Before getting rid of a vehicle, remove your Illinois license plates.

My father was always extra cautious in life. Especially, when it came to important, personal, and legal information. I do not know the exact reason, I believe it is because he lived in Chicago for many years. Everything had to be destroyed and not just tossed in the garbage. Let us say, he went through a few shredders in his day. I think in the long run, it helps keep things secure.

Of course, nobody keeps the same car forever. It is very likely that you will own several different ones during your driving years. Sometimes when you are changing vehicles, depending on the situation, you are required to order new license plates. I was in that exact situation many years. In fact, it was happening for the first time. I was just going to throw out the old plates in the garbage. Luckily, my dad stopped me. Then, I disposed of them correctly. Otherwise, I could have been caught up in a situation like this poor guy.

According to chicago.cbslocal.com,

"Leonard Hoffman got a surprise when a truck he sold more than six years ago started racking up I-PASS tickets on Illinois expressways, and on top of it, all Hoffman wasn’t even in the state when the truck blew through those tolls. Hoffman had a mountain of evidence proving that he sold his grey Ford Ranger in 2014—he admits to leaving the plates on the truck and didn’t think much of it as they were set to expire that same year. But the plates, which are now on a blue-colored Ford, collected four tickets for a total of $8.40 — but it ballooned to nearly 90 dollars with late fees."

Now, the subject of this news story is how this resident was getting charged for I-PASS fees for a truck he no longer owned with a set of his old license plates that have long been expired. I understand the whole situation is horrible for the guy. Now, he is battling the Illinois Tollway which is never fun.

The whole thing could have easily been avoided if he would have just had a life lesson with my father. The former vehicle owner left the old license plates on it when he sold the truck. That is a big no-no. Unfortunately, now he is going through a lot of headaches that could have been easily avoided.

Learn from the victim's mistake. When getting rid of an old car, never leave the plates on the vehicle. Take them with you and destroy them properly.


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