License Plate News

[SEWIGuy]

In New York, we don't have counties on the plates, but oftentimes your local car dealer will install a plate frame that says Nissan of *city/town name* for example. When my family and I were going on a road trip from Long Island to Buffalo/Niagara Falls, I took off the plate frames so people wouldn't know we were tourists.

I take those frames off even when I'm not going to be traveling.

I've always thought about taking the frames off, but have been too lazy to do so.  Never had a problem being perceived as a tourist.

I take the frames off immediately because I aint providing free advertising for the car dealer.  (My wife had me put them back on her car when I took them off though.)

[kalvado]

In New York, we don't have counties on the plates, but oftentimes your local car dealer will install a plate frame that says Nissan of *city/town name* for example. When my family and I were going on a road trip from Long Island to Buffalo/Niagara Falls, I took off the plate frames so people wouldn't know we were tourists.

I take those frames off even when I'm not going to be traveling.

I've always thought about taking the frames off, but have been too lazy to do so.  Never had a problem being perceived as a tourist.

I take the frames off immediately because I aint providing free advertising for the car dealer.  (My wife had me put them back on her car when I took them off though.)

Depends on a service dealership provided. I am OK recommending to my friends  those who is doing a good job for me - trainer, realtor,  doctor, contractor, dealer...
Once (if) things get sour, frames come off and recommendations dry out. I sent my dealership frames back to the dealer after getting "we want your car back!" letter (one of periods when used car supply was running low). My response was "I cannot sell back the entire car, but I am sending you back a small piece of what you sold" 

[kphoger]

Service the dealership provided?  These are the last three dealerships I've bought from:

https://goo.gl/maps/vZb6kKRAUQBmHDt4A
https://goo.gl/maps/WRunwQhySa6uGCSD6
https://goo.gl/maps/LXM177VPvFg1cFJ4A

Not the sort of dealership that provides continuing "service" after your purchase.  And I make no promises as to what condition the other vehicles on the lot tend to be in.

[SEWIGuy]

Service the dealership provided?  These are the last three dealerships I've bought from:

https://goo.gl/maps/vZb6kKRAUQBmHDt4A
https://goo.gl/maps/WRunwQhySa6uGCSD6
https://goo.gl/maps/LXM177VPvFg1cFJ4A

Not the sort of dealership that provides continuing "service" after your purchase.  And I make no promises as to what condition the other vehicles on the lot tend to be in.

I only buy new, but generally do not return to the dealer for service.

[kalvado]

Service the dealership provided?  These are the last three dealerships I've bought from:

https://goo.gl/maps/vZb6kKRAUQBmHDt4A
https://goo.gl/maps/WRunwQhySa6uGCSD6
https://goo.gl/maps/LXM177VPvFg1cFJ4A

Not the sort of dealership that provides continuing "service" after your purchase.  And I make no promises as to what condition the other vehicles on the lot tend to be in.

Well, even then buying experience can differ. A simple question is "would you recommend your friend going there?" may be a reasonable test if you want to keep the frame on.

[kphoger]

Well, even then buying experience can differ. A simple question is "would you recommend your friend going there?" may be a reasonable test if you want to keep the frame on.

When I've only had one single transaction with a business, I'm not about to go around recommending that business to every person who ends up behind me in traffic.

[kalvado]

Well, even then buying experience can differ. A simple question is "would you recommend your friend going there?" may be a reasonable test if you want to keep the frame on.

When I've only had one single transaction with a business, I'm not about to go around recommending that business to every person who ends up behind me in traffic.

Well, there are many one-time transactions. Realtors in particular are one-and-done.
I mean it's totally your call, but I don't feel bad having a frame of a place where I bought my car, and actually had it serviced there a few time. THe only reason I wouldn't recommend those guys to you is that you're unlikely to do car shopping in upstate NY in near future. 

[J N Winkler]

I have heard that when one is negotiating access to private land for hunting, it is an advantage not to show up in a car that has a SG plate.

Farmers and ranchers don't like city people everywhere lol. Wonder if a WY or JO would inspire the same reaction (I bet it would).

I am sure it would!  At the same time, a person rolling up with a WY or SG plate is not going to be suspected of having more money than he or she knows what to do with.



I keep my license plates unframed.  While the main reason is that I just don't care for the look, it also helps remove obscuration of the plate as a possible excuse for a traffic stop.

In terms of dealers, I don't have especially strong feelings one way or another because, in my family, we keep cars long enough that the meaningful relationship is with the manufacturer, whose engineering decisions and assembly-line quality control influence our eventual costs in terms of major maintenance and repair.  We've also lived in Wichita long enough to be leery of the big names in autos locally.  Whenever practicable, we avoid dealing with the Steven family, whose multiple dealerships include Wichita's only Toyota franchise, because of their reputation for sharp business practices.  Although Fords don't appeal to us to begin with because of their mediocre reliability, it's difficult for us to hear of Rusty Eck Ford without remembering that the founder went to federal prison in the 1970's for income tax evasion and, at the time of his death 25 years later, was under indictment for having sex with a 14-year-old girl.

[CtrlAltDel]

I keep my license plates unframed.  While the main reason is that I just don't care for the look, it also helps remove obscuration of the plate as a possible excuse for a traffic stop.

I have something like this:



which allows for a finished look without obscuring anything of the plate itself.

In terms of dealers, I don't have especially strong feelings one way or another because, in my family, we keep cars long enough that the meaningful relationship is with the manufacturer, whose engineering decisions and assembly-line quality control influence our eventual costs in terms of major maintenance and repair.  We've also lived in Wichita long enough to be leery of the big names in autos locally.  Whenever practicable, we avoid dealing with the Steven family, whose multiple dealerships include Wichita's only Toyota franchise, because of their reputation for sharp business practices.  Although Fords don't appeal to us to begin with because of their mediocre reliability, it's difficult for us to hear of Rusty Eck Ford without remembering that the founder went to federal prison in the 1970's for income tax evasion and, at the time of his death 25 years later, was under indictment for having sex with a 14-year-old girl.

I have no particular affinity for dealerships, either, although for me it's mostly because I have never had an experience buying a car from one that I would consider pleasant.

[frankenroad]

Well, even then buying experience can differ. A simple question is "would you recommend your friend going there?" may be a reasonable test if you want to keep the frame on.

When I've only had one single transaction with a business, I'm not about to go around recommending that business to every person who ends up behind me in traffic.

Well, there are many one-time transactions. Realtors in particular are one-and-done.
I mean it's totally your call, but I don't feel bad having a frame of a place where I bought my car, and actually had it serviced there a few time. THe only reason I wouldn't recommend those guys to you is that you're unlikely to do car shopping in upstate NY in near future.

When I first moved back to Ohio from New Hampshire, I had to have my car serviced.  It still had NH plates on it.  When I got it back from the dealer, they had installed one of their dealership frames on it.  The next week, when I replaced my NH plates with OH plates, that frame went in the trash.  I thought that was a pretty ballsy move on the dealership's part.

[Scott5114]

Incredible, thank you! Where'd you dig that up from?

I made it in MSPaint for you.

Cool, thanks! Where'd you get the data from? At some point I'd like to update the inaccurate map on Wikipedia's "list of counties in Oklahoma" page, and while it's acceptable to me, I don't think they'll let me use "my friend Kyle" as a source.

As I expected, some of these are slightly silly. ...

It doesn't look at all random or silly to me.  Actually, it looks rather well planned-out.  ...

I suppose there was some degree of logic to it, but I think I put more of a premium on the principle of least astonishment, that is, "a layperson can easily guess what the code is/what a code means", than DPS did. Part of that would be giving the county with a higher population a "better code", so to speak (thus why I'd have given McClain MC and find something else for McCurtain).

I think I remember reading somewhere that Kansas's county code system is so orderly that there is only one instance where the county code is not the first two letters of the county name, where doing so would not cause a conflict with another county.

I'm having difficulty parsing what you mean there.  Kansas has loads of county codes that aren't the first two letters–Sedgwick included.

I'd appreciate an example or counterexample to illustrate what you're trying to say.

Sure. The counties starting with B both contain examples and one counterexample–they are all the first two letters, except Barton (which gets BT, because Barber uses BA). However, the counterexample is Bourbon, which gets BB, even though nobody in Kansas has BO.

Looking at the list, however, the assertion that I read is proven to be incorrect–there's plenty of counterexamples, including SG.

[J N Winkler]

I think I remember reading somewhere that Kansas's county code system is so orderly that there is only one instance where the county code is not the first two letters of the county name, where doing so would not cause a conflict with another county.

I'm having difficulty parsing what you mean there.  Kansas has loads of county codes that aren't the first two letters–Sedgwick included.

I'd appreciate an example or counterexample to illustrate what you're trying to say.

Sure. The counties starting with B both contain examples and one counterexample–they are all the first two letters, except Barton (which gets BT, because Barber uses BA). However, the counterexample is Bourbon, which gets BB, even though nobody in Kansas has BO.

Looking at the list, however, the assertion that I read is proven to be incorrect–there's plenty of counterexamples, including SG.

Scott--could you have been referring to the section of the Wikipedia article on Kansas license plates that explains the county coding system?

A large fraction of the cases where the license plate code isn't the first two letters of the county name have the first letter of the second syllable as the second letter.  However, even here there are exceptions--for example, CK (Cherokee) and CQ (Chautauqua).  11 of the 105 counties start with C and I find their codes to be the most difficult to retain in memory.

As the article notes, before 1950 Kansas had a county-number system similar to Nebraska's, except the basis was 1920 census population rather than 1926 vehicle registrations.  Under the old system, JO was 19.

[kalvado]

Well, even then buying experience can differ. A simple question is "would you recommend your friend going there?" may be a reasonable test if you want to keep the frame on.

When I've only had one single transaction with a business, I'm not about to go around recommending that business to every person who ends up behind me in traffic.

Well, there are many one-time transactions. Realtors in particular are one-and-done.
I mean it's totally your call, but I don't feel bad having a frame of a place where I bought my car, and actually had it serviced there a few time. THe only reason I wouldn't recommend those guys to you is that you're unlikely to do car shopping in upstate NY in near future.

When I first moved back to Ohio from New Hampshire, I had to have my car serviced.  It still had NH plates on it.  When I got it back from the dealer, they had installed one of their dealership frames on it.  The next week, when I replaced my NH plates with OH plates, that frame went in the trash.  I thought that was a pretty ballsy move on the dealership's part.

Next week? You are a very patient person....

[SD Mapman]

I keep my license plates unframed.  While the main reason is that I just don't care for the look, it also helps remove obscuration of the plate as a possible excuse for a traffic stop.

Same here, with one minor exception; we hit a deer a few years ago and partially shredded the license plate. It started to bend along the seam earlier this year, so I got a frame from my alma mater to keep the plate from falling apart. It only partially obscures the registration sticker, but you can still tell it has the right year color. If I ever get pulled over for it before next January (when I get a new sticker) I'll explain the situation and tell the cop that I'll head to the county treasurer's office and get an unnecessary new sticker.

[kphoger]

Where'd you get the data from? At some point I'd like to update the inaccurate map on Wikipedia's "list of counties in Oklahoma" page, and while it's acceptable to me, I don't think they'll let me use "my friend Kyle" as a source.

Unfortunately for your purposes, I just assume Eric Tanner's page was accurate.  He is the editor of PLATES magazine, published by ALPCA, though, so he must have some reliable source for his information.  He's obviously something of an expert, considering that, in 1995, he co-authored a book titled License Plates County Codes of the United States and Canada.  Why not ask him what his primary source is?  His phone number (publicly published elsewhere on his website) is 616-456-7330.

By the way, I haven't bothered cross-checking my map against the current Wikipedia page on Oklahoma license plate county codes.  Judging by the footnote reference in the same section, though, I'm guessing the data came straight out of Eric Tanner's website anyway.

I suppose there was some degree of logic to it, but I think I put more of a premium on the principle of least astonishment, that is, "a layperson can easily guess what the code is/what a code means", than DPS did.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  I don't think a layperson's understanding matters all that much when it comes to these decisions.  All that really matters is that the plates get distributed to the correct locations, right?  I don't imagine they really care if we can keep Grady and Greer straight, so long as the right plates end up at the right office.

The counties starting with B both contain examples and one counterexample–they are all the first two letters, except Barton (which gets BT, because Barber uses BA). However, the counterexample is Bourbon, which gets BB, even though nobody in Kansas has BO.

Looking at the list, however, the assertion that I read is proven to be incorrect–there's plenty of counterexamples, including SG.

Oh, OK.  I really did understand you, then.  Yes, there is a boatload of counterexamples–such that we must dismiss the notion that it's actually a guiding principle at all.

[Scott5114]

Scott--could you have been referring to the section of the Wikipedia article on Kansas license plates that explains the county coding system?

That could have been it, yes.

By the way, I haven't bothered cross-checking my map against the current Wikipedia page on Oklahoma license plate county codes.  Judging by the footnote reference in the same section, though, I'm guessing the data came straight out of Eric Tanner's website anyway.

Well, if someone's put the list on there already, I can at least justify updating the map on matching that list, even if it's unsourced. Having two unsourced, incompatible lists is a less tenuous situation than having one unsourced list that's consistent between two instances, and having it based on something at that least claims to be from the real world is better than something some guy made up to fill spaces on a map.

I suppose there was some degree of logic to it, but I think I put more of a premium on the principle of least astonishment, that is, "a layperson can easily guess what the code is/what a code means", than DPS did.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  I don't think a layperson's understanding matters all that much when it comes to these decisions.  All that really matters is that the plates get distributed to the correct locations, right?  I don't imagine they really care if we can keep Grady and Greer straight, so long as the right plates end up at the right office.

Unlike in Kansas, since the 2009 the actual plate numbers have nothing to do with the counties at all. For a year or two there was no way to identify the county a license plate was issued in at all. The current letter code stickers were only implemented when law enforcement complained about the lack of information. So I suspect that's who the intended end user of the current system is. Sure, you can train an OHP officer to memorize all 77 codes, but I suspect that a small town cop in Stringtown or whatever is probably a lot closer to a layperson than society would care to admit.

For what it's worth, there are a couple little quirks to the Oklahoma license plate coding system:
- I think you can still request a non-county-coded sticker if you want. I keep seeing stickers of the design used before county codes existed even on the blue plates introduced years after the county stickers were introduced.
- License plates in Oklahoma are issued through a private business called a tag agency. You can conduct business with any tag agency in the state to fulfill whatever license-plate-and-driver-license-related needs you have. They apply the correct month-and-county and year stickers for you behind the counter when they issue you a plate. I am pretty sure that each tag agency only stocks the twelve stickers of the county they are in; this implies that if my parents in McClain County were to get a new license plate while running errands in Norman, they'd end up with a CL sticker instead of an ML one.

I keep my license plates unframed.  While the main reason is that I just don't care for the look, it also helps remove obscuration of the plate as a possible excuse for a traffic stop.

Same here, with one minor exception; we hit a deer a few years ago and partially shredded the license plate. It started to bend along the seam earlier this year, so I got a frame from my alma mater to keep the plate from falling apart. It only partially obscures the registration sticker, but you can still tell it has the right year color. If I ever get pulled over for it before next January (when I get a new sticker) I'll explain the situation and tell the cop that I'll head to the county treasurer's office and get an unnecessary new sticker.

Were I in that position, I'd probably try to get the whole plate replaced as soon as financially feasible (unless the fee structure is such that "never" is when that would be).

Potential license plate damage due to small debris and other objects striking the front bumper cover is one reason why I'm glad Oklahoma is not a front-plate state.

[kphoger]

Unlike in Kansas, since the 2009 the actual plate numbers have nothing to do with the counties at all. For a year or two there was no way to identify the county a license plate was issued in at all. The current letter code stickers were only implemented when law enforcement complained about the lack of information. So I suspect that's who the intended end user of the current system is. Sure, you can train an OHP officer to memorize all 77 codes, but I suspect that a small town cop in Stringtown or whatever is probably a lot closer to a layperson than society would care to admit.

Forgive my ignorance, but why would a police officer need to easily identify what county a license plate is from?

[kalvado]

Unlike in Kansas, since the 2009 the actual plate numbers have nothing to do with the counties at all. For a year or two there was no way to identify the county a license plate was issued in at all. The current letter code stickers were only implemented when law enforcement complained about the lack of information. So I suspect that's who the intended end user of the current system is. Sure, you can train an OHP officer to memorize all 77 codes, but I suspect that a small town cop in Stringtown or whatever is probably a lot closer to a layperson than society would care to admit.

Forgive my ignorance, but why would a police officer need to easily identify what county a license plate is from?

So that they don't piss off local tax base too much... Robin Hood tax should be applied to strangers, preferably out of state ones.

[kphoger]

Unlike in Kansas, since the 2009 the actual plate numbers have nothing to do with the counties at all. For a year or two there was no way to identify the county a license plate was issued in at all. The current letter code stickers were only implemented when law enforcement complained about the lack of information. So I suspect that's who the intended end user of the current system is. Sure, you can train an OHP officer to memorize all 77 codes, but I suspect that a small town cop in Stringtown or whatever is probably a lot closer to a layperson than society would care to admit.

Forgive my ignorance, but why would a police officer need to easily identify what county a license plate is from?

So that they don't piss off local tax base too much... Robin Hood tax should be applied to strangers, preferably out of state ones.

I'm aware of the phenomenon.

(1) I'm guessing that's not what they actually said.

(2) What do cops do in other states?  Give all in-state drivers a pass, not just in-county drivers?

[gonealookin]

A new one available in Nevada.  It never ends... 

The UFC joins the Raiders and the Golden Knights as professional sports organizations with Nevada specialty license plates. As of April 30, the Golden Knights plates have 61,656 active registrations, while the Raiders have 30,218.

The recently launched UFC Foundation focuses on advocating for youth, public service, equality and for those overcoming critical and life threatening illnesses.
...
The DMV offers 50 license plates that support charitable causes, including 10 styles of veteran plates that support the Nevada Veterans Homes, according to Kevin Malone, DMV spokesman. The DMV offers another 28 specialty plates available to the public that do not support a charity, such as 1982 replica plates and classic vehicle plates.

The Golden Knights have been in Nevada longer, but I think the Raiders are catching up fast as I see a lot of the Raiders' silver and black ones (the first two letters on the standard nonpersonalized Raiders plate being AL) up here in Northern Nevada.

[jdbx]

When I first moved back to Ohio from New Hampshire, I had to have my car serviced.  It still had NH plates on it.  When I got it back from the dealer, they had installed one of their dealership frames on it.  The next week, when I replaced my NH plates with OH plates, that frame went in the trash.  I thought that was a pretty ballsy move on the dealership's part.

The only circumstance I would even consider letting a dealer put an advertising frame on my vehicle would be if it included a discount on services.  And even then, I would simply remove it when I got home, and re-install it prior to my next service visit.

[Scott5114]

Unlike in Kansas, since the 2009 the actual plate numbers have nothing to do with the counties at all. For a year or two there was no way to identify the county a license plate was issued in at all. The current letter code stickers were only implemented when law enforcement complained about the lack of information. So I suspect that's who the intended end user of the current system is. Sure, you can train an OHP officer to memorize all 77 codes, but I suspect that a small town cop in Stringtown or whatever is probably a lot closer to a layperson than society would care to admit.

Forgive my ignorance, but why would a police officer need to easily identify what county a license plate is from?

What, you expect the Oklahoma government to actually give reasons for the things it does?

[kalvado]

Unlike in Kansas, since the 2009 the actual plate numbers have nothing to do with the counties at all. For a year or two there was no way to identify the county a license plate was issued in at all. The current letter code stickers were only implemented when law enforcement complained about the lack of information. So I suspect that's who the intended end user of the current system is. Sure, you can train an OHP officer to memorize all 77 codes, but I suspect that a small town cop in Stringtown or whatever is probably a lot closer to a layperson than society would care to admit.

Forgive my ignorance, but why would a police officer need to easily identify what county a license plate is from?

What, you expect the Oklahoma government to actually give reasons for the things it does?

At least have some reasons, even if they are unpublished. Is that still too much to ask?

[DJ Particle]

A new one available in Nevada.  It never ends... 

I read that as "WOOO HOOO!!!"  🤣

[kphoger]

Unlike in Kansas, since the 2009 the actual plate numbers have nothing to do with the counties at all. For a year or two there was no way to identify the county a license plate was issued in at all. The current letter code stickers were only implemented when law enforcement complained about the lack of information. So I suspect that's who the intended end user of the current system is. Sure, you can train an OHP officer to memorize all 77 codes, but I suspect that a small town cop in Stringtown or whatever is probably a lot closer to a layperson than society would care to admit.

Forgive my ignorance, but why would a police officer need to easily identify what county a license plate is from?

So that they don't piss off local tax base too much... Robin Hood tax should be applied to strangers, preferably out of state ones.

I was thinking about this...  If that's the real reason, then it wouldn't matter that the codes make any sense at all.  Caddo County could be XW, and Oklahoma County could be YP, and Tulsa County could be IB.  All the cop in Anadarko would have to know is whether or not the vehicle they pulled over is from Caddo County or not:  anything other than XW, which he sees on every car in his county every day, is from somewhere else.