Muscatine

 My daughter received a ticket today for an expired registration. This ordeal is pretty much my fault, I always get the plates renewed for her. For some reason this year I forgot to get them, they were due in May. Here it is July, and she gets pulled over this afternoon, not because she was doing anything wrong, just because the plates had expired. I really think it's too bad that the cities/state are so money hungry that a warning couldn't have been issued. This was a simple mistake on my part, which in these times I can ill afford to pay the fine. Speaking of the fine, expired registration $30, criminal surcharge $10, court costs $60, for a grand total of $100. I am kind of P.O.'d myself that it cost double the fine and surcharge, for "court costs". I really would like to know why it cost $60, when all she/I will do is walk in and pay the fine. Pretty simple, someone will just collect the money, enter it into a computer, and it's done, where is there anything there should cost $60 dollars to do? I can honestly say, that I am looking more, and more, forward to retirement, I am pretty sure once retired you won't find me living in Iowa anymore. I know things are probably the same everywhere, but I am sure going to look hard for a cheaper state to reside in, in about 10 yrs. or less.

They give you 30 days after expiration to renew your plates.  If they expired at the end of May, then 30 days in June were your "freebie" or your warning.   I think you'll find the citation charges consistent (if not cheaper) than other states. 

I don't  know insurance laws very well, but I do know that if you don't have a current driver's license (if you let it expire), your insurance is not valid either.  i don't know if it's the same with vehicle registrations or not. 

You're complaining about something that could have been avoided had you simply renewed the registration on time. 

 I knew what it was I was complaining about. I stated it pretty clearly that it was my fault. What really irks me though, is the fact that the court costs are so ridiculously high, they are double the actual fine. Seems to me not so many years ago, in a much nicer Muscatine, you would have more than likely been given a warning, and told to take the car immediately home. Today's society is all about the greenbacks, and what new law, or tax, can we add to the peons, to fund more of our favorite pork barrel projects. I don't know too many people, who wouldn't be more than a little p.o.'d about losing $100 for a simple act of forgetfullness. Her insurance is still valid, she wasn't speeding, or making any other violations of traffic laws, so tell me, what is the benefit of fining her $100, instead of just telling her to park it until the plates were renewed. Land of the free, sure ain't what it used to be.

Yes, $100 is a lot of money. BUT, your daughter is old enough to drive so it seems to me that she's old enough to either get the plates renewed herself OR remind you to do it. It's not like you only have a few days to renew.

The bottom line is that it's illegal to drive with expired plates. You're lucky she wasn't in an accident with expired plates or I imagine the price would have been much higher.