Various HOV Lane sticker application methods

[TheAustin]

Like many people, I was horrified about the idea of placing NY State Clean Pass stickers on my Model S, even though it would let me use the High Occupancy Vehicle Lane of the Long Island Expressway by myself, whenever I wanted to.

So, I came up with a solution that has worked out very well for me:

When I got my Clean Pass stickers, I cut exactly around them (but didn't peel them off the sheet)...Then I used clear window cling and mounted them on the insides of my front bottom right windshield, rear bottom right window in the hatch, and the small back sections of the rear passenger windows (This is as close to the corresponding bumper locations as I could get the Clean Pass stickers). I've had them on my car for maybe 4 months now, and I haven't had a problem from the police so far (And I have passed by them in the HOV lane).

If you leave them in your glovebox, the police aren't going to know that you have them until they have already pulled you over...And, don't expect them to just "know" it's an electric Tesla Model S. I didn't want to take that chance, so I came up with the locations that I did...It's worked for me so far, hopefully it works for you too.

 

[bonnie]

Several sticker placement discussions in many threads California DMV - Plates HOV Stickers - Page 5

This has worked well for 2+years on my Roadster. Because of the application, it's clean, with no film over the top.

I found some on eBay. Scraps are all you need. I think they all are able to be repositioned, if using a little soapy water. (Pet peeve is seeing them all askew on cars ... really, they didn't have time to carefully position?)

I have heard the stories about removal with the heat gun, but didn't want to trust the folklore.

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fyi, as strider said, these are a 'badge of honor'. People do ask how come you get HOV lane stickers - and that opens up the whole BEV discussion.

And if you don't want to put them on, great! More room for me in the HOV lane.

1. Get some StarShield scraps (or any pff)
2. Stick the HOV sticker to the StarShield
3. Carefully cut around the sticker, eliminating any StarShield overhang (so now you have a sticker with a StarShield backing)
4. Take a spray bottle of soapy water, a clean car, and your StarShield-backed stickers and apply, following mfr instructions (the soapy water allows you to move the sticker around for a bit)

 

[TheAustin]

I got the clear window cling on Amazon.com:
Amazon.com: Team Plastics Static Cling Vinyl Clear - 24 X 36: Home Kitchen...

Now, I did get a bit nerdy with this...I recreated the outline of the NY State Clean Pass sticker in Adobe Illustrator, and then I added an extra inch all the way around it, printed that out, cut around it, placed it over the clear window cling, traced it, and then cut out a piece of clear window cling that was exactly 1" bigger All the way around than my Clean Pass sticker, in the exact some shape.

Why? Because if you just cut a rectangle of clear window cling (which I did for the first couple of months), it looks ugly, but more importantly, the corners curl up from extreme heat inside the car, and they kept falling off...The rounded edges on what I created help to keep a much better grip on the window...After two months, only one of the four pieces of cling has fallen off...But, the funny thing is, the front of the sticker is still clinging to the inside of the glass, even without the cling...And has been for several weeks now! I may try and peel the rest of the clings off to see if the other stickers are also fused in place

If you would like a .pdf of the NY State Clean sticker window cling template that I made, shoot me a message/reply/pm/whatever with your email address, and I'll send it to you. I guess I could make one for you Californians as well if you're interested. Let me know...

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Several sticker placement discussions in many threads California DMV - Plates HOV Stickers - Page 5

Which is what prompted me to post this Feel free to file it away if you feel it belongs somewhere else.

 

[bonnie]

Which is what prompted me to post this Feel free to file it away if you feel it belongs somewhere else.

Nope. I thought it wouldn't hurt to gather all the suggestions into one place.

 

[TheAustin]

Several sticker placement discussions in many threads California DMV - Plates HOV Stickers - Page 5

This has worked well for 2+years on my Roadster. Because of the application, it's clean, with no film over the top.



1. Get some StarShield scraps (or any pff)
2. Stick the HOV sticker to the StarShield
3. Carefully cut around the sticker, eliminating any StarShield overhang (so now you have a sticker with a StarShield backing)
4. Take a spray bottle of soapy water, a clean car, and your StarShield-backed stickers and apply, following mfr instructions (the soapy water allows you to move the sticker around for a bit)

Yes, but that is still a semi-permanent application. Bonnie (admin) added the "No Damage" text to my post title, but damage wan't the focus of my post...My solution wan't about damaging the car, but rather putting the stickers in a less visibly-offensive location (ie: right on the body of the car), and also doing it a way that can be taken on/off in seconds.

 

[bonnie]

Yes, but that is still a semi-permanent application. Bonnie (admin) added the "No Damage" text to my post title, but damage wan't the focus of my post...My solution wan't about damaging the car, but rather putting the stickers in a less visibly-offensive location (ie: right on the body of the car), and also doing it a way that can be taken on/off in seconds.

Happy to change the title, but will make it generic to capture all the diff ways of attaching these stickers. Some people care about damage, others that it be easily removable, etc. It would be helpful to have all that info in one place as people are deciding what to do.

 

[TheAustin]

Happy to change the title, but will make it generic to capture all the diff ways of attaching these stickers. Some people care about damage, others that it be easily removable, etc. It would be helpful to have all that info in one place as people are deciding what to do.

The reason I used the word "Alternative" in the title was because that was something different that I hadn't see discussed. If you give it a generic title, people will think it is a re-hash of old ideas that have been thoroughly discussed. I was trying to make it clear that this was an alternative idea to most previously discussed options. Can you just return the post title to what I originally wrote please? It was pretty clear and descriptive, and I don't feel as though it needed editing.

 

[bonnie]

The other ideas are in various regional threads. It makes sense to capture the ideas in one thread, so people can read. Your post is the very first one in the thread. I'm sure people will see it and give you credit for your idea.

People usually open threads like this when they're trying to decide how to do something (in this case, affix a sticker). It's easier on forum membership to be able to search and get all ideas in one place. Again, yours is the very first post. Your solution is the first one people will read. IF I see discussion breaking out where it would make sense to have a separate thread, I'll do that. Otherwise, I'll keep it as is.

 

[TheAustin]

The other ideas are in various regional threads. It makes sense to capture the ideas in one thread, so people can read. Your post is the very first one in the thread. I'm sure people will see it and give you credit for your idea.

People usually open threads like this when they're trying to decide how to do something (in this case, affix a sticker). It's easier on forum membership to be able to search and get all ideas in one place. Again, yours is the very first post. Your solution is the first one people will read. IF I see discussion breaking out where it would make sense to have a separate thread, I'll do that. Otherwise, I'll keep it as is.

And, as I suspected...Your edit and over-generalized title to this thread effectively killed it. There are still people posting about this, but clearly they're not seeing this buried thread. In the future, I would request that unless a poster's thread title is totally off-base, that you please let people title their own posts, and not be so quick to edit them, especially when doing so changes the subject and intent of the post.

Respectfully,
-Austin

 

[ZBB]

I'm so glad that AZ just issues a special plate to get HOV access... No stickers"!

 

[TheAustin]

I'm so glad that AZ just issues a special plate to get HOV access... No stickers"!

Special HOV plates are a much better soulution to stickers in general...Although I would have been screwed that way too...NY State recently changed their license plates from a beautiful white with blue text to an awful orange/yellow with navy text. I ended up keeping my old plates rather than put those hideous news plates on my car. Assuming the HOV plates would be the same color, that would defeat the purpose for me (solving one aesthetic problem and creating another).

 

[derekt75]

On a related note, I'd suggest putting the stickers parallel to the ground.
On my car, I put the stickers just above the line between the gray bottom and the blue body on the rear fender. Since I put them right next to that line, I figured I'd affix them parallel to that line. I now disagree with that decision. It only slopes up (toward the back) by a few degrees, but it still looks like the stickers are on an angle. :-(

 

[bonnie]

And, as I suspected...Your edit and over-generalized title to this thread effectively killed it. There are still people posting about this, but clearly they're not seeing this buried thread. In the future, I would request that unless a poster's thread title is totally off-base, that you please let people title their own posts, and not be so quick to edit them, especially when doing so changes the subject and intent of the post.

Respectfully,
-Austin

I think you're over-thinking this. People are sharing their ideas. It's a discussion. People don't 'own' the thread they start, they start a discussion. I can point to several with my name on 'em that I wish were titled differently or had taken a different path ... but the threads went the way the forum wanted them to go. My two cents.

 

[evme]

Special HOV plates are a much better soulution to stickers in general...Although I would have been screwed that way too...NY State recently changed their license plates from a beautiful white with blue text to an awful orange/yellow with navy text. I ended up keeping my old plates rather than put those hideous news plates on my car. Assuming the HOV plates would be the same color, that would defeat the purpose for me (solving one aesthetic problem and creating another).

Not really, NY's picture plates still have the old design:

http://www.dmv.ny.gov/cpl8faqs.htm#pictureplate

Picture plates are probably the only way to get old looking plates right now.

If they make HOV plates they would be old design too

Unfortunately they are not taking suggestions anymore

How do I make a suggestion for a picture plate, or get a picture plate created for my organization?

Effective August 2, 2004, pursuant to the Commissioner's discretionary authority under sections 404(1) and 404-l of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, the Department of Motor Vehicles temporarily suspended consideration and approval of requests for creation of new custom plate series. This moratorium does not apply to those plate series mandated by law or those which have already been approved administratively, nor does it extend to the modification of existing contracts to which the Department is already a party. The moratorium will continue in effect until the criteria for approval of new custom plate series has been reviewed and the Commissioner's regulations updated accordingly.

 

[ZBB]

Special HOV plates are a much better soulution to stickers in general...Although I would have been screwed that way too...NY State recently changed their license plates from a beautiful white with blue text to an awful orange/yellow with navy text. I ended up keeping my old plates rather than put those hideous news plates on my car. Assuming the HOV plates would be the same color, that would defeat the purpose for me (solving one aesthetic problem and creating another).

AZ doesn't use the general issue plate for the Alternate Fuel plate (which grants HOV access). Here's a pic -- blue plate with poofy clouds. I'd prefer to get another special plate, but none of them give HOV access...

 

[logan]

I think you're over-thinking this. People are sharing their ideas. It's a discussion. People don't 'own' the thread they start, they start a discussion. I can point to several with my name on 'em that I wish were titled differently or had taken a different path ... but the threads went the way the forum wanted them to go. My two cents.

This is the only car forum (or any forum for that matter) where I have seen mods regularly change titles of other peoples threads without their consent/desire. I'm very active on MBWorld, Luxury4Play, 6SpeedOnline, GT-R Life, etc. and this is the only forum where I have ever seen this happen. Unless the title is incredibly off base it's not something I think is necessary nor respectful to the thread creator. My two cents.

 

[bonnie]

With all due respect, what many don't recognize is the number of times the title limits or is misleading or is confusing, all of which results in work later for the moderators as the OP demands that posts that don't fit their original idea be moved. And that has happened more times than I can count. You don't see the pm's from OPs asking/demanding that we move people to out of 'their thread', because they only want a certain idea discussed. I do.