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Pennsylvania Registration Sticker Shock

STROUDSBURG — Registration stickers on cars will soon be a thing of the past in Pennsylvania. Next year, PennDOT plans to stop issuing those little sticke...

STROUDSBURG -- Registration stickers on cars will soon be a thing of the past in Pennsylvania. Next year, PennDOT plans to stop issuing those little stickers we put on our license plates.

The plan will save PennDOT money but could end up costing law enforcement big bucks.

When police are on patrol, they are able to make sure registration stickers are up to date simply by looking at them. Now they're going to need a pricey piece of technology to know whether or not your license plate is valid.

Every car on the road in the state is required to have a registration sticker on the license plate.

That is, until 2017.

PennDOT is doing away with the stickers to save about $3.1 million per year and make renewal easier for drivers.

"If it's all linked up with your license plate, why not? It's easy for everybody, saves money and time," said Louis White of Stroudsburg.

The plan has left Pocono Township police with more questions than answers.

Without stickers, law enforcement will need new devices, showcased in Harrisburg on Wednesday: an automated license plate reader to check if a registration is up to date.

"With the sticker, it's very simple. The officer sees it, and knows what year it is and can process that. Now I'm wondering how much this is going to cost the police department," said Pocono Township Police Chief Ken Werkheiser.

PennDOT estimates each device cost about $18,000.

"That is why PennDOT is offering grants, and that is the proposal, where we will put up millions of dollars per year so law enforcement agencies can have this technology," said PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards.

The money would come from the sticker savings.

Police wouldn't be required to have these plate readers, but without them enforcement could become challenging.

"Are we going to outfit the entire fleet?" asked Chief Werkheiser. "Right now, all of my officers have two sets of eyes and am I only going to have one car with this machine? Yeah, it raises some interesting questions."

Meanwhile drivers are looking forward to a simpler process.

"You make it easier for us," said White. "Police, they've got to come up with a way just like the DMV."

"One less is a good thing, anything to do with the state, one less is a good thing," said Margie White.

Drivers still need to have vehicles registered and inspected. It's only the stickers that are going away.

Down the road, officials plan to make it so you can upload a registration card right to your smart phone.

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