What began as a routine trip to Dallas turned into a frustrating ordeal for an Oklahoma woman after her personalized license plate was mistakenly flagged as stolen by Texas authorities. Megan Carter of Norman, Okla., said she was pulled over a few weekends ago on 1-35 near downtown Dallas.
The reason? Her vanity plate, reading “LUV2SHOP”, had allegedly matched the license plate of a stolen vehicle out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She said she originally thought it was a joke.
“I thought it was a joke at first,” C arter said in an interview. “They told me my car was listed as stolen and had me step out of the vehicle. I was in complete shock.”
Carter was detained for nearly an hour while Dallas Police officers verified her registration and ownership. Her car, a silver Lexus SUV, had no connection to the vehicle reported stolen beyond the customized tag.
After being detained, officers figured out the mishap. According to authorities, the stolen car was also registered under a plate reading “LUV2SHOP,” but in Texas, while Carter’s plate was Oklahoma-issued.
“The system had flagged a match on the plate characters, but the state discrepancy wasn’t immediately caught,” a Dallas PD spokesperson said. “We’ve reviewed the incident and are working to ensure better cross-state verification moving forward.”
Carter, who had ordered the plate five years ago as a gift to herself after opening a boutique in Norman, said she’s always gotten compliments on the catchy tag, but never imagined it could land her in hot water.
“It’s supposed to be fun and unique, not a ticket to getting pulled over and treated like a car thief,” she said.
The Oklahoma Tax Commission, which oversees license plate registrations, confirmed that C arter’s tag is valid and current. They also noted that vanity plates often lead to unintentional overlaps between states, especially with popular phrases.
Motor vehicle experts said this is a rare, but not unheard-of, issue.
“Every state has its own rules for plate combinations,” said Mark Atwood, a transportation policy analyst. “Unfortunately, computers aren’t always great at reading context, only what matches.”
While Carter was eventually released without charges, she’s considering changing the plate altogether.
“As much as I love it, I’d rather not go through that again,” she said.
F or now, she’s warning fellow drivers, especially those with customized tags, to keep their documents handy and brace for the unexpected.
“Apparently, loving to shop can be a crime,” Carter joked. “At least in Texas.”