Finally, Doyle will stop the scourge!

by folkbum

One of the big stories of the day is that in the budget Governor J-Dizzle submitted to the legislature, there's no funding for yearly vehicle registration stickers. I think this is a great idea.

See, it would stop one of the greatest scourges known to Wisconsinites. And no, it's not the problem named in the story:

But criminals have been slicing off stickers, then reattaching them to the plates of unregistered or stolen vehicles, police say. Sometimes the thieves break off the corner of a plate or steal the whole plate to get the sticker, Rowe said.

Last year, 4,951 thefts of stickers and plates were reported to police, [MPD Capt. Diana] Rowe said. That was 92% of thefts of vehicle parts and 25% of Milwaukee thefts, running ahead of shoplifting and pick-pocketing and just behind thefts of vehicle contents, she said.

No, the scourge I mean is one you've probably noticed: People who do not know how to apply the stickers correctly.

You know what I'm talking about: People who, because they don't know any better or because they feel the need to do this, decide to display every single sticker they've ever had. They put them around the perimeter of the plate, between the letters and numbers, anywhere there's room, except where the instructions tell them to put the stickers--in the lower right-hand corner over the previous year's stickers.

I googled for a picture of what I'm talking about. If I had the time to go out driving in the day today to find one, I'm sure it wouldn't have taken long. (If any of you have such a license plate--or a photo of one you'd like to share--you know where to find me.) In the meantime, Gov, Doyle's measure will put an end to this menace.