BANGOR, Maine — A city police officer arrested a local woman Saturday after he pulled her over because the minivan she was driving lacked an inspection sticker.
Alicia Beck, 27, was charged with having false license plates on her vehicle and operating after suspension or revocation of her driver’s license, Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said Monday, citing an arrest report. She also was the subject of a warrant, Edwards said.
According to the police report, Beck was arrested shortly after she was pulled over on Howard Street by Officer Brian Smith. When Smith asked a dispatcher to run her plate number, it came back to a Mercury Cougar, Edwards said.
In January, Beck was fined $250 for driving after her license was suspended or revoked, according to a court listing from the Bangor Daily News archives.
Again – until Maine implements impound laws, this kind of scofflaw behavior will continue.
Is this the best the BDN can report on? I can guarantee you theres a LOT more people driving with their licenses suspended. People need to get to work. I dont condone breaking any laws.. but I dont think somebody should be plastered all over the news for something this minor.
You are right matt,I myself have had my fair share of driving infractions in this state,for which I believe most of the laws they have actually for the most part stop you from getting your licence back.She will probibly get jail time out of this..not fair at all in my book..I was in court a few weeks back with a friend of mine that was going up against a charge of operating after revocation.He had a prior o.u.i back in 5/09,he couldnt afford at the moment to get his license reinstated.this was a class “D” mind you offense.minor,so her thought,till the D.A said they were asking for 30days in jail,$500.00 fine.Thats the bare-bones minimum manditory in the state of maine for the first offense!!We were there for 2hours.In that two hours time in the court room,90% of the cases were mostly drug related with just a handfull of shopplifting offenses.All but one of these cases had priors,alot of them recent priors,with fines that hadnt even been paid up from the last convictions they had.Not one of these people!!!not a one!!was threatened with any jail time and all got there fine impossed,with extra time to pay off what they had incured before..Tell me theres not something wrong with this system,besides it all being a money grab!
Maybe if people obey the laws that are on the books they would not have to witness these procedings. Send a message to your elected officials instead of complaining here where it does no good.
Driving on suspended, false plates, expired sticker and she had a warrant but you consider that a minor thing?
She most likely didn’t have valid insurance as well so I don’t consider this a minor news story.
Sounds like they forgot to hit her for the inspection sticker too.
This isn’t a minor infraction. Her license was suspended because she proved to be a danger on the roads. Maybe the solution is to keep people like her away from the roads until their suspension is lifted. Then we’d be screaming how expensive it is for the rest of us to foot the bill for her room and board.
The cost of owning, maintaining, fueling, inspecting, registration, of an auto, is, out of reach of more and more Maine people, I would say almost 20 percent of the population, the problem is, the need to get around has increased as these Maine, so called cities, spread out. The problem is the people who cannot afford transportation, are in the courts paying fines for what they cannot afford, public transportation has to be the answer, or a $10.00 a day rent a car program for the poor, so they can rent something and get what has to be done, done.
The cost of vehicle ownership is certainly a burden for many. Vehicles are a poor investment as they mostly depreciate, unless you have a 1961 Ferrari 250GT or a 1963 Corvette Z06 or something like that.
However, if you are an adult, you should be able to budget your money and make intelligent decisions. “Do I really need another pack of Marlboros, or do I need money to ride the bus?” “If I cut back on my Allen’s consumption, would I be able to afford a used car in six months?” “If stopped buying scratch tickets, could I go to a credit now place and at least get a car?” Cars over 5 years old are less money to register and insure and are typically still reliable.
Allen’s? Marlboro’s ? Lottery tickets, Pls no attempts to steoro type, it is simpley some of the jobs in Maine do not pay enough to provide housing and an auto, not matter how good a wizard you are at counting money.
If a person can afford a smart phone, they can afford a car. When was the last time you saw someone without a smartphone attached to their head? Also for Dave, the Z06 option package wasn’t available until the 5th Gen Corvette first made in the late nineties.
Thats not true. The Zo6 option was originally from the 60’s as a designation for a big brake option…as a tribute to the old Z06’s, the C5 Zo6 had big red brake calipers….You have just been schooled, step up your game. LOL
I stand to be corrected. You are right. I didn’t know that. Pretty rare option with production numbers at 199 units. One would be worth a lot of money today. Thanks for the schooling.
just a fraction of the useless automotive knowledge that clogs my brain.
my smart phone from Wally World only costs me $33 a month, I wish I could run a car for that amount! lol
The solution to this ‘financial’ burden of owning, operating a vehicle in Maine is quite simple . Have Obama give them some money along with all the other handouts given.
And who is going to pay for this? People have to start living within their means. What did people do before there were cars?
Probably worked at home on the farm or whatever, not commute 20 miles for a minimum wage job.
10.00 a day rent a car program? Are you serious? Who will provide these cars for us to get things done for just 10 bucks? Who will pay for them when they get smashed up, cause accidents and how will the operators of such vehicles pay the driving infractions they are sure to accumulate? You have to be realistic here. I agree that the fines of people and driving infractions is a huge money grab from the city and state government, but they are smart enough to go after those of us that own vehicles to get the fines and threaten jail time because they know darn well they aint getting any money out of the petty thefts, burglaries and drug convictions, unless they get the druggies with the money on them.
Actually, when we were in DC, there were a couple places that rented cars by the day for $15. It’s becoming very popular in large cities where people don’t have a place to park a car at their residence. They can charge so little because a lot of people rent them on a regular basis. It isn’t like rental cars up here where 5-10 cars get rented a week, so they have to pay for all those cars just sitting there. Down there, most of the businesses are completely booked.
You can’t rent a car for any money if you don’t have a license…..
while I agree the cost of driving a car in Maine is getting to a point where low income people are struggling, she was also driving with a suspended license, another big problem there seems to be no real solution too.
Getting drugs with thier EBT cards is not out of reach but a car is!
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Why are we still having to get inspection stickers anyhow? Montana doesn’t have inspection stickers. The police don’t have any problem with it. If they pull you over for something, they might look the car over and give you a warning for having a car that is unfit for the road. They make note of it and if you get pulled over again, the car is immediately impounded. end of discussion. Why can’t that happen here? You are responsible for the impound fees but do not get the car back.
the reason for the inspection is to get the cars unsafe for the road off the roads.with the stuff they are put down now it is eating up the underside of the cars and the parts attached there such as brake and fuel lines and frame and underbody sections
Personally, I’d like to know that the car coming at me has brakes that work, and tie rod ends/ ball joints that aren’t gonna pop apart at the next pothole. Some farmers would wait until just that if it wasn’t required. I know, because I’ve inspected in Me, NH and Mass. If you buy a car in Mass and NH, you need a sticker within 21 days even if the one on it is only a month old (presently $38 in Mass). NH a working defroster is needed, and the brake lining thickness of diagonal wheels had to be measured and recorded along with ball joint play (things have probably since changed).
“My car is safe, but is theirs?” :)
My daughter and her husbands are safe. The fines for driving an unsafe vehicle are prohibitive if caught.
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Always has been. Plus it’s law in many areas to have crimes reported in the paper as an extra punishment for crimes.
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opinions are subjective, in my opinion you you drive illegally and get caught be grown up enough and accept it. you made the choice to drive, to attach the plates from another car, drive with no sticker or expired plates. for what ever reason if you did this own it . nobody forced you.
Amazing how the BDN can find mug shots of a petty offender but not of an OUI cop!
Laws are laws, rules are rules…..I don’t understand where the confusion comes from. If you don’t like the laws in Maine, you have two options-move somewhere else or work to change them. Otherwise-follow the laws or accept the consequences. I don’t speed because I can’t afford the speeding ticket or increase in insurance premiums. I am on a tight budget, so I drive an old vehicle. No one said being a grown up is easy!
Wonder?