Got pulled over by a JVPD SUV. Very professional PD encounter. He told me my expired registration had been spotted when I crossed under 290. I showed him my online payment receipt and told him about waiting for the new sticker. Never commented about my LTC that I handed him with the DL and insurance. All good. Just a "Get that sticker on there as soon as you get it." I thanked him for his service, he told me to be safe.
Hit Google when I got home because, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how he could have seen my tiny front windshield sticker driving through the busy but at-posted-speeds intersection with 290 where West Road is a 6-lane boulevard.
Sure enough: https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/cyfa ... 496188.php. Jersey Village had joined other communities like Katy and Memorial Villages in adding Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs). Just that quickly, my plate info had been photographed, uploaded, computer matched, and info sent out to the on-patrols. The LEO didn't say that he'd spotted my sticker, just that the expired registration had been spotted.
I guess it could be a different story with paper plates, but big brother is watching closer and closer in urban areas, and I don't know how anyone would be able to get away with an expired registration for very long. If you get a warning on stop one, I'm sure stop two would be a ticket unless you can provide some proof that the registration is in the works.