Crime & Safety

Early Dream Cruisers Ticketed for Driving With Historical License Plates

Historical Vehicle Association urges law enforcement agencies to treat the month of August as an event, permitting cars with special plates to cruise before Aug. 20, but officials say the law is the law.

Classic car enthusiasts who just can't wait for the Woodward Dream Cruise already have started cruising along the the historic corridor in their vintage rides – but not without consequence.

Historical Vehicle Association Executive Director Carmel Roberts said members of her group are grumbling about being ticketed for joyriding on Woodward with historical license plates prior to the big event Aug. 20.

According to Deputy Chief Gordon Young of the , to obtain the historical license plate, a vehicle must be at least 28 model years old and be owned solely as a collector's item. As such, the vehicles may be driven only to historical club activities, parades and car shows. The Dream Cruise on Aug. 20 qualifies as a parade, but the days leading up to it do not.

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Cruisers are given the message "get moving, or you'll get a ticket" when they are driving on Woodward before the official Dream Cruise date, Roberts said.

"That's what state law is. It is what it is," Lt. Ron Livingston said. "It's no special thing for Dream Cruise."

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The Traverse City-based Historical Vehicle Association would like to see the entire month of August interpreted as an event.

Roberts points to a state Senate resolution, sponsored by Sen. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake), that commemorates August as Automotive Heritage Month. Roberts referred to Kowall as an unapologetic gearhead and said her group would like the language of his resolution to be reviewed by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and applied to state law.

"We realize law enforcement has a job to do, but we are challenging them to keep an open mind," Roberts said.

Ticketing drivers with historical plates "is not a top priority of the police," Young said. "However, we do have strict enforcement of squealing tires – having the plate is a secondary issue."

But Roberts argued that squealing tires is part of the car culture.

"Woodward Avenue is like the Valhalla, it's their mecca," she said, adding that car enthusiasts are just "celebrating what made Detroit great."

"You don't buy a thoroughbred to stick him in the stable," she said.

Livingston said squealing tires is a civil infraction.

"It's very dangerous," he said, adding that drivers will be ticketed for throwing bleach on the road or curb to cause burnouts. "We have zero tolerance for people doing burnouts on the street or weaving in and out of traffic."

Law enforcement agencies along Woodward are united.

"Here's the deal: Whatever the law is, people have to comply," Deputy Director Robert North said. "That doesn't change just because it's the Dream Cruise."

Drivers must have registration and insurance documentation, proper license plates and obey traffic laws, North said.

"It's a family-oriented event," he said. "We want everyone to have a safe, successful event as we celebrate our motor vehicle history, and that's the bottom line."


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