‘Nice Try!’ Driver Hand-Draws Laughable Fake Vehicle Inspection Sticker

A picture of the hand-drawn inspection sticker. (Montgomery County Sheriff’s office); Background pic. Pixabay

A driver in upstate New York hand-drew a fake vehicle inspection sticker for his car, scribbling a bunch of lines randomly to mimic the bar code. However, his attempt could not fool the local authorities.

The man drew the sticker on red construction paper with a black pen and punched a hole over January 2020, according to a Facebook post by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office.

“So, we appreciate people who take some initiative, however, this will not work as your vehicle inspection sticker, NICE TRY!!” wrote the Sheriff’s office.

Photo of a hand-drawn fake vehicle inspection sticker shared by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s office

Manuel Muniz, 36, of Amsterdam was stopped at 10:10 a.m. near Market Street on May 20 with the fake sticker and faces violation for driving an unregistered vehicle, reported CBS6.

The Sheriff’s post got over 8000 shares, 1000 likes and over 1000 comments as of Thursday. Some people thought it was disrespectful, whereas others thought a hand-drawn inspection sticker should be valid for a limited time.

“I’ve seen this work for 2 years straight. When it’s silver just use a piece of duct tape. But this artwork is disrespectful,” wrote Mo Fifield.

‘This is legal for a short amount of time if you’re in the process or requesting a new sticker for one that was lost. NYS only stipulates that it has the correct number and information on it. Doesn’t say it cannot imitate a real one,” commented Sean Daugherty.

Another user, Robert Norbury gave a more technical explanation: “Sadly, the person who did this probably couldn’t pass inspection because of a check engine light. NY only gives a person a 10-day extension when a car fails inspection. Drivers still gotta get to work to make money to fix the problem.

“Those problems could financially ’total' a person’s vehicle. A new catalytic converter could cost $2,000+. And is it worth sinking that kind of money into a 2003 Chevy Cavalier? No, but the car is safe otherwise, its exhaust isn’t functioning 100%, that’s all. Probably still 90% efficiency, but the car will fail inspector in NY, not every state though.”

Hand-Drawn License Plates

Hopkinton, MA Police Department posted on Facebook about fake homemade license plates in November 2017.

The Police said: “Here’s a little advice to those aspiring to make their own license plates...Don’t. But if you do, make sure not to use cardboard from a pizza box and magic markers. Charges for this creative operator include operating an uninsured and unregistered vehicle and attaching ‘fake homemade’ plates.”

There have been many other cases of people driving around with homemade fake license plates. A New York woman was arrested in March 2016 for driving around about 35 miles south of Buffalo with a hand-drawn license plate.

Amanda Schweickert was charged with a felony for possessing a forged instrument, for driving a vehicle with suspended registration and for three other vehicle and traffic violations, reported USA Today.

The Sheriff’s Office shared her artwork in a Facebook post that said: “In case you are wondering, homemade cardboard license plates are NOT legal.”