Uh-oh, the Highway Patrol is after me!

I got a letter in the mail from the Highway Patrol saying that it was reported to them that my car is "unsafe for use on the highway."

What? It just passed safety & emissions the previous month. Are there flames shooting out the back of my car? What's going on?

The letter was especially puzzling because it had my name (the car is registered under Nigel's name) and my sister's license plate number. I tried calling the Highway Patrol at the number they gave me, but I just got an answering machine (that didn't even identify themselves as the Highway Patrol). I then started thinking this was some elaborate phishing scheme.

Then a Highway Patrol officer came out to my house to inspect the car. It turns out that the mechanic who inspected my car is who turned me in. He said that the auto shop was cutting corners to get cars to pass and he was fed up with it and quit. The officer needed to verify if his claims were true, or if he was just a disgruntled employee.

Sure enough, the mechanic had fixed my loose headlight by stuffing a bunch of oily rags behind it. The officer took photos of it and said that he would get back to me to let me know if I needed to get it fixed and go through the safety & emissions process all over again.

So far, he hasn't contacted me. I hope the rags don't burst into flames, because then I'd really be unsafe!