Wait time for California DMV carpool stickers?

[thankyouOB]

I just got back home after being away from a week, and noticed my HOV stickers were in my mailbox waiting for me. YAY! It would be 3 months after I bought my car, and a bit more than 2 months after I got my license plates.

Not so YAY!: the number and size of those stickers. I can see ONE on the right side of the bumper, similar to the inspection stickers you see on Hawaiian-plated cars. But three? And why do the ones on the sides have to be so enormous?

all the better to see you with, my dear.
you are going 65 mph and you want CHP to ID you from some distance, right?

[RonDawg]

Not so YAY!: the number and size of those stickers. I can see ONE on the right side of the bumper, similar to the inspection stickers you see on Hawaiian-plated cars. But three? And why do the ones on the sides have to be so enormous?

all the better to see you with, my dear.
you are going 65 mph and you want CHP to ID you from some distance, right?

If a CHP officer can spot an expired reg sticker from pretty far away, I'm sure he or she can easily see the smaller of the white stickers, which is still a lot bigger than the reg sticker.

[Nubo]

Not so YAY!: the number and size of those stickers. I can see ONE on the right side of the bumper, similar to the inspection stickers you see on Hawaiian-plated cars. But three? And why do the ones on the sides have to be so enormous?

all the better to see you with, my dear.
you are going 65 mph and you want CHP to ID you from some distance, right?

If a CHP officer can spot an expired reg sticker from pretty far away, I'm sure he or she can easily see the smaller of the white stickers, which is still a lot bigger than the reg sticker.

It's also meant to be seen, and noticed, by drivers in the non-HOV lanes. It's meant as an incentive, after all.

[shortcircuit]

Ugh-- after waiting almost 6 weeks, my HOV sticker application was rejected by the DMV . Apparently, my LEAF's 'method of propulsion' was mistakenly registered as "Gasoline" by my Nissan dealer. The DMV gave me a form to take to the dealer to have this corrected. I re-submited the original application with the correction form on Apr 20 via certified mail. Guess I'm back at the end of the line again.

Word to wise: When you're purchasing/leasing your car, make sure the person handling the registration properly lists the method of propulsion of your LEAF as an electric.

[vsaphill]

If a CHP officer can spot an expired reg sticker from pretty far away, I'm sure he or she can easily see the smaller of the white stickers, which is still a lot bigger than the reg sticker.[/quote][/quote]

As a former California Highway Patrol officer we would spot an expired reg sticker due to it's color then run the tags too verify, Previous years the DMV issued four stickers per vehicle, now with three stickers an officer parked in the medium can see the rear left corner side as the car passes by and the officer can see right rear side from traffic lanes.

[RonDawg]

As a former California Highway Patrol officer we would spot an expired reg sticker due to it's color then run the tags too verify, Previous years the DMV issued four stickers per vehicle, now with three stickers an officer parked in the medium can see the rear left corner side as the car passes by and the officer can see right rear side from traffic lanes.

Yes the color of the reg sticker is what gives the year away, but then the different HOV stickers have different colors too: white, green, and the now expired yellow.

My point being that if that tiny little square in the upper right corner of a license plate is visible from a considerable distance for those trained to look for it, a single small HOV sticker on the right rear bumper should suffice. But if you have to see it from the front, then a small sticker on the left front bumper is fine, and that is still the case with the green stickers. What I don't care for is the number and especially the size of the stickers that all go on the rear of the car. IMHO it's unnecessary.

CHP are also pretty good at spotting those without their seatbelts on, and that can be tough if the seatbelt of the car happens to closely match what the person is wearing. (BTW...fellow 830 PCer here)

[nexusplexus]

Took 5 weeks after purchase for my stickers.
Plates took 1 week.
Mailed July 15
Check Cashed July 30
Got stickers on August 15

[buzzbuzz]

Purchased July 15
Plates rec'd Aug 6 (HOV app mailed)
$8 check cashed Aug 23
Stickers rec'd Aug 29

(6 weeks total)

[cwerdna]

Leased July 28
Plates received ~August 22nd (dealer said they'd get me the license plate # early, but didn't come thru with it... became moot anyway)
Mailed HOV application on August 24th
Stickers received Sept 13th or 14th (postmark was 12th, IIRC)

[TomT]

I don't think it is as much as an incentive as it is to make sure they don't think you are in the HOV lane solo and do something bad to you...

It's also meant to be seen, and noticed, by drivers in the non-HOV lanes. It's meant as an incentive, after all.