$1000 fine triggered by bumper sticker: “Powered by 100% vegetable oil”

In the world’s best example of bumper sticker regret, Bob Teixeira was fined $1000 for advertising his vegetable oil fuel usage. Add to that additional fines and then a fee to make himself legit the bumper sticker could end up costing him $4500.

The premise being that he is avoiding North Carolina state fuel taxes. By the letter of the law, which was written for industrial vehicles, someone using alternate fuels is avoiding taxation. Obviously when the laws were written no one thought some guy would convert his car to run on soybeans.

Media attention around the story has lead the NC Department of Revenue to compromise on Bob’s fines and also to investigate changing the law to accommodate personal vehicles.

So if the fine is repealed and the law ends up changes then this is nothing more than a funny sensationlised headline. Good luck, Bob.

- shawn

[source: charlotte observer]