Driver with 1997 license plate explains he’s ‘been busy lately,’ Louisiana police say

When police in Louisiana pulled over a driver last week, they discovered his license plate had been expired for more than 20 years.

Slidell police posted the story to Facebook on Feb. 28.

“For those of you who like to ‘switch tags,’ at least give us a good challenge ...” the post said.

An officer pulled over a vehicle Feb. 27 and noticed something odd — the tag had expired in 1997.

A photo of the license plate shows a red sticker in the bottom right corner that reads SEP 97.

But police say the driver had an explanation: He’d been a little busy.

“Sorry, officer,” the man said, according to the post. “I’ve been busy lately and totally forgot to renew my vehicle registration. I will take care of it as soon as I get home!”

The post had amassed more than 1,600 likes as of Thursday morning and Facebook users had a lot to say.

“Must have been really darn busy! 97?! Lmao,” one user wrote.

“The years just fly by,” wrote another. “One day it’s 1997 the next it’s 2020 Lol.”

“Who was he, Rip van Winkle?” wrote a third.

“The DMV lines are long,” another wrote.

It hasn’t been reported if the man was issued a citation, but police did have this to say in the post: “We can’t make this stuff up.”

Slidell is roughly 30 miles northeast of New Orleans.

This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Driver with 1997 license plate explains he’s ‘been busy lately,’ Louisiana police say."