License Plate News

[pderocco]

I think it'd be funny if the low numbers went back into the pool when they became available, and got assigned to whoever the next guy to register a plate was. So you could have a completely ordinary Toyota Corolla owned by someone who works at Best Buy with a license plate number of 4.

Most states have general issue patterns of ABC 1234, or similar style. There is no room for "low numbers" here, numbers are generally not reused.
It doesn't limit things like governor taking control of some range, say "GVR 1xxx" for their friends, though.
Or they may start printing bumper stickers saying "governor's friend", or whatever politically correct version would be.

You may cut off certain feature used for corruption, but that doesn't touch root causes of it.

Indiana issues plate numbers in the [123ABC] format at random and recycles old, no longer in use numbers.

Mike

They must have screened plates then, instead of embossed ones. Ugh.

[kphoger]

Indiana issues plate numbers in the [123ABC] format at random and recycles old, no longer in use numbers.

They must have screened plates then, instead of embossed ones. Ugh.

Indiana hasn't issued embossed plates in more than twenty years.

[74/171FAN]

PennDOT - Statewide News: License Plates Celebrating PA as Birthplace of American Democracy Now Available

[Road Hog]

Arkansas used to have (and still probably have) license plates that are just digits for National Guard members. 4 digits for enlisted, 3 digits for officers. I understand they are free, but Arkansas charges less than $20 for plates, so not a massive benefit. The hidden charge is the tax on the vehicle which can be up to $200 for a nice Escalade or practically nothing for a hoopty.

[jdbx]

.... Arkansas charges less than $20 for plates, so not a massive benefit. The hidden charge is the tax on the vehicle which can be up to $200 for a nice Escalade or practically nothing for a hoopty.

That is pretty crazy, considering I am paying close to $200 for a 15 year old Civic here in California.  A new care such as an Escalade is easily over $1,200.

[roadfro]

This just randomly appeared in my YouTube algorithm: 

Texas will no longer issue paper temporary plates. 

[kphoger]

"And if you're buying from an individual seller, be prepared to meet at the DMV."

*ugh*

[mgk920]

When I bought my most recent car (from a private party here in Wisconsin), I just mailed in the paperwork and bolted the plates from the old car onto the new one.  Pretty simple.

Mike

[OCGuy81]

PennDOT - Statewide News: License Plates Celebrating PA as Birthplace of American Democracy Now Available

I like this a lot.  I wonder if they'll go back to the previous base after the 250th?

[Ted$8roadFan]

I like the new Pennsylvania plate. My only quibble is the lack of a keystone separator between the letters and numbers.

[mgk920]

I saw an interesting plate today here in Appleton, WI. It was all white with dark blue everything else, very simple and almost generic looking, very 'Texas-like'.  Chihuahua (Mexico) with the number [ERY-(nnn)-B]. I believe that it was not embossed.

Mike

[kphoger]

I saw an interesting plate today here in Appleton, WI. It was all white with dark blue everything else, very simple and almost generic looking, very 'Texas-like'.  Chihuahua (Mexico) with the number [ERY-(nnn)-B]. I believe that it was not embossed.

Was it this?  Standard issue since 2022.



The previous issue was simpler, but I don't think Chihuahua ever switched from ABC-12-34 to ABC-123-D until the new base.

[mgk920]

I saw an interesting plate today here in Appleton, WI. It was all white with dark blue everything else, very simple and almost generic looking, very 'Texas-like'.  Chihuahua (Mexico) with the number [ERY-(nnn)-B]. I believe that it was not embossed.

Was it this?  Standard issue since 2022.



The previous issue was simpler, but I don't think Chihuahua ever switched from ABC-12-34 to ABC-123-D until the new base.

Very similar.  The seal on the lower right was only a thin bark blue outline and text.

Mike

[kphoger]

Very similar.  The seal on the lower right was only a thin bark blue outline and text.

I'm not aware of any new base with a simplified version of the state shield there.  And I confirmed that ERY-nnn-B falls within the Chihuahua range of serial numbers.  Interesting.

[kalvado]

Very similar.  The seal on the lower right was only a thin bark blue outline and text.

I'm not aware of any new base with a simplified version of the state shield there.  And I confirmed that ERY-nnn-B falls within the Chihuahua range of serial numbers.  Interesting.

If it was NYC, my expectation would be it's another ghost plate. With endless tolls imposed by the city, there is a strong trend of going for look-real plates, including (now diminishing) temporary paper, Amazon-sold clones, and what not. 

[kphoger]

If it was NYC, my expectation would be it's another ghost plate. With endless tolls imposed by the city, there is a strong trend of going for look-real plates, including (now diminishing) temporary paper, Amazon-sold clones, and what not. 

It's a pretty ballsy move to rock fake plates in a foreign country.

[kalvado]

If it was NYC, my expectation would be it's another ghost plate. With endless tolls imposed by the city, there is a strong trend of going for look-real plates, including (now diminishing) temporary paper, Amazon-sold clones, and what not. 

It's a pretty ballsy move to rock fake plates in a foreign country.

OF a foreign country, probably along with legit-looking whatever document should be in a car. As if an average cop in WI knows how Mexican paperwork looks like. And if they need to verify anything, would Mexican authorities respond?
There may be a tiny risk of severe action, but may be worth the risk.

[mgk920]

The plate number 'running' system in a USA-based PD should usually be pretty good at handling plates from Canada and Mexico, same as with the various tribes.

Mike

[mgk920]

Also that plate looked to be very new.

Mike

[kphoger]

Also that plate looked to be very new.

I don't doubt that it was a 2022-to-current base issue.  Mexican states generally requires drivers to get a new plate whenever they come out with a new issue, so it's rare to see an older base more than a year or two after the new one comes out.  (This is one reason some states hang onto an old design for longer than others:  they might be facing public pressure to not waste taxpayer money on a new license plate design.  It wouldn't be nearly such a waste of money if they didn't have to make new ones for every vehicle in the state.)  The only question is whether an apparently simplified version of the state shield of Chihuahua constitutes reason to suspect it of being a fake.  Personally, I think it's much more likely that you just saw it wrong, or that the colors had faded in the sunlight prematurely, or something like that.

[Scott5114]

Also that plate looked to be very new.

I don't doubt that it was a 2022-to-current base issue.  Mexican states generally requires drivers to get a new plate whenever they come out with a new issue, so it's rare to see an older base more than a year or two after the new one comes out.  (This is one reason some states hang onto an old design for longer than others:  they might be facing public pressure to not waste taxpayer money on a new license plate design.  It wouldn't be nearly such a waste of money if they didn't have to make new ones for every vehicle in the state.)  The only question is whether an apparently simplified version of the state shield of Chihuahua constitutes reason to suspect it of being a fake.  Personally, I think it's much more likely that you just saw it wrong, or that the colors had faded in the sunlight prematurely, or something like that.

Would a minor change like simplifying the seal be enough of a change to constitute a "new design" and trigger a total replate? I would have to imagine there would be some carve-out in whatever rule causes that which would cover very small changes of that nature (after all, it's relatively routine for US states to make minor adjustments to things like fonts and element placement for marginal gains in readability or manufacturing efficiency, learned from experience in the field; it would make no sense to do a full replate for most of those).

[kphoger]

Would a minor change like simplifying the seal be enough of a change to constitute a "new design" and trigger a total replate? I would have to imagine there would be some carve-out in whatever rule causes that which would cover very small changes of that nature (after all, it's relatively routine for US states to make minor adjustments to things like fonts and element placement for marginal gains in readability or manufacturing efficiency, learned from experience in the field; it would make no sense to do a full replate for most of those).

I don't see any verbiage in the document that specifies either way.  However, the guidelines put forth by the federal government in 2016 are rather strict and uniform.  You might look at Mexico's current issues and think there is a lot of liberty granted to the states in their design but, if you look closely, you'll see that they all contain pretty much the same elements in the same size and in a small list of arrangements.  That particular element in the bottom-right corner of the plate is required to be the state coat of arms (escudo de la entidad federativa);  the document does allow it to be in a different corner than the bottom-right, and some states take advantage of that option, but Chihuahua is not one of them.  There is also a requirement for the coat of arms to be "protected with transparent material to ensure its useful life for a period of three years" (§ 5.3.3).

But, looking around, I do see some states that use a simplified version of their coat or arms.  Baja California's current issue, for example, appears to use a monochrome version of their shield.  So yes, I suppose it's possible that Chihuahua did a minor tweak to its coat of arms recently.  But I still suspect that's not the case.

[kalvado]

Would a minor change like simplifying the seal be enough of a change to constitute a "new design" and trigger a total replate? I would have to imagine there would be some carve-out in whatever rule causes that which would cover very small changes of that nature (after all, it's relatively routine for US states to make minor adjustments to things like fonts and element placement for marginal gains in readability or manufacturing efficiency, learned from experience in the field; it would make no sense to do a full replate for most of those).

I don't see any verbiage in the document that specifies either way.  However, the guidelines put forth by the federal government in 2016 are rather strict and uniform.  You might look at Mexico's current issues and think there is a lot of liberty granted to the states in their design but, if you look closely, you'll see that they all contain pretty much the same elements in the same size and in a small list of arrangements.  That particular element in the bottom-right corner of the plate is required to be the state coat of arms (escudo de la entidad federativa);  the document does allow it to be in a different corner than the bottom-right, and some states take advantage of that option, but Chihuahua is not one of them.  There is also a requirement for the coat of arms to be "protected with transparent material to ensure its useful life for a period of three years" (§ 5.3.3).

But, looking around, I do see some states that use a simplified version of their coat or arms.  Baja California's current issue, for example, appears to use a monochrome version of their shield.  So yes, I suppose it's possible that Chihuahua did a minor tweak to its coat of arms recently.  But I still suspect that's not the case.

Meanwhile:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1159414114/car-plate-state-of-chihuahua-car-plate?gpla=1&gao=1&&gQT=1
And I see a few less correct versions...