End of registration reminders angers some Calgary drivers

It's saving the government $3 million each year, but it's costing some Calgarians hundreds.

On April 1, theprovince stopped mailing out reminderswhen vehicle registrations were set to expire, catching some motoristsoff guard.

• Alberta will no longer mail out vehicle registration reminders

Andy Guljaswas pulled over last week and slapped with a $310 ticket for his expired plates.

"I said, 'What? That's impossible, the government always sends me a letter.'"

Guljas thinks the change should have been better publicized and doesn't think he, or anyone else that received a fine, should have to pay.

"There should be a warning put out. And really, they need to send out a letter. My God everybody does that," he said.

Of course, there was notification of the change.

Awareness campaign

Service Alberta, the ministry responsible for vehicle registration, said it ran an awareness campaign including radio, newspaper and online ads.

"It ran for more than a month," said spokespersonJo-Anne Nugent."And it has a second phase which will run again in September becausewe wanted to ensure thatwe continue to remind Albertans."

Nugent said letters were sent to Alberta police chiefs, but it's up to individual officers to decide whether or not to write a ticket.

In April, Calgary police handed out 131 tickets for expired plates, compared to 184 in April2015.

A police spokesperson said there was no change to the law, only the notification process, so it did not affecthow the service enforces the rules.

Albertancan sign up for online reminders through registries, the Alberta Motor Association, or the Alberta government services site.

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