California Carpool Lane Stickers

[inventor00]

It has been said that a cashiers check will be processed faster than a personal check.....

[justin96039]

Make sure you talk to your dealer, sometimes they can help. Im sure if you send in your application by end of July, you will get stickers. I'm waiting for my plate info. I should have plates by July 6th 2006 according to dealer. I just purchased my car July 1 2006. 6 day turn around not bad, especially with the holiday and weekend!!! Hope this helps. JW

[mandargb]

I got my car on 27th June.
Picked up my plates from dealer on June 30th along with reg and month / year stickers.

3rd July I got the fast-track transponder (must for SF bay area counties)and same afternoon sent for HOV stickers.
I also included my copy of my registration with HOV sticker and cashier's check for $8 for DMV.
Lets see how it goes.

[Nda3rdCar]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LMPR @ Jun 26 2006, 08:46 AM) [snapback]276824[/snapback]</div>

I heard that the number of stickers being given out in California to drive alone in the carpool lane is limited. Has anyone had a problem getting stickers? How long does it take?
[/b]

We sent in the request for stickers after getting our licence plates. It only took about 2 weeks. Because there is a limit, or a least I heard there is, on the number of stickers.... we decided to get them. The problem of this stickers are 1. They are UGLY 2. Driving in the carpool lane can be dangerous or at least frustrating when someone is tailgating you at high speed. I always feel uncomfortable in a lane I cannot get out of whenever I wish. The matter of people bearing down on you for not exeeding the speed limit by 10+mph.

Perhaps a certain times of the day, for people out in the burbs, the carpool lane is a great thing. If traffic on the commute becomes impossible, if the carpool lane starts to look atractive, I'll put those UGLY yellow stickers on my carefully hand polished paint job, making the car black and yellow (oof!) <_<

[highroute]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Nda3rdCar @ Jul 6 2006, 05:52 AM) [snapback]281919[/snapback]</div>

Driving in the carpool lane can be dangerous or at least frustrating when someone is tailgating you at high speed. I always feel uncomfortable in a lane I cannot get out of whenever I wish. The matter of people bearing down on you for not exeeding the speed limit by 10+mph.[/b]

You're describing your local (southern California) carpool lane setup. For those not familiar with it, such a carpool lane is segregated from the rest of the lanes by a solid double yellow line except for short gaps of a couple hundred yards every few miles, making it not permissible (though physically possible) to move out of the way of traffic that wants to move faster except at the gaps.

Here in the SF Bay Area, the carpool lanes are almost all normal "lane 1" freeway lanes with standard white-dashed lane dividers, allowing drivers to get in and out at any point.

I drove the carpool lanes on the Santa Monica Freeway (I-405) in May and experienced what you have described. It's not nice. I wonder why carpool lanes were done that way down there.

[willbolk]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MBPR @ Jul 5 2006, 10:54 PM) [snapback]281856[/snapback]</div>

I got my car on 27th June.
Picked up my plates from dealer on June 30th along with reg and month / year stickers.
[/b]

wow, i'm jealous. that's a mighty quick turnaround. i bought my car from mossy on june 13, left the country for three weeks, came back to find the dmv still does not have my car in the system. i called the dealer today, they said it takes up to six weeks just for the paperwork to leave their offices, unless i requested a "walk through" at the time of purchase. of course, i had never heard of a "walk through" until today. i did ask the finance person i was dealing with to expedite the registration. however, since i didn't buy any of his overpriced add ons, he apparently neglected to do so.

[Swingshiftworker]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(willbolk @ Jul 6 2006, 12:42 PM) [snapback]282113[/snapback]</div>

wow, i'm jealous. that's a mighty quick turnaround. i bought my car from mossy on june 13, left the country for three weeks, came back to find the dmv still does not have my car in the system. i called the dealer today, they said it takes up to six weeks just for the paperwork to leave their offices, unless i requested a "walk through" at the time of purchase. of course, i had never heard of a "walk through" until today. i did ask the finance person i was dealing with to expedite the registration. however, since i didn't buy any of his overpriced add ons, he apparently neglected to do so.
[/b]

The DMV registration can be done the same day by any CA dealer. It's a online system and they don't even have to leave the dealership to do it.

However, I always ask the dealer "walk in" my registration papers, mainly because I use a PO Box, which a dealer will always tell you (in CA) can't be used. Not true. A physical address is NOT required to register a car in CA, but the automated registration system that dealers use will kick out an application w/o one. So, if you use a PO Box, you have to have the dealer register the vehicle in person at the DMV. They usually go to the DMV once a week at most large volume dealers. Less often or only as needed at smaller dealers.

In any event, I purchased my vehicle on a Monday and got the registration plates & stickers on Thursday. Could have had them earlier if I pushed. Got my title in the mail the following week.

[ShellyLB]

I just mailed my carpool sticker app. yesterday with plate#, vin#, and a cashiers check just for good measure. Now I hear that a photocopy of your registration is also required in addition to having plate#'s in your app. Can anyone confirm or deny this? It happened to my friend whose original sticker application was rejected because she needed to include a copy of her registration. I'm just not sure whether she'd included a plate# originally...

Should I reapply and include a photocopy this time?

BTW, I've been extremely fortunate as far as time goes so far. I was on a waiting list for 1 week prior to purchasing my Prius @MSRP (Kenny Rossi at Cabe Toyota in LB is great!), received my plate# 6 days later (incl. weekends and the 4th of July, and yes, I paid the dealer to register electronically - Myra is the DMV person at Cabe and owns a Prius herself so she understood the situation and processed my registration before my check cleared), and just received my plates today (1 week after purchasing my car!!). So, I'm hoping that my luck doesn't run out when it comes to the sticker.

What do you think I should do? I don't want to wait until my application gets returned with additional instructions- that may be too late! Should I just splurge and spend another $8 by applying again (this time w/a photocopy of my registration) to ensure that I get a sticker?

[j24816]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ShellyLB @ Jul 6 2006, 09:40 PM) [snapback]282423[/snapback]</div>

Now I hear that a photocopy of your registration is also required in addition to having plate#'s in your app. Can anyone confirm or deny this? [/b]

Is there anything in the application that calls for a photocopy of the registration?
Where did you hear this from?

I have never heard of this, did not send, no problem getting stickers. Has anyone else heard of this?

[ShellyLB]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(j24816 @ Jul 6 2006, 09:44 PM) [snapback]282426[/snapback]</div>

Is there anything in the application that calls for a photocopy of the registration?
Where did you hear this from?

I have never heard of this, did not send, no problem getting stickers. Has anyone else heard of this?
[/b]

There's nothing on the application, but my friend got her app rejected with a request for a photocopy of her registration. She's had her Prius for over 6 weeks, so I'm not sure whether she included her plate # on her original app or not. I'd like to believe that she didn't b/c a request for registration would seem more reasonable then.

Just wondering if anyone else had recently encountered this situation...I can just imagine the DMV adding a new procedure just when the deadline is looming dangerously near...