The Man Giveth and he Taketh Away - Feature Review - Dirt Rider Magazine

The following letter came from Don Amador of the Blue Ribbon Coalition in regards to a confrontation a rider had with Park Rangers about red and green sticker registration in California. Don forwarded the letter to State Park Superintendent Tom Bernardo who offered the response. Read on to hear about a surprising DMV error, and how it could affect you.**Gentlemen,

I purchased a 2003 Yamaha WR450 under the pretence that I might be one of the lucky guys to get a green sticker. This did not happen and I received a red sticker, with usage up until June 2005. As I was ready to pay the renewal, I noticed that the registration renewal form indicated I would receive a green sticker. Much to my surprise, I did receive a green sticker good thru June of 2007. Christmas came early and I was already making plans. This all came crashing down last Friday as I tried to enter the Hollister Hills SRV Park.The young ranger on duty was quick to ask me the year of the bike and please show him my registration. He quickly confirmed that the green sticker matched the DMV registration form, only to run back and get a Park Ranger (with a sidearm). He explained to me that my 2003 Yamaha did not meet the California emissions requirement and that the DMV did not know what the hell they were doing. He (Park Ranger with sidearm) further explained that he would confiscate my red sticker from my vehicle and send it back to the DMV with instructions to re-issue a red sticker!Before "Ranger with a sidearm" went back to remove my green sticker, I asked him to show me some kind of official document, memo, or any other kind of directive giving him the authority to do so. His response was that the DMV was making a lot of mistakes and he was certain this bike did not meet California emissions standards. At that time, another junior Ranger (without sidearm) showed me the same document I had seen before regarding the 8th digit on the vehicle ID number being a 3 or a C. My bike does have a 3 in this location.Questions:
Are the Rangers right, or has there been some changes made to the law regarding my particular bike (i.e., the bike's classification changed from MX to Enduro by DMV on the registration, i.e.e., is my make and model being grandfathered in to a green sticker)? If the Rangers are wrong in their assumptions, how do I go about getting the green sticker back? Any suggestions would be helpful.Michael D. Nicholson
Castro Valley, CA**

Mr. Nicholson,I will try to answer the questions in order.1) "I purchased a 2003 Yamaha WR450 under the pretence that I might be one of the lucky guys and get a green sticker" Well, there is luck involved in winning at the Indian Casino, but the law says a 2003 WR450 should get a red sticker, lucky or not.2) The Park Aides at Hollister are trained to recognize registration issues because the rangers are usually out on patrol, especially on the weekends. They are not unarmed rangers, they are non-peace officer seasonal employees.3) The vehicle code allows peace officers to remove license plates that were erroneously issued. This is why the ranger removes the sticker, not the park aide. They do not keep them. They are sent to me and I send them to DMV.4) There has been no recent change in the CARB law. 2002 and earlier OHV's whether CARB compliant or non-compliant were issued green stickers and still get green stickers. Any 2003 or newer OHV that is certified CARB non-compliant should still get a red sticker. Some did not and it is a DMV error. DMV is trying to remedy the problem as we speak and is sending out red stickers to all the OHV's that received 2006 or 2007 green stickers.I can understand Mr. Nicholson's point-of-view, but if we are aware a OHV is a non-compliant OHV we have the obligation to enforce the law and not let him ride during the closed red sticker season even if he has a green sticker. DMV has asked us to seize the green stickers and send them to DMV so they can correct their mistake and we do so. So far this year I have probably gotten 25-30 of these erroneously issued stickers and forwarded them to the DMV.I hope this answers your questions. Drop me a line or give me a call if I can be of any assistance.Tom Bernardo
State Park Superintendent II
Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division Headquarters