Yesterday, I received a letter from the DMV
denying my CAV application because the decals assigned to my VIN
had already been issued to the dealer six weeks ago! It's been almost two months since I bought the car, and now this? After checking my mailbox day after day . . . imagine my disappointment (though, describing my reaction as "disappointment" is a huge understatement)! Well, after a rather pleasant series of inquires at two dealerships, the CAV stickers are now in my hot little hands.
Since my car was a dealer-trade, they were first mailed from the trading dealer to the selling dealer's corporate office. Then the corporate office mailed it to the selling dealer. Then, they just sat on someone's desk for a couple weeks. But, I really should count my blessings. They weren't lost, stolen, or given to another customer (another application, and another four-week wait). They were supposed to be applied to the car already by the original dealer (that's their standard sales procedure for hybrids and electrics--they pre-order the decals using the VIN only somehow, and apply them to the vehicles prior to sale), but for some reason weren't. Certainly glad of that!
Now that I have them (I've been driving illegally in HOV lanes for weeks now, and almost
everyday on the 110 freeway since I picked up my FasTrak transponder), I was wondering if anyone has considered mounting them on their window glass instead of on the body? I just taped one to the rear-passenger, fixed-window just to try it out. I was thinking of placing the small decal on the lower-right area of the rear-hatch glass (right-justified to the "electric" badge). I know the DMV instructs drivers to place them on the rear bumper and "behind the rear wheel well," but my decal package contained no such instructions.
[ . . . some time passes.] Yeah, I think I'd like a glass-only application. I can always tell the CHP that I plan on painting the car, so I
couldn't mount them on the body (half-true). During my illegal HOV usage, I've had two CHP officers pass me by--one cruiser, one motorcycle--neither one batted an eye, but boy was I nervous. At least I'm
mostly legal now. Finally, I'll have (almost) nothing to fear when I see CHP officers while driving in the HOV lanes now. Tomorrow, I ride the HOV lane with gusto!