The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has received nearly 21,000 complaints about illegal drivers through its new online reporting portal in just two months, with more than 83 percent of those reports coming from Clark County.
The Registration Spotter tool, launched in October on the DMV's website, allows residents to report vehicles with no plates, expired or invalid registration, or illegal out-of-state plates. The initiative was part of an effort to address what officials call a pervasive problem affecting road safety and contributing to rising car insurance costs.
"It's everywhere all the time," said J. D. Decker from the DMV's Compliance Enforcement Division during a February ride-along.
However, some residents who have filed reports are questioning the effectiveness of the system, like Las Vegas resident Paul who emailed to ask, "Darcy, what's the deal?"
"I reported a car without plates over two months ago and I still see it parking where I live. Why don't they investigate? I also see so many cars on the road without plates and even see cops that don't stop them. Why don't police stop them?" Paul asked.
DMV officials acknowledge that enforcement is lacking. DMV spokesperson Hailey Foster said the agency agrees "this is certainly an issue we, the DMV, would like to see be enforced more."
The DMV admits it's still working to distribute data from the online portal to other agencies and cannot guarantee specific action on reports. Foster explained that if a vehicle is parked in someone's driveway and not being operated, that's technically legal. Officers need to see the car being driven on streets to issue a citation.
"This takes everybody, and there's so much of it right now, and it's going to take all of Nevada law enforcement to address," Decker said.
The DMV does not track enforcement statistics based on whether action comes from patrol, investigation or complaints submitted by residents, making it impossible to determine how many Registration Spotter tips have led to enforcement action.
But, traffic enforcement overall is increasing. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police made about 82,000 traffic stops this year, according to a Dec. 16 social media post. From Oct. 1 - Dec. 17, Metro issued 9,667 citations for which the primary offense was registration related, and 11,680 if you include citations with multiple offenses listed.
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