Police Chief Opposes Eliminating Vehicle Registration Stickers

By Andrew Gorosko

Starting August 1 in Connecticut, the use of front-windshield vehicle registration stickers will no longer by required by the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe, however, questions the wisdom of eliminating those windshield stickers.

As of August 1, motorists will be able to drive in the state without the stickers, which are typically mounted at the base of the front windshield on the left side of the auto. Eliminating the stickers is a state cost-saving measure.

People who renew their vehicle registrations or apply for new registrations will only receive the official paperwork comprising such registrations. Those paper registration documents must be carried within vehicles at times, according to the DMV. Such paperwork typically is kept within auto glove boxes for safekeeping.

According to the DMV, the registration stickers are unnecessary because police can use computer equipment for vehicle registration enforcement. Also, equipment is available allowing police to use a specialized camera mounted within a patrol car to record an image of a vehicle’s marker plate. That image is then decoded to reveal whether a given registration is valid.

Chief Kehoe does not favor eliminating windshield-mounted registration stickers.

“Speaking for my department, I am not in favor of this change. Although it will save money for the State of Connecticut initially, it may cost [the state] money with less revenue from infractions not given for readily observable violations,” he said in a statement.

“I feel that the change will diminish the ability to easily recognize a violation. An officer in the field with just routine observation can detect a violation of the current law. The change will hinder that easily recognizable violation,” he said.

“Most police agencies do not have license plate scanning devices, which are expensive. The computer checks…mentioned cannot easily be done in the cruiser while the cruiser is in motion without distracting the police officer,” he said.

The state is seeking to prevent such distracted driving with recently approved distracted driving laws, he noted.

“I believe it takes away an easily used ‘tool’ from the beat cop,” Chief Kehoe said.

“The change will make it more difficult for local police to carry out their duty to prevent and rid the streets of Connecticut of unregistered and possibly uninsured vehicles. We know from experience that many cars are not registered because the insurance has lapsed or been canceled,” he said.

Newtown police do not have the technology in their patrol vehicles to remotely scan vehicle marker plates for motor vehicle violations, he said, adding that no money has been locally budgeted to acquire such gear.

The DMV will continue to issue registration stickers for boats.

The state began requiring windshield vehicle registration stickers several years ago after fraud had become a problem with the use of registration stickers affixed to rear marker plates.

(Associated Press reporting was included in this story).