Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

I am the owner of a 2004 Corvette, which I put in storage for the winter months. The PA. state inspection sticker on it runs out in Feb. while it is in storage. My question is, how do I get it from the building I store it in, which is 10 miles from my house, to my mechanic, for him to do the state inspection? Is it legal to drive it directly from the storage building to his garage, for the inspection?

JGF

I am the owner of a 2004 Corvette, which I put in storage for the winter months. The PA. state inspection sticker on it runs out in Feb. while it is in storage. My question is, how do I get it from the building I store it in, which is 10 miles from my house, to my mechanic, for him to do the state inspection? Is it legal to drive it directly from the storage building to his garage, for the inspection?

JGF

No, you can not drive it. You must have it towed to the inspection station.

4703. Operation of vehicle without official certificate of inspection.

(a) General rule.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, no motor vehicle required to bear current registration plates issued by this Commonwealth and no farm vehicle with a gross weight or gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 17,000 pounds for which a Type I biennial certificate of exemption has been issued shall be driven and no trailer required to bear current registration plates issued by this Commonwealth shall be moved on a highway and no mass transit vehicle shall be operated unless the vehicle displays a currently valid certificate of inspection issued under this chapter.

(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) does not apply to:

1-Special mobile equipment.
2-Implements of husbandry.
3-Motor vehicles being towed.
4-Motor vehicles being operated or trailers being towed by an official inspection station owner or employee for the purpose of inspection.
5-Trailers having a registered gross weight of 3,000 pounds or less.
6-Motorized pedalcycles.
7-Vehicles being repossessed by a financer or collector-repossessor through the use of miscellaneous motor vehicle business registration plates.
8-New vehicles while they are in the process of manufacture, including testing, and not in transit from the manufacturer to a purchaser or dealer.
9-Any military vehicle used for training by a private, nonprofit, tax exempt military educational institution when such vehicle does not travel on public roads in excess of one mile and the property on both sides of the public road is owned by the institution.
10-A motor vehicle registered as an antique pursuant to section 1340 (relating to antique, classic and collectible plates).
11-A motor vehicle being operated by the vehicle owner while enroute to an inspection station where an appointment for inspection has been scheduled, provided that such operation occurs no later than ten days after the expiration of a valid certificate of inspection issued under this chapter.
12-New vehicles in the possession of a second-stage manufacturer which are in transit:
(i)from a dealer or distributor for completion; or
(ii)to a dealer or distributor upon completion.

Drew is on the money. And , there is no exception or allowance for your inspection mechanic to drive it from your storage to his garage under the guise of " doing an inspection".

Your only legal remedy is to tow it.

Thanks for the info..........but I really don't think I am going to pay a tow truck every year to haul the car to a garage.

Is it possible to get the expiration date on the inspection sticker changed a month or two ahead, so it would expire in March or April? Then I would be able to drive it with a current sticker to the garage for inspection.

JGF

The regs USED to require that the inspection match the expiration on the plate. Now, they don't need to match. You cannot get a car inspected MORE than 90 days before it is going to expire...but if it is now run out and you get it inspected , they should give you 12 months worth of sticker.

So you should get a March or perhaps April 2009 sticker. ASK first. That should solve your future problems.