ASK A COP — How can I get my car inspected with expired registration?

Published 12:04 am Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Hebert from Bridge City asks: My registration is out and NOW I need to get my car inspected before I purchase my registration. How can I get my car inspected and registered without breaking the law and risking getting a ticket? I support the police and don’t believe in breaking the law, but this just slipped past me. HELP. What can I do?

Answer: There is ABSOLUTELY no legal way to operate your vehicle on the roads of Texas while your registration sticker is expired. Obviously, you’re going to have to transport your vehicle to get your vehicle registered. I canNOT recommend you to drive your vehicle to get it inspected on the roads of Texas with your sticker EXPIRED. That’s why it’s important to keep up with your registration, because if you are stopped by ANY police officer, they can issue you a citation or warning for expired registration, even though you are on your way to take care of it.

Derrick from Port Neches asks: I’m ready to purchase my first handgun, and my Dad told me I’ll need to take the concealed gun class. I get off late at night and am a little uneasy exiting my car going to my apartment. Do you know of any good classes that I could take?

Answer: I’m sorry Dee, but I can’t recommend any classes, but don’t be disappointed because I have better. I can advise you in Texas you don’t need a license to bring your weapon from your apartment to your car and from your car back to your apartment. It sounds like you don’t want to carry your handgun everywhere you go. Your Dad wasn’t correct in advising you to take the class in order to have a concealed weapon in your possession. If you haven’t been convicted of a felony, in a gang, nor committing a crime higher than Class C, or have the weapon in plain view and NOT in a holster, you are allowed to have a weapon CONCEALED or Open carry in your vehicle in Texas.

Martin from Nederland asks: What can be done about someone using profanity in a business building like Central Mall or outside in Texas. I decided to Ask A Cop. Can a police officer issue a ticket or arrest someone for cursing in public, or is this behavior permitted?

Answer: Texas Penal Code Sec. 42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT: (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly: (1) uses abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace; using vulgar or obscene language in a public place is ILLEGAL! It is “Disorderly Conduct by language.” So any word we know to be a curse word is off limits verbally or by gesture in public in the great state of Texas. Using the excuse that I’m grown or I have the freedom of speech will NOT fly. Police officers in the state of Texas are NOT supposed to be offended by language (go figure that one), so Martin as long as no one else either heard the language towards a police officer or was NOT offended by the cursing language no offense has occurred. By the way this is NOT something you should test the water. I believe we are all adults with a broad enough vocabulary that we can use other words that can be just as effective to get our point across.

Join Me, Officer Antoine and the CREW Stephen “Buzzard Boots” Mosley, Lelo “mouth of Hwy 69/73” I Washington & Tejas “Lil Man” Morning Star for Ask A Cop live on KSAP 96.9 FM The Breeze every Tuesday from 1 to 3 p.m. and beyond. Call in questions at 409-982-0247. You can also email questions to rickey.antoine@portarthurtx.gov or leave a voicemail at 409-983-8673. Mail them to Ofc. Rickey Antoine, 645 4th Street, Port Arthur, Texas, 77640. If you happen to see me in public, you can always “Ask A Cop!”