How bad is it to have an expired tag on your car?

[BigMoneyJim]

I'm 35 and have only had one moving violation: speeding at age 17. When I was younger I got pulled over for expired tags or inspection a fair bit, but I've been pulled over maybe once in the past 12 years that I can recall, and most of that time I've been a field tech driving around 8 hours per day. I've never been pulled over in my unmarked work vehicle.

I think the car you're driving makes a HUGE difference. Dull colors of basic models are largely ignored. I've only been pulled over once in a plain white truck, van or blazer, and it was because the cop thought I was drunk because I changed lanes to give him room when he had someone else pulled over. Maybe I've just been extraordinarily lucky.

I'm a safe driver but not a perfect one. I've blown by cops at 70+ mph several times in a 55mph zone and been ignored. Go figure.

As for expired tags, I never seemed to get away with that when I was younger, but then my cars weren't dull white fleet vehicles, either. Last year I let my tags lapse thinking I would move out of state soon. I didn't and finally renewed, but during that time several police were behind me and didn't notice. One made a call on the radio and I was sure I'd be pulled over, but nope. My current car is a silver basic 4-door sedan with no fancy add-ons.

I am currently running with lapsed tags again as I again hope to move out of state soon. I am nervous because a local police department is using the lot next door to work for some sort of driving training, and several times I've been driving away from work with 20+ police cruisers exiting training. A coworker said he was stopped for expired tags and got a ticket. I guess my tailing officers have been less attentive so far.

[CyclingInvestor]

I was on a long ride, going thru Mississippi, when a frontage road which was on the map
failed to appear. I had to take a 5 mile (illegal) detour onto the freeway at that point
to avoid a 30 or more mile backtrack. Of course, midway thru it, I pass a cop car,
writing out a ticket to a motorist. I expected to get waved over for my own ticket, but he
just looked at me and went back to writing. I do not know if he had ever seen a bicycle
on the freeway, or, like a leopard digesting a fresh kill, was in a good mood and decided
to let one get away.