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License-plate scofflaws don't go unnoticed

By Charles E. Brown
Seattle Times staff reporter

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What's the rule on using out-of-state license plates once you become a Washington state resident?

Douglas Harshfield of Seattle says when he moved here in 1977 he obtained Washington plates for his 1976 Volkswagen Rabbit within the first 30 days, while he recently noticed a neighbor has been using out-of-state plates for two years.

Believing the monorail needs the cash (from vehicle registrations), Harshfield said he called the Seattle Police Department and was told that since Tim Eyman's initiative passed, the department no longer pursues scofflaws. "What's up?" he asks.

A. Seattle police spokeswoman Deanna Nollette says the Revised Code of Washington allows new state residents 30 days to get Washington plates. The Seattle Police Department does enforce this law, she said.

"It is more common for the State Patrol to make contacts regarding plates," she said, "but should we stop a vehicle with out-of-state plates we can and will cite for failure to get Washington plates."

Q. Jennifer Porter of West Seattle is grateful for a new traffic signal at the intersection of 41st Avenue Southwest and Southwest Admiral Way, particularly because of the crosswalk she and her children use frequently. But a large tree on the parking strip on the north side of Admiral Way almost blocks the view of the signal for motorists traveling west.

"As the leaves begin to fill it, (the tree) will totally block view of the signal in the next month or so," she predicts.

A. Roy Francis, the Seattle Department of Transportation's urban-forestry manager, agrees that the tree could pose a safety problem, so a crew has been dispatched to trim it.

Francis says his department welcomes calls from the public — 206-684-ROAD — about potential trouble areas.

Bumper feedback
 
• Dennis Jacobsen of Mercer Island, responding to an item about gas prices in last Sunday's column, points out that another pricing-information source is online at washingtongasprices.com/index.asp.

The site lists the highest and lowest pump prices at local stations, identified by location and name, for several metropolitan areas in the state, as well as the state as a whole. Prices are posted by local drivers.

The site, Jacobsen noted, covers the entire country, "which makes it really valuable on trips."

Bumper notes

• New onboard computers have been installed in all 280 King County Metro Transit vans for transporting disabled and elderly people. The computers supply wireless, real-time data communication between the fleet and Metro's dispatch center.

Drivers can now receive up-to-the minute information about scheduled trips, their passengers, and even detailed maps displayed on a computer screen at their fingertips. It's a two-way communication system.

Drivers can type in information to update the dispatch center from the road, and an automated vehicle locator can transmit the exact location of each van to dispatchers.

Installations were completed last month. A transit spokesman said the computers, which are slightly smaller than a laptop, cost $2,500 each.

• The North Cascades Highway, Highway 20, is reopened for the season.

The reopening mid-morning Thursday — 47 miles from just west of Diablo Dam to just west of Mazama are usually closed each winter — is a month earlier than usual.

Bumper welcomes feedback on topics appearing in this column. E-mail us at bumper@seattletimes.com or call Charles Brown at 206-464-2206.

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E-mail it to bumper@seattletimes.com and include your name and city if you agree to publication.

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