Hey Everyone, I need to know the requirements of a vehicle in the USA (e.g Insurance, Tax) sort of like flags that would come up on a police computer. It's for my latest project.

If you could post them that would fantastic.

Thanks.

Edited May 9, 201214 yr by Tom H

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/FMVSS/index.html ?

Would that help you at all? I don't know if that's what you were looking for or not.

I think he's looking for stuff such as whether or not the owner has insured the vehicle, if it requires any sort of fitness inspection, if the owner paid tax, etc.

As far as what I am aware, it varies from state to state, however there's some general points: Insurance, "tags"/registration plates (valid/stolen/expired etc), registered keeper, outstanding warrants, special markers (drugs/gang etc, anything of interest). Some states may require other detail, and my my terminology is probably wrong as well.

Since Liberty City, or Liberty State is based of New York City/New York State, then he should probably use their regulations.

As people have say, tags, registration, whether or not its stolen, etc. I can't imagine insurance being on an MDC; it's generally required to get the car registered, and you have to show proof once stopped, but I don't think the info is actually on the registration or in government databases. They can look up registered owner, so you can get info for that. You could also try asking Bailey23; he's a RL cop, so he'd know.

Insurance is required, so is registration. Inspection varies from State to State, in Florida, they do not require you to have your vehicle inspected (thats why you see so many shitty vehicles driving around) in other states like Pennsylvania they do Require your vehicle to be inspected.

Everyone who has posted is correct so far. The requirements vary by state, but generally speaking you must have a driver's license, registration for the vehicle, proof of insurance, etc... Some states require vehicle inspections, and in states that do not require inspections I know of some insurance companies who require inspection before you can insure your vehicle with them if it isn't a new vehicle being purchased.

As for what is going to come back in the MDT, that is going to vary not only by state but also by agency. For example, my MDT system is linked with NCIC (National Crime Information Center), FCIC (Florida Crime Information Center), and then also my sheriff's office specific information and the police departments' info within my county.

Information returned (and I'm only listing the big things because a lot of information comes back):

NCIC/FCIC - linked with the FBI. If I simply run a vehicle tag, it's going to return all information on the vehicle that the tag is registered to and also includes insurance information in some cases (I don't know why it doesn't do it in all cases) and then all information on the registered owner(s) including any warrants they may have (where they are out of, if the agency who entered the warrant wants extradition, etc...). It also returns similar matches and the level of "certainty" of the hit, so if somebody is wanted with a very similar name and identity it will give me a percentage match. This is useful for people using false information that may be close to their real identity. On the registered vehicle owner or if I run the person specifically, it gives me all of their information (date of birth, social security number, last known address, last known phone numbers, last known occupation/employer, demographics, etc...). It can also include mug shots if applicable and pictures uploaded by other LEOs (only holds one mug shot and one picture).

Within the same search, my MDT also returns local information from my sheriff's office and police departments in our jurisdiction. That includes all past involvement with police (whether as a suspect, victim, witness, etc...) and all applicable police reports, street checks (which are short entries I can submit in a person's record documenting my experience with them), and then records flags which inform me of their past history such as if they have previously fought law enforcement, known to have weapons, drug use, martial arts experience, etc...

I've left plenty of information out, but you can start to see the big picture which is that I get a ton of information back to my laptop within seconds regarding my inquiries. Just by skimming the pages of information I get back I can learn a lot about who I am dealing with. Now that I typed all this up I realized you wanted specifics on vehicles which I kind of described above... oops

I can run a license plate tag or a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) and it will send back all information on the registered vehicle, all information on the registered owner(s), and its past involvement in local cases in my county such as whether it was the entity of a burglary or other past incident, or maybe used as a getaway vehicle, etc...

So do you basically get a book's worth of info?

...

Is this why it often takes a long time between being pulled over and having the cop get out to talk to you?

So do you basically get a book's worth of info?

...

Is this why it often takes a long time between being pulled over and having the cop get out to talk to you?

Well it's hard to answer that one. For me personally, I can stop you and write a ticket and have you back on your way within 5-10 minutes (we don't hand-write tickets any longer, I fill it out on my MDT and print it within my car), but it depends on the officer. I can get a book's worth of information, but that stuff usually comes back to my screen in multiple pages and it includes links to open up to more stuff. When I run a tag, it sends me back about 4 pages, but with experience I know what I'm looking for on each page so I skim all the info in about 10 seconds. I do this before I activate my lights to stop the vehicle and all I'm looking for is if the vehicle is stolen, the vehicle registration expiration, registered owner and if they have warrants, and that's about it. Once I stop the car, I get their driver's license and return to my car and we have the handy dandy ID card swipes now so I just swipe the DL like a credit card and it automatically inputs the information and runs it for me. Then it kicks me back one page of information on the person which lists all of the information I described in my previous post. On that page for a basic traffic stop, I just look to make sure you don't have warrants and then I look at the person's criminal history and driving history. It only takes a few seconds.

Now, to address your comment specifically. As soon as the vehicle stops I immediately approach it for a basic traffic stop. If the person wanted to fight me, shoot me, hide drugs, etc..., it gives them less time to react or less time to plan how to hurt me. I also HATE when people get out of their cars and try to come back to my car. My policy is that if you get out of your car, I get out of mine. I never let anyone have the advantage when I'm dealing with them.

So the short answer is that it depends on the officer. :smile:

Edited May 9, 201214 yr by Bailey23

Maybe it just feels like a long time. On second thought, that's probably it. Also: Thanks for all the info!

Yes, it varies from state to state, but if the goal is to create this for LCPD:FR, remember that Liberty City is supposed to be a parody of New York, so maybe going by the laws in New York state would be best. Where I used to live for many years in New Hampshire, they are one of the few states that do not require insurance, which is very unusual. Most other states make you have it. I also find states not requiring vehicle inspections a little odd since it helps keep safety hazards off the roads. But hey, I don't run any of the states so I guess I can only give my two cents. Anyway, to give you an idea of what was required in NH during one of my ride alongs:

-Cars from within the state of NH must have a rear and front license plate visible, with stickers on each one, up to date.

-Out of state cars do not have to abide by this law. As an example; in Massachusetts, no front plate is required and inspection stations only put the updated sticker on the back plate.

-Cars must be inspected anually, and if they fail inspection, they don't get a sticker. Simple as that.

-Placement of the windshield sticker will varry. NH has their sticker below the rear view mirror, MA has theirs at the lower drivers side corner of the windshield.

-Rear plate light must be visible so the plate is readable at night (in GTA IV, a couple of the beat up cars have license plates that aren't very legible, although plate lights do not exist in game as far as I know).

-Plates cannot be bent or hanging loose to one side.

-Excessively thick window tint can get you pulled over.

-Glowing lights underneath cars are banned in NH, certain colors of lights located on any spot of the vehicle will get you pulled over. NH is not rice racer friendly.

-Headlights, tail lights, brake lights and signal lights must all be working. You will get pulled over for a fix-it ticket if one is out. If you get it fixed within a certain amount of time listed on the ticket (I believe it's 3 days), and you bring it to court, the fine will be dropped.

-You are not required to have insurance on a vehicle, but it is recommended.

-You must have a current registration with you at all times.

-If your state requires vehicle insurance, and you do not have it with you while driving, you are not allowed to drive period. You will be asked to step out of the car, and you will have to get it towed.

-You must have a current drivers license with you at all times. If you are driver without a license who is learning, you may drive if you have a passenger that is 20 years old or over.

-Until you have your license for 6 months, you may not ride with more than one person in the car unless they are blood relatives (this would be extremely hard to prove or disprove so this law is largely ignored).

-If you get a ticket within a certain amount of time after you get your license, you will get it suspended for 6 months. I had a friend who was extremely angry over this, but he got caught doing 85 on the highway. His fault.

-There is no tolerance for DUI/DWI and there are sobriety checkpoints during the summer at busy locations.

-Sales tax is determined by the state. NH has none, MA has 6.25%, ME has around 6.5% last I checked, etc, etc. If you can prove you bought your car out of state, and you bring it to the DMV/RMV you do not have to pay the sales tax.

-Registration can be extremely expensive depending on how new and how large the vehicle is.

-Insurance is typically extremely expensive for an individual until you hit age 25 unless you are under a family plan and you are not the primary driver. Again, not required in NH, but is in most states.

-If you are visiting in a state that requires insurance and your home state does not require it, you are not breaking the law. A lot of people have misunderstood that and have even ran from the police because of it.

I forget how many points on your licenses do what, but again it will vary state by state. That's about all I can think of for now. Other guys on here who regularly wear a uniform to work (*hint hint*) can probably elaborate on any of the things I said if necessary.

Edited May 12, 201213 yr by unr3al