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Utah sees big spike in people not registering cars after reminder postcards stopped

Traffic on I-15 in Salt Lake City
Posted at 12:02 PM, Jan 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-25 14:25:48-05

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Tax Commission decided to save money by halting postcard reminders to motorists just before it was time to renew their vehicle registration, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

RELATED: One final reminder card being mailed to remind Utahns to register vehicles

Since then, more than one of every four car owners failed to register vehicles on time, according to data the commission provided to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Rep. Scott Chew, R-Jensen, says stopping the postcards last year was a mistake that needs to be reversed, and introduced a bill to restart them unless individuals instead choose to receive email reminders.

“A lot of people,” he said, “just felt like they had the rug pulled out from under them.”

RELATED: Vehicle registrations down in Utah months after reminder cards stopped, DMV reports

The lawmaker said many told him they “never even thought about” when to re-register because the postcard would come and then they would handle it with monthly bills. “And a week later it [a license plate sticker] arrives in the mail and I put it on my car and then all is good.”

Click here to read the full story from The Salt Lake Tribune.