Who’s got two thumbs and can indicate that their motor vehicle is moving in reverse and is therefore eligible to acquire a tag that indicates that said motor vehicle abides by a baseline safety standard? This guy.
The other week I got a ticket for making a proper stop at a stop sign. You know – the “rolling stop”. Well, while the cop was writing me up, he offered me a two-for-one special: in addition to the stop sign ticket, he’d ALSO give me an expired brake tag ticket.
How thoughtful. I coulda kissed him right then and there.
Actually, in a way I am thankful. I would much rather be pulled over for something when I am completely sober vs. when I may be less so. My brake tag expired in July and I hadn’t renewed due to a reverse light issue – they didn’t work. Fuses fine, bulbs fine. I had replaced an electrical component (that had a literal meltdown) that I hoped would be the solution, alas no.
So, what did I do? Called my EE (Electrical Engineer) buddy and Best Man™, Mikey, and we spent some quality time on a cold day under the truck.
On a series of good first attempts, we basically tracked the issue down to the reverse switch on the transmission. Got a new one down the street, and managed to install it (and perhaps more importantly) move the wires from the old wiring harness to the new one on the first shot.
So now, I have a valid brake tag and a date with traffic court tomorrow. I guess it’s good to have a date on Valentine’s Day.
