Expired license plate tags cost California millions every year
QDriving down Warm Springs Boulevard in Fremont the other day, I noticed that about 50 percent of the vehicles had expired registration tags. Not recently expired but expired for more than a year. … Who can we report these people this to? It’s not right that I pay my registration on time while many others don’t. — Bruce Richardson, Frank Lee and others
AExpired in-state plates cost California millions of dollars a year, but the DMV says when a vehicle has expired tags, “we already know about it, so there is no need to report them to us. Our advice is to let the system do its thing. We have active collection activity for Californians who are delinquent on their registration.”
If the renewal fee is not paid within 30 days following the expiration, DMV sends a series of notifications to the owner. After 90 days, the account is transferred to the Franchise Tax Board, which can withhold wages, levy bank accounts, intercept tax refunds and seize property to collect delinquent fees.
You can also report out- of-state scofflaws to the CHP using the online “CHEATERS” program at www.chp.ca.gov/ prog/cheaters.cgi.
QWe’ve been waiting for BART to come to Livermore for many years. But where are the BART tracks going to be installed now that Interstate 580 has express toll lanes separated by a concrete barrier? There isn’t any median available to install the tracks from Pleasanton to the proposed Isabel station. — Steve Noble, Livermore
ANo sweat, says BART. Any extension will run in the median of I-580 in the vicinity of Isabel Avenue. They need 40 feet in the median for BART and I-580 would be reconstructed to provide that space.
To find out more about the 5.5-mile extension and options — BART or bus service — you can at- tend two meetings next week. One will be held 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the Metro Center, 101 8th Street, in Oakland. The other will be 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Robert Livermore Center, 4448 Loyola Way, in Livermore.
You can also fire off an email to barttolivermore@bart.gov or leave a comment at www.bart. gov/livermore.
QIs there any plan to widen Highway 37 between Highway 121 and Vallejo? One lane each way wasn’t enough 20 years ago, and the traffic hasn’t improved over time. — Kevin Farley
AThis weekend, Caltrans will make changes eastbound at 37121 to provide two lanes at that intersection or to use left-turn pockets onto 121. But plans to widen 37 further on the 21-milelong stretch remain in limbo unless funding for the $4.4 billion job can be found. Think toll road.