A motorist in New York has learned the hard way that arts and crafts are no substitute for official documentation after police discovered hand-drawn inspection and registration stickers on their car.
The Creative But Illegal Stop
The incident began on the night of Thursday, 21 November 2025, when a New York State Trooper initiated a traffic stop for a separate issue: switched licence plates. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer's attention was drawn to the documents displayed on the windshield.
It quickly became apparent that the vehicle's "inspection" and "registration" stickers were not official. State police later revealed in a statement that the forgeries were "drawn by hand using a combination of pen, marker, and crayon ‘with an impressive amount of confidence’".
Anatomy of a Crayon Forgery
One of the handmade creations, attempting to mimic an official inspection sticker, was drawn on white paper. It featured a date coloured in with black ink and the words "New York Safety Emissions" scrawled above it. Police noted that the word "Emissions" was seemingly spelled incorrectly.
The other drawing was designed to look like the state's vehicle registration sticker. It displayed two sets of numbers separated by a yellow box filled with black scribbles.
Consequences and Public Reaction
New York State Police did not see the funny side of the driver's ingenuity. In a witty but firm statement released on Friday, 22 November, they advised, "As a friendly reminder arts and crafts supplies do not count as valid documentation."
The driver was issued multiple tickets for the offences, and the vehicle was deemed unroadworthy and taken off the road.
The police's social media post about the incident went viral, amassing 30,000 reactions and 3,000 comments. One Facebook user quipped, "If the meaning of desperate times calls for desperate measures was a person," while another admitted, "Well, I have to admit. It was creative. Illegal, but creative." A third commenter added sarcastically, "We have DMV at home."
