License Plate News

[democratic nole]

Several years ago, Florida was embarking on a redesign of its license plates, because they suck (official story). However, due to some complaints by the license plate vendor the state uses, the plan to change designs got scrapped and we have continued to be stuck with these shitty license plates. Is there a worse regular state plate in the country than this:

The MyFlorida.com crap is awful and embarrassing.

Well, yeah.


You have the tourism website, plus the hard-to-read black-and-blue color scheme, plain Eurostile font, and the silhouette is badly traced over one of the first results for "scissortail flycatcher" on Google Image Search. All borne out of a rush job to try and fill up the state coffers without officially raising taxes, because that's constitutionally hard to do in Oklahoma. Thanks, Fallin!

I will admit that Oklahoma's plate is similarly awful and both are one plate states (also wrong in my book).

Michigan is pretty bland. Texas too.

I preferred the old Texas plate with the space shuttle on it, but even the simplistic Texas plates with black lettering look better than the Florida plate.

[interstatefan990]

The last-gen New York plates will always be one of my least favorite license plate designs. It's just really drab, and it doesn't go well with dealer frames either. I'd really like to get mine changed soon.

[oscar]

The last-gen New York plates will always be one of my least favorite license plate designs. It's just really drab, and it doesn't go well with dealer frames either. I'd really like to get mine changed soon.

Why the love for dealer frames? I hate them, especially when they obscure essential information such as the state name. I quickly removed the ones that came with my cars, though the dealers also used stickers or other ways to advertise themselves on my cars.

Whatever the NY plates' other deficiencies, they at least use large fonts that make the most of the available plate space.

[jakeroot]

I've always had a thing for black/dark blue-on-yellow plates. Very easy to read. Alaska has similar plates which are particularly nice in the snowy environment.

In the case of New York: their new plates look just like dozens of other states. Nothing unique at all. Their old plates could be spotted a mile away while also being spectacularly simple. It's too bad more states don't take their cue and use simple-but-unique designs.

One credit for New York, however: nothing behind the plate number (besides the authentication logo). Massive props for at least maintaining that design standard.

Oh, and to kphoger, as I didn't mention it before: thank you for info re: Mexican plates. I just saw a Mexico City plate here in WA the other day, and it looked very nice.

[CardInLex]

Kentucky's new flat plate designs continue to roll out. All plates are transitioning to flat plates with all the text right justified. The standard plates (there are two – with/without "IN GOD WE TRUST" ) have a Kentucky icon on the left.

https://secure.kentucky.gov/kytc/plates/web/#9b02e588-632a-4842-bc61-02cedfc3a2fb

[OCGuy81]

it almost seems as if they're making it too difficult. there may be reasons for not doing this that are beyond my understanding, but...

what if we just put a largish 2d barcode on the plates, instead of letters and numbers? i mean, if they can read my plate with an ocr from a decent distance. the 2d barcode can have much more info in it (you could stick a GUID in it quite easily) and it would still be 'sparse' enough to be easily scanned.. not that i want to make 'their' job any easier, but it would nicely solve the problem.

or is that my medication talking?

Weren't we supposed to have barcode license plates by 2015? Back to the Future II seemed to think so....of course we also were supposed to have flying cars.

[interstatefan990]

The last-gen New York plates will always be one of my least favorite license plate designs. It's just really drab, and it doesn't go well with dealer frames either. I'd really like to get mine changed soon.

Why the love for dealer frames? I hate them, especially when they obscure essential information such as the state name. I quickly removed the ones that came with my cars, though the dealers also used stickers or other ways to advertise themselves on my cars.

Whatever the NY plates' other deficiencies, they at least use large fonts that make the most of the available plate space.

I don't love dealer frames. In fact, I took those off my car when I brought it home. But a lot of people don't, so it makes those license plates way less aesthetically appealing.

[Occidental Tourist]

it almost seems as if they're making it too difficult. there may be reasons for not doing this that are beyond my understanding, but...

what if we just put a largish 2d barcode on the plates, instead of letters and numbers? i mean, if they can read my plate with an ocr from a decent distance. the 2d barcode can have much more info in it (you could stick a GUID in it quite easily) and it would still be 'sparse' enough to be easily scanned.. not that i want to make 'their' job any easier, but it would nicely solve the problem.

or is that my medication talking?

Weren't we supposed to have barcode license plates by 2015? Back to the Future II seemed to think so....of course we also were supposed to have flying cars.

I'd be happier if they'd bring back the Golden State base plate.

[machias]

Registered the car in Arizona today. We have a "waterproof paper"  license plate until the real plate arrives in the mail within the next 10 days.  The format is AAANAA. The person that got their new plate ahead of us was nowhere near the same characters as we received. It seemed truly random.

[machias]

The last-gen New York plates will always be one of my least favorite license plate designs. It's just really drab, and it doesn't go well with dealer frames either. I'd really like to get mine changed soon.

I was a big fan of the blue on gold plates when I was a kid back in the 1970s, but even though the Empire Gold plates had a few more frills than the original blue on gold plates, the Empire Gold plates just looked cheaper.

[kphoger]

The last-gen New York plates will always be one of my least favorite license plate designs. It's just really drab, and it doesn't go well with dealer frames either. I'd really like to get mine changed soon.

That's one of my favorites.  It's also really easy for my sons to identify when we're license plate spotting during a road trip.  Oh, and dealer frames are an abomination.

it almost seems as if they're making it too difficult. there may be reasons for not doing this that are beyond my understanding, but...

what if we just put a largish 2d barcode on the plates, instead of letters and numbers? i mean, if they can read my plate with an ocr from a decent distance. the 2d barcode can have much more info in it (you could stick a GUID in it quite easily) and it would still be 'sparse' enough to be easily scanned.. not that i want to make 'their' job any easier, but it would nicely solve the problem.

What problem would that solve?  We're not running out of combinations.  States just have to switch series every so often.

Besides, humans still have to read license plates.

For example, if I'm stopped by a police officer in Mexico, they have to visually match my license plate to my import paperwork.

Or how about when my best friend was selling his pickup and had it parked in a lot half a block away from his apartment with a FOR SALE sign in the window–then noticed one day that someone had stolen his license plate and replaced itwith an expired out-of-county plate instead.  If your license plate were just a big barcode, would you notice if someone had done that?

[kalvado]

it almost seems as if they're making it too difficult. there may be reasons for not doing this that are beyond my understanding, but...

what if we just put a largish 2d barcode on the plates, instead of letters and numbers? i mean, if they can read my plate with an ocr from a decent distance. the 2d barcode can have much more info in it (you could stick a GUID in it quite easily) and it would still be 'sparse' enough to be easily scanned.. not that i want to make 'their' job any easier, but it would nicely solve the problem.

What problem would that solve?  We're not running out of combinations.  States just have to switch series every so often.

Besides, humans still have to read license plates.

For example, if I'm stopped by a police officer in Mexico, they have to visually match my license plate to my import paperwork.

Or how about when my best friend was selling his pickup and had it parked in a lot half a block away from his apartment with a FOR SALE sign in the window–then noticed one day that someone had stolen his license plate and replaced itwith an expired out-of-county plate instead.  If your license plate were just a big barcode, would you notice if someone had done that?

I would envision a barcode - or maybe embedded radio readable chip? -  not replacing, but being added to the text. Machine readability seems a big deal for things like AET, and I suspect there may be quite a few applications outside of AET. Existing image recognition has enough glitches to consider alternatives; barcode is a low to no cost one; chip may be more expensive but more future-proof.

[kphoger]

it almost seems as if they're making it too difficult. there may be reasons for not doing this that are beyond my understanding, but...

what if we just put a largish 2d barcode on the plates, instead of letters and numbers? i mean, if they can read my plate with an ocr from a decent distance. the 2d barcode can have much more info in it (you could stick a GUID in it quite easily) and it would still be 'sparse' enough to be easily scanned.. not that i want to make 'their' job any easier, but it would nicely solve the problem.

What problem would that solve?  We're not running out of combinations.  States just have to switch series every so often.

Besides, humans still have to read license plates.

For example, if I'm stopped by a police officer in Mexico, they have to visually match my license plate to my import paperwork.

Or how about when my best friend was selling his pickup and had it parked in a lot half a block away from his apartment with a FOR SALE sign in the window–then noticed one day that someone had stolen his license plate and replaced itwith an expired out-of-county plate instead.  If your license plate were just a big barcode, would you notice if someone had done that?

I would envision a barcode - or maybe embedded radio readable chip? -  not replacing, but being added to the text. Machine readability seems a big deal for things like AET, and I suspect there may be quite a few applications outside of AET. Existing image recognition has enough glitches to consider alternatives; barcode is a low to no cost one; chip may be more expensive but more future-proof.

So, like what Mexico is already doing?  It's called a "two-dimensional security code" (código de seguridad).  Note the QR codes on the plates below.

Nearly anything you want to know about the recent standards for Mexican license plate design can be found in this SCT publication from June 2016 (.pdf warning).

The section pertinent to our discussion has the figure below to go along with it:



And my translation of the heading:

The area for alphanumeric characters on the plate series shall be exclusive and free of figures, emblems, or legend that hinder its legibility, by visual or electronic means, as shown in Figure 'D'.

You can see how states have implemented these rules to a varying degree of strictness below (sample):

[kalvado]

it almost seems as if they're making it too difficult. there may be reasons for not doing this that are beyond my understanding, but...

what if we just put a largish 2d barcode on the plates, instead of letters and numbers? i mean, if they can read my plate with an ocr from a decent distance. the 2d barcode can have much more info in it (you could stick a GUID in it quite easily) and it would still be 'sparse' enough to be easily scanned.. not that i want to make 'their' job any easier, but it would nicely solve the problem.

What problem would that solve?  We're not running out of combinations.  States just have to switch series every so often.

Besides, humans still have to read license plates.

For example, if I'm stopped by a police officer in Mexico, they have to visually match my license plate to my import paperwork.

Or how about when my best friend was selling his pickup and had it parked in a lot half a block away from his apartment with a FOR SALE sign in the window–then noticed one day that someone had stolen his license plate and replaced itwith an expired out-of-county plate instead.  If your license plate were just a big barcode, would you notice if someone had done that?

I would envision a barcode - or maybe embedded radio readable chip? -  not replacing, but being added to the text. Machine readability seems a big deal for things like AET, and I suspect there may be quite a few applications outside of AET. Existing image recognition has enough glitches to consider alternatives; barcode is a low to no cost one; chip may be more expensive but more future-proof.

So, like what Mexico is already doing?  It's called a "two-dimensional security code" (código de seguridad).  Note the QR codes on the plates below.

[/quote]

If that is to be read remotely, I would imagine QR code taking significant portion of the plate, like most of left/right side. And I know nobody likes the idea of two line text...

[kurumi]

Delaware license plates with low numbers are worth thousands: https://www.psychnewsdaily.com/study-of-delaware-license-plates-puts-a-price-tag-on-social-status-signalling/

[route56]

Saw two "paper" license tags on my commute this morning, one with the last three characters "NZZ", the other with the last three characters "PAN". So, it appears that Kansas is avoiding "I" and "O" on general-issue license plates

[OCGuy81]

Saw two "paper" license tags on my commute this morning, one with the last three characters "NZZ", the other with the last three characters "PAN". So, it appears that Kansas is avoiding "I" and "O" on general-issue license plates

Interesting.  Does Kansas assign the actual license plate number on a paper tag?

[Angelo71]

I know this is probably unrelated, I just saw license plates, but Virginia should readopt this license plate. https://imgur.com/Vb8eCMj

[StogieGuy7]

Kentucky's new flat plate designs continue to roll out. All plates are transitioning to flat plates with all the text right justified. The standard plates (there are two – with/without "IN GOD WE TRUST" ) have a Kentucky icon on the left.

https://secure.kentucky.gov/kytc/plates/web/#9b02e588-632a-4842-bc61-02cedfc3a2fb

Have seen these in the wild, and they look like crap.  For one thing, flat plates simply look fake to me. They are easily obscured by glare or more easily tampered with, rendering them illegible.  And the basic outline of the state followed by off-centered 3M font digits is garbage. Not only does it irritate my OCD, but such a change was unnecessary.  The old design was just fine.

[OCGuy81]

Kentucky's new flat plate designs continue to roll out. All plates are transitioning to flat plates with all the text right justified. The standard plates (there are two – with/without "IN GOD WE TRUST" ) have a Kentucky icon on the left.

https://secure.kentucky.gov/kytc/plates/web/#9b02e588-632a-4842-bc61-02cedfc3a2fb

Have seen these in the wild, and they look like crap.  For one thing, flat plates simply look fake to me. They are easily obscured by glare or more easily tampered with, rendering them illegible.  And the basic outline of the state followed by off-centered 3M font digits is garbage. Not only does it irritate my OCD, but such a change was unnecessary.  The old design was just fine.

But are they as bad as the infamous sunshine plates of the early 2000s? 

[StogieGuy7]

Kentucky's new flat plate designs continue to roll out. All plates are transitioning to flat plates with all the text right justified. The standard plates (there are two – with/without "IN GOD WE TRUST" ) have a Kentucky icon on the left.

https://secure.kentucky.gov/kytc/plates/web/#9b02e588-632a-4842-bc61-02cedfc3a2fb

Have seen these in the wild, and they look like crap.  For one thing, flat plates simply look fake to me. They are easily obscured by glare or more easily tampered with, rendering them illegible.  And the basic outline of the state followed by off-centered 3M font digits is garbage. Not only does it irritate my OCD, but such a change was unnecessary.  The old design was just fine.

But are they as bad as the infamous sunshine plates of the early 2000s?

In some ways, worse.  Yes, the childish Raisin Bran smiling sun was atrocious.  But the rest of the plate (font, design and yes embossed) still held up. My issue here is that this thing looks so cheap and lousy that one could make their own and it would be an improvement over this off-centered thing. 

Embossed plates have more tensile strength, btw.  So they'll last longer than easily recycled flat plates. 

[Angelo71]

I like the Kentucky Plates. I like the designs more though.

[route56]

Interesting.  Does Kansas assign the actual license plate number on a paper tag?

When you get a new plate in Kansas in the "flat" tag era, you get a 30-day interim* tag with the license plate number and the plate type printed, along with the registration decal at the county treasurer's office. The plate itself is printed at a central facility (either Topeka or Wichita) and mailed out. You're supposed to notify the Department of Revenue if you don't receive the plate or if the numbers don't match.

* I use "interim" to distinguish the paper tag you receive at the courthouse from the 60-day Temporary tag that you get while getting all the paperwork together to get a car titled.

[OCGuy81]

Interesting.  Does Kansas assign the actual license plate number on a paper tag?

When you get a new plate in Kansas in the "flat" tag era, you get a 30-day interim* tag with the license plate number and the plate type printed, along with the registration decal at the county treasurer's office. The plate itself is printed at a central facility (either Topeka or Wichita) and mailed out. You're supposed to notify the Department of Revenue if you don't receive the plate or if the numbers don't match.

* I use "interim" to distinguish the paper tag you receive at the courthouse from the 60-day Temporary tag that you get while getting all the paperwork together to get a car titled.

Thanks for clarifying!

[andrepoiy]

In Ontario, when you register a car, you get your license in-person, right there. I'm assuming that each location has a stash of plates and they just punch in the serial into the database or something when they issue a plate.  So we don't really see un-plated cars or cars with temporary tags.

Waiting for license plates to come in the mail is so foreign to me haha.