Why You Might Feel Like This Guy Right Now

You get in your car and check for cops--coast is clear! You ease out of your parking spot and drive deliberately under the speed limit like a fugitive on the run, checking your rearview mirror every half-second, and avoiding police cars like your mother in-law's quiche. Have you robbed a bank? No. Are you drinking and driving? No. Have you hit-and-run? No. 

Worse: You haven't renewed your license plate sticker.

It's such a trivial thing: go to a ServiceOntario centre, stand in line for 45 minutes on your lunch hour, pay $98 (plus HST) and you're good to go. So what makes it so difficult?

I have a friend who drove around for months with an expired sticker. He's not a dead-beat either--he's an accountant. Nevertheless, he told me that he felt like a fugitive on the road feeling like at any moment he'd be pulled over and nailed with a ticket. "And what about," he worried, "if I got to the registry office and they hit me with a mega-fine, or tow my vehicle?" He didn't know. The unknown got to him, and he put it off even longer. "So what happened?" I asked, "Did you get busted when you re-registered?" "Naw," he shrugged, "Nothing happened--I just paid 100 bucks and got my sticker. All that worry for nuthin'."

So let's unpack this:

• If you get pulled over today on your way home from work, and your sticker is expired, what can you expect? According to the Highway Traffic Act, the fine for an expired sticker is $110. 

• When do your plates expire? The plate expires on the birthday of the owner under whose name the vehicle is registered. 

• Is there lenience? Will Ontario let one drive till the end of the month of one's birthday? It depends on the police officer: some may let you go, but others will serve you a ticket.

• What about driving in other provinces? If you are driving in Quebec with an expired license plate sticker, the fine is $450. Before you travel out there, make sure your plates are up to date.

• Is there an easier way than driving to the office and waiting in line over your lunch break? Yes: You can renew your sticker online from 180 days before the expiry date of you license until 11:59pm on the day of expiry. However, any time after that, you must renew in person.

So if you're driving like a fugitive, get thee to a registry office--it's no biggie, just a lunch break. You'll have peace of mind, and you'll avoid paying an extra $110.