Hashemian Blog Web Tools, Financial Markets, Technology Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Online Car Registration Renewal, Finally  It's taken a long time. Perhaps a decade late for the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles to carry out some transactions online, but better late than never. While most of the private industry has shifted their operations online, the government is painfully behind on that front. The reasons range from the government being generally slow, to having under-paid technology workers and to shunning change. But change is inevitable and the DMV has finally taken some steps to that end. When I received my registration renewal papers in the mail a couple of weeks ago as I have for years, I started to reach for my dusty checkbook to write a check and mail it in. that's when I noticed a new section on the paperwork detailing their online renewal service. I thought this was one of those payment processing sites that handle credit card payments on behalf of the government offices and charge an extra fee. But no, this was the real deal. An actual DMV site that handled renewals and accepted credit cards with no extra fees. It took a mere couple of minutes to take care of the business on the site and I had an email confirmation soon after. The renewal document and sticker followed about a week later. It took them quite a long time to get on with the technology but I'm happy that they finally made it. I just hope that enough people make use of it and there are no major glitches to force them back to the old way. Online payment sure beats writing checks and licking stamps. dmv,car registration,online payments Labels: cars, web <Online Car Registration Renewal, Finally> // posted by rh 1 comments Monday, September 17, 2007 Seatbelt Trouble  It was bound to happen again. After my first incident of getting snagged in Manhattan a few years ago for not wearing a seatbelt, I got caught again, this time in Westchester county. Not that I wish to get snagged. I almost hate paying the fine more than wearing the dreaded seatbelt, but I suppose I should have expected it. I don't dispute for a moment that seatbelts save lives. Believe me, I have tried to play it safe and to buckle up a number of times, but every time I end up yanking it off to release myself from the bounds of this contraption. I have nothing against seatbelts. I embrace the fact that cars come equipped with them. My problem is with the oppressive law that forces drivers to wear it. Sonny Bono lost his life skiing, so should we force skiers to wear bubble wraps? Christopher Reeve was paralyzed after his horseback fall, so should we force people to ride horses on mattresses? Runners have had heart attacks while running, so should we force them to wear heart monitors? Mountain climbers have had fatal falls, so should we set an altitude limit on the sport? I just don't understand this law as far as personal freedom is concerned. Wearing the seatbelt makes me a less safe driver. The constant irritation and pressure of the seatbelt distracts me from paying attention to my driving. I find myself constantly fiddling with the belt to get a little breathing room, and that takes away from being an alert driver. The seatbelt law wasn't exactly enacted to save lives. That's a side-effect. Like many things in life, you'd have to follow the money to get the real answer. The insurance lobby has certainly played a part, and the municipalities use it to generate revenues. At this point I have accepted that there is no chance the seatbelt law would ever be repealed. The money factor is just too strong. So I've decided to look at it from another perspective. That is, the occasional fines are a surcharge, sort of a convenience fee, I would have to pay to drive a car. There are a number of fees and charges we have to pay for the privilege of driving. There are registration fees, emissions fees, license fees, property taxes, parking fees, car repair bills, gas bills, and of course, the price of the car itself. The seatbelt fines are just another fee I would have to endure to be afforded that privilege. Maybe at some point I'll force myself into buckling up and will eventually get used to it. Not because it's the law, but because it's a prudent thing to do. Or maybe I'll end up cracking my skull on the windshield, but at least I would have been more alert behind the wheel and that could have prevented harm to others. As long as I have to pay the fine every now and then, I'd consider it a fair trade-off. seatbelts,seatbelt laws,seatbelt tickets,driving,cars Labels: cars, seatbelts <Seatbelt Trouble> // posted by rh 3 comments Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Parking Ticket  When a website welcomes its visitors, I consider it courteous. Not sure how I should consider a parking ticket payment site that welcomes me; patronizing perhaps? So I got this parking ticket at the town of New Rochelle, NY today. It's the dreaded stub tucked under the car's windshield wiper waiting to greet you as you return to your car. No point for me contesting this ticket. The meter was expired and I admit guilt. But as if paying the ticket isn't punishment enough, there's a labyrinth of procedures attached that makes one just want to rip up the ticket and forget about it. As I was getting ready to write a check, I decided to turn the ticket over to see the address I was supposed to mail it to. That's when I saw a long fine print scribble detailing the process. It started: For violations of meter, time limit, ticket time, and overtime parking only; a payment of one half of the fine will be accepted in full satisfaction if paid in person at the city court by 4:30 PM on or before the next day of business. Very smooth, so if I grabbed the ticket and walked into the court and waited in a long line, I could get off by paying $10, only to come back to my car and see another ticket. Then there was a stern warning about how a non-payment would double the charge and trigger an arrest warrant for me. Arrest warrant for a mere parking ticket? Why stop at that? Why not the death penalty by slow torture? Then there was a bunch nonsense about the appeal process, basically discouraging the ticket holder from entering a not-guilty plea. Okay, I can see that the town doesn't want its court system overwhelmed by parking ticket cases. I got that message pretty clear. And then I found out that personal checks or cash can not be used for making payments. That means dealing with the long lines at the bank or the post office to get a certified check or a money order to send along. Finally, there was a glimmer of hope when I noticed the part about paying via the Internet or a toll free call. As I surfed over to the website, I was greeted by the message: "Welcome to the Parking Ticket Payment System for the City of New Rochelle, New York." I don’t understand the meaning of this statement. This is not a travel and leisure site welcoming me to their home page. It's not like I have a choice to go to a competing site. I'm there because I am guilty of a "potentially arrestable" violation and I have to pay a fine, so please, dispense with the phony courtesy. Obviously this is an outsourced service for the city to collect the fines more efficiently, and they wanted to charge an additional $3.50 convenience fee (an 18% markup) to pay the ticket online. Whose convenience would that be? Yes, I knew the rule and I violated it and I shouldn’t be ranting here. But wouldn’t it be more "convenient" for the town to make the payment process a little smoother and less taxing? That way they can get their chunk of revenues faster and avoid having their jails filled with those dangerous parking ticket criminals. parking tickets,arrest warrants,new rochelle,parking meters Labels: cars <Parking Ticket> // posted by rh 2 comments

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