A dilemma at work

[fermat]

I work in a large corporate complex that houses several companies. There is a new Toyota in the parking lot that had a dealer sticker from the Seattle area. Several days ago I noticed that it now had Washington plates.

I live in California and know that the law is fairly specific that if you operate the vehicle primarily in the state, you must register it in the state. I don’t know who drives it or where they work, so I was considering leaving a polite note that had the law listed so they would hopefully rectify the situation.

I am making the assumption that they are ignorant of the law and that there is not some special circumstance that would make this arrangement justifiable.

Does this seem un-Christian? I figured my three options were to ignore it, report it, or this.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Apollos]

There’s a reason why police are called “law enforcement” and you are not them.

It’s not like someone is being assaulted in your alley. What are you hoping for by intervening?

 

[PatriceA]

I work in a large corporate complex that houses several companies. There is a new Toyota in the parking lot that had a dealer sticker from the Seattle area. Several days ago I noticed that it now had Washington plates.

I live in California and know that the law is fairly specific that if you operate the vehicle primarily in the state, you must register it in the state. I don’t know who drives it or where they work, so I was considering leaving a polite note that had the law listed so they would hopefully rectify the situation.

I am making the assumption that they are ignorant of the law and that there is not some special circumstance that would make this arrangement justifiable.

Does this seem un-Christian? I figured my three options were to ignore it, report it, or this.

Any other suggestions?

I’d ignore it. You may be assuming way too much about the situation.

 

[Catholic90]

I work in a large corporate complex that houses several companies. There is a new Toyota in the parking lot that had a dealer sticker from the Seattle area. Several days ago I noticed that it now had Washington plates.

I live in California and know that the law is fairly specific that if you operate the vehicle primarily in the state, you must register it in the state. I don’t know who drives it or where they work, so I was considering leaving a polite note that had the law listed so they would hopefully rectify the situation.

That says it all. You don’t know.

I am making the assumption that they are ignorant of the law and that there is not some special circumstance that would make this arrangement justifiable.

Never assume. You don’t know.

Does this seem un-Christian? I figured my three options were to ignore it, report it, or this.

Yup, UnChristian. Let it go. Not your affair, and none of your beeswax.

Any other suggestions?

Yes - stay out of it. Not your business. I think the police do quite fine without assistance.

 

[Newbie2]

Exactly.

The owner could be visiting for a couple of weeks on business, or any one of a number of other scenarios. Could have just moved here.

None of your business.

 

[teak421]

I work in a large corporate complex that houses several companies. There is a new Toyota in the parking lot that had a dealer sticker from the Seattle area. Several days ago I noticed that it now had Washington plates.

I live in California and know that the law is fairly specific that if you operate the vehicle primarily in the state, you must register it in the state. I don’t know who drives it or where they work, so I was considering leaving a polite note that had the law listed so they would hopefully rectify the situation.

I am making the assumption that they are ignorant of the law and that there is not some special circumstance that would make this arrangement justifiable.

Does this seem un-Christian? I figured my three options were to ignore it, report it, or this.

Any other suggestions?

Does it violate the dignity of another person? If not, I would let it go.

• Michael

 

[bingbang]

I work in a large corporate complex that houses several companies. There is a new Toyota in the parking lot that had a dealer sticker from the Seattle area. Several days ago I noticed that it now had Washington plates.

I live in California and know that the law is fairly specific that if you operate the vehicle primarily in the state, you must register it in the state. I don’t know who drives it or where they work, so I was considering leaving a polite note that had the law listed so they would hopefully rectify the situation.

I am making the assumption that they are ignorant of the law and that there is not some special circumstance that would make this arrangement justifiable.

Does this seem un-Christian? I figured my three options were to ignore it, report it, or this.

Any other suggestions?

This is absolutely none of your business.

 

[fermat]

So even though I suspect a crime is being committed I should do nothing because it isn’t any of my business?

 

[Ponyguy]

Laws state that the vehicle should be licensed by the state in which the vehicle’s owner lives.

I have experience with this situation; we used to have a “winter home” in Arizona, where we spent a couple months every winter; my legal residence is Illinois, however. We bought a car and drove it to Arizona and parked it there for us to drive during our “snow-birding,” and flew back home. The car was licensed in Illinois, driven by me with an Illinois driver’s license, but the car never again saw Illinois. To license it in Arizona, I would have had to forfeit my Illinois driver’s license and get one from Arizona, and also pay an exorbitant amount of licensing and personal property fees to Arizona, for the privilege of having an Arizona plate. And the insurance became involved, as well, because State Farm wouldn’t write a policy for a vehicle with an out-of-state owner, or some such hassle. I’m probably forgetting some details. So, anyway, the Illinois plates stayed on the car, and I kept my Illinois driver’s license.

I checked with the Arizona Motor Vehicle department and they were cool with it, as long as my local living was a temporary situation… ie: I lived most of the year in Illinois, and kept my legal address (the one I use with the IRS) as Illinois.

Okay, enough of my pontification…

 

[yellowbird]

So even though I suspect a crime is being committed I should do nothing because it isn’t any of my business?

Yes - and I believe that was option #1 which you listed.

I agree this is the best choice.

 

[Apollos]

So even though I suspect a crime is being committed I should do nothing because it isn’t any of my business?

You have a point. If you suspect a crime is being committed, you have a moral obligation to report it. The violation of laws is everybody’s business.

 

[JM3]

So even though I suspect a crime is being committed I should do nothing because it isn’t any of my business?

As said above, unless you KNOW, stay out of it.

If your house were raided in the middle of the night, because someone ‘suspected’ that you were dealing drugs, how would you feel?

Charity would tell you not to judge.

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

So even though I suspect a crime is being committed I should do nothing because it isn’t any of my business?

Hardly the same thing as failing to report a violent crime in progress. Stop being a vigilante wannabee. You might also want to consider the possibility that the motor vehicle laws in your neck of the woods require a leased car (since that is what it might be) to be registered in the state of the owner and not the lessor.

 

[fermat]

I’m not planning on making a federal case out of this. I’m going to verify that the law I am thinking of says what I think it says and then I’ll address the issue.

I see nothing wrong with confronting someone who may be violating the law. I can hope that he is either acting out of ignorance or that the law doesn’t apply to his situation. Given what I know, I feel compelled to say something about it in a charitable way.

 

[PatriceA]

I’m not planning on making a federal case out of this. I’m going to verify that the law I am thinking of says what I think it says and then I’ll address the issue.

I see nothing wrong with confronting someone who may be violating the law. I can hope that he is either acting out of ignorance or that the law doesn’t apply to his situation. Given what I know, I feel compelled to say something about it in a charitable way.

Honestly, why did you bother to ask for opinions when it seems pretty clear you had your mind made up before any one posted.

 

[Et_Cetera]

Yeah, this isn’t your place to step in. What are you hoping to gain? Unless you’re a cop or someone is being harmed, let it go.

 

[StrawberryJam]

I work in a large corporate complex that houses several companies. There is a new Toyota in the parking lot that had a dealer sticker from the Seattle area. Several days ago I noticed that it now had Washington plates.

I live in California and know that the law is fairly specific that if you operate the vehicle primarily in the state, you must register it in the state. I don’t know who drives it or where they work, so I was considering leaving a polite note that had the law listed so they would hopefully rectify the situation.

I am making the assumption that they are ignorant of the law and that there is not some special circumstance that would make this arrangement justifiable.

Does this seem un-Christian? I figured my three options were to ignore it, report it, or this.

Any other suggestions?

Does this car prevent you from going to work or leaving work?

 

[slywakka250]

wow. If this person is a criminal, they will get what’s coming to them eventually without you getting involved. I’d say don’t worry, and that justice will be done when the time is right. I dont’ see how it is your responsibility here, as you are not a cop. About breaking the law being everyones business, would you consider calling the cops if you saw somebody going 5 miles over the speed limit as well??

 

[Newbie2]

I’m not planning on making a federal case out of this. I’m going to verify that the law I am thinking of says what I think it says and then I’ll address the issue.

I see nothing wrong with confronting someone who may be violating the law. I can hope that he is either acting out of ignorance or that the law doesn’t apply to his situation. Given what I know, I feel compelled to say something about it in a charitable way.

OK, then are you going to go around checking all the license plate tags in the parking lot to see if they’ve expired? All the tags of your neighbors? While you’re at it, you need to inspect your neighbors houses to see if they all meet code, not to mention all of the subdivision association rules and regulations.

While you’re at it, you’ll need to start interrogating all of your co-workers to see if they’ve done anything illegal. You’ll need to ask the boss to see all of your company’s records, tax returns, etc, as well as the tax returns of your neighbors, friends and family.

Then, everytime you go to a restaurant, you’ll need to check out the kitchen facilities to see if it’s clean and up to code, and check the green cards of any suspicious employees.

You’ll also have to carry around a gas can in your car to validate that all the gas pumps at the gas stations that you pass are indeed giving an exact gallon according to the meter. And you’ll have to do this at every pump.

You can never tell how many laws are being broken. My, my, you are going to be busy.



You get the point.

So if this car is legal, are you going to personally apologize to the car driver/owner if you’re mistaken?

Honestly, why did you bother to ask for opinions when it seems pretty clear you had your mind made up before any one posted.

 

[yellowbird]

Should you decide to “confront” the car owner, if it’s a woman and you’re a man, I’d proceed with caution. I carry mace and wouldn’t hesitate to use it if I felt threatened in any way in a parking lot - especially if it were after hours and someone were freaking me out.

And just so you know, a random stranger confronting me about my legal residence and my car registration would sooooo fall under the category of things that freak me out.

For the sake of you both, I really really think you should let this one go. You are soooo going to come off looking like a nut.