Car inspection in Mass. bike rack removal
05-28-21, 12:30 PM
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Car inspection in Mass. bike rack removal
I just had my car inspected in Mass. and was told the bike rack needed to come off so a picture of the plate could be taken.
First time ever I heard about this , anyone got info?
The inspector was nice enough to remove and reinstall after inspection
First time ever I heard about this , anyone got info?
The inspector was nice enough to remove and reinstall after inspection
05-29-21, 01:41 PM
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Yes, in 2017 in Mass. they started incorporating photos into the car inspection procedure. They take photos of the plates, the VIN and the odometer. It's possible not all inspection stations do it though.
05-29-21, 06:37 PM
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Years ago there was a thread about getting a ticket for having your plate obscured by a bike rack. May have even involved Mass. something to look into.
05-31-21, 05:21 AM
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I had my car inspected at the same dealer last year and no mention of the rack needing to be removed. Though I was having some other work done at same time and they remove it without telling me
05-31-21, 05:54 AM
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https://bicycleuniverse.com/laws-regarding-bike-racks-cars/
Here is one thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...nse-plate.html
Last edited by indyfabz; 05-31-21 at 05:59 AM.
06-01-21, 07:26 AM
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Honestly - seems like an antifraud measure . . .
(Where I live they record the inspection in the registration database, which is tied to the plate/VIN.)
06-01-21, 08:12 AM
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Never heard of this, BUT, in theory, nothing is supposed to obscure your license plate, even those plastic dealer frames which quite often block either part of the state name at the top or the registration sticker. If your hitch-mount bike or cargo rack obscures the plate, you could get a ticket. In reality, anecdotally, our cops don't care much. Over in Europe, however, things are much stricter and all such racks have a place to mount an extra plate.
