Texas driver receives citation for license plates during a test drive at dealership

KHOU ch 11 ^ | oct 10 2024 | jobin paniker

[texas booster]

Daniel Rocha walked into a Prosper car dealership to test drive a truck, only to find himself in legal trouble within minutes. Rocha was pulled over by police shortly after beginning his test drive. The officer informed him that the reason for the stop was the absence of a license plate on the back of the vehicle. "When he stopped me, he asked for my driver's license and said the reason why I stopped you is because you don't have a license plate in the back," Rocha explained. Rocha received a citation for "Operating a Vehicle Without License Plates," and he claims the officer suggested that this was an ongoing issue with the dealership. "He said this has been ongoing with these dealers," Rocha said. "'We've been getting on these guys for doing that,'" he recalled the officer saying. "He said in order for us to make [the dealerships] abide, we're going to start citing the customers," he recalled.

[texas booster]

The Prosper Police Department confirmed the violation, stating: "Failure to properly display dealer tags on test-driven vehicles is a violation of Texas law and can pose safety risks, potentially resulting in enforcement action by law enforcement. Under state law, vehicle operators are held responsible for any citations if this law is ignored."

The dealership involved is Longo Toyota of Prosper. A general manager confirmed the event and told WFAA that this was the first time it had occurred at this dealership.

"Safety is a top priority at Longo Toyota of Prosper, and we are dedicated to providing a secure environment for everyone. Our community is very important to us, and we have been active supporters since we opened nearly eight years ago. We recently became aware of an issue during a test drive, which we are actively working to address and resolve. Driver safety is a core value for us, and we proudly sponsor a driver education program in our local area. Our team is dedicated to the well-being of our guests and the community we serve," read a statement from Longo.

[texas booster]

Texas Ping, the Best State in the USA!

A ping out to the Texas Ping list, founded by Windflier.

It is unclear how many incidents have occurred where drivers of test-driven vehicles have been cited in the area. But, according to Rocha, the officer implied there is a history of this happening along University Drive or U-S 380.

According to Rocha, the dealership offered to reimburse him for the ticket, though he claims they earlier adjusted the vehicle estimate to account for the cost of the ticket. The dealership's general manager denies this occurred. Rocha did not purchase the vehicle.

For Rocha, the incident adds to an already heavy emotional burden. Rocha’s need for a new vehicle stems from a personal tragedy—his son, Daniel Junior, died in a car accident on August 30th at the age of 44.

"It does upset me that I'm in the middle of this feud that's going on," he shared.

For now, Rocha faces a citation and a court date, all while grieving the loss of his son.

Haven't heard of this happening, except for the whole dealer plate scandal. Any ideas?

Another special Texas summer edition for your perusal.

As always, please FReepmail me if you want on or off the Texas Ping list.

Blessings, and stay cool!

[Nifty]

Dealers can be issued temp tags they put in the back of any car. They should have known. This is a real no-brainer.

[larrytown]

Better to have issued the truthful statement - “Our sales dude got lazy and didn’t bother to walk over to the sales manager and grab a temp tag.”

It’s so much simpler, and people will actually believe it.

[spincaster]

Sue them, hell everybody else does.

[NorthMountain]

can pose safety risks

That's a great, big, Texas-sized pile of long-horn bull$#!+.

[Hatteras]

"A general manager confirmed the event and told WFAA that this was the first time it had occurred at this dealership."

He's a liar. But then again, he IS a car dealer, so...

[Seruzawa]

F*** the dealer AND the cops.

[Ancesthntr]

If I was the judge in this case, I would not merely dismiss this case, I would call the chief of police and address him down on the record, along with the officer in question. If the police have a problem with the dealership, they should be issuing a ticket to the dealership, which owns the vehicles. It is, after all, their responsibility to make sure that their vehicles are properly licensed to travel on state highways. The customer is innocent of any infraction, unless He purposely asked for no license plate to be put on the truck (which is as likely as Kamala Harris winning the election Without without cheating)

[silverleaf]

Dealership owner is not a donor to the local politicos in power.

[uranium penguin]

Lovely.. the dealership pays the $x for the ticket...

And the poor guy taking the test drive pays $X000s over the next 5 years in upped insurance.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

No kidding. Their “statement” sounds like Harris wrote it…lots of blah, blah, blah.

[CFW]

Yeah, the absence of that little rectangle piece of cardboard on the back of a vehicle is an extreme safety hazard.

I believe it is what causes the car to remain on the road and prevents it from floating away into the atmosphere.

[JohnnyP]

You ever see all the “bad cop” tik tok videos? A guy gets pulled over for a minor infraction, he starts to ask why he was pulled over, then the cop escalates and ends up shooting the guy.

[lepton]

Most likely the only person who *can* be cited is the one driving the unlicensed car on the road.

[ArtDodger]

In 2020, I bought a new Impala and was driving it away from the dealership and a police cruiser passed me going the other way, did one of these 3-point 180 moves that look so neat on TV and came up behind me all gang busters as I pulled into a pizza joint for dinner to give me a ticket for an expired inspection sticker. I explained that the car wasn’t mine 20 minutes previously and I would rectify the problem right away since the car had less than 1000 miles on it, it was a pretty safe bet there was nothing wrong with anything.
Alas, the excuse was, since I was ‘already in the matrix’ the summons had to be awarded. Of course, the dealership paid the fine and inspected the car, which it does at no cost, anyway.
Still, the inflexibility of the bureaucracy, carried out by thugs with the joy of absolute power, is a thing to be hold, for sure.

[bk1000]

“Failure to properly display dealer tags on test-driven vehicles is a violation of Texas law and can pose safety risks“

Oh please!

Those dealer tags are held on with magnets. More of a safety risk if you hit a bump and one flies off. Why, it could decapitate a child riding a bicycle!
Another thing: you buy a car from an individual, you put a piece of cardboard in the rear window that says “tag applied for” and you’re good to go. Also, finding out that cops were ticketing me for something they knew the dealer was doing would not set well with me at all. I might be forced to express my feelings to city officials.

[The Antiyuppie]

“ Safety is a top priority at Longo Toyota of Prosper, and we are dedicated to providing a secure environment for everyone. Our community is very important to us, and we have been active supporters since we opened nearly eight years ago. We recently became aware of an issue during a test drive, which we are actively working to address and resolve. Driver safety is a core value for us, and we proudly sponsor a driver education program in our local area. Our team is dedicated to the well-being of our guests and the community we serve,”

When did this doggie dirt language become the norm?

[Repealthe17thAmendment]

When I sold cars many years ago, we had dealer plates with a magnetic frame that we would place on cars being test driven. This was a standard practice everywhere.

[Red Badger]