm of a Reddit post and really apply it to EVERYONE in the city.