Do all people in the US drive without a license plate?

[amandalea]

http://www.worldlicenceplates.com/usa/US_XLPR.html

I feel so ashamed of our license plates. Not only are they as boring as watching wood rot; but they haven't really changed since the 60's.

PS-Eh! Canadian dropping in on 'yer US-of-A thread, 'ere!

 

[Labcoatguy]

There are SO MANY OF THEM in South Florida every year, especially in tourist traps like Key West. Thankfully I've never been stuck behind an Ontario or Quebecois RV and had to terminate with extreme prejudice....yet.

 

[Lupin_IV]

http://www.worldlicenceplates.com/usa/US_XLPR.html

NASA has a sense of humor.

 

[Aihyah]

i just feel that the front license plates they have in North America are so obstructive that's why i dont like to put it on, basically its the same thing as the rear plate - the high rectangular shape. but when you put it in the front of the car it just destroys the airflow/looks of the front end.

the euros on the other hand are smart because they use a really slim plate and i've even heard about a sticker? that way even if you have a front plate it doesn't really look out of place. in that case i would actually put one on.

no, the plates on euro cars are very wide and also look out of place. the slimness is offset by the odd looking high visibility lettering that draws attention and so doesn't fit with the rest of the car.
http://www.15q.net/curr.html

http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/world/NA_USAX.html

how nice your plate looks in the us depends on your state.
this ones always amusing

 

[katwalk]

my car has a front plate and it's ugly as fuck and drives me insane

 

[BlaRo]

I've always wondered, what's the suicide rate in New Hampshire?

 

[lip]

"LIVE FREE OR DIE", is that for real!? Oh man, no way!

http://www.15q.net/curr.html

Some of the remarks on those are well on the cheesy side: "Smiling faces, beautiful places". :lol:
Such messages are as unnecessary as those stupid "Welcome" and "Goodbye" infos on mobile- and radio displays.

I allways wondered about the large size of front numberplates in other countries. Ours are very tiny, about half the size of EU front plates, but you can still read them without problems from far away. Maybe because there is no other nonsense on the front plate except the number itself...

Greetings, lip

 

[warren]

I feel so ashamed of our license plates. Not only are they as boring as watching wood rot; but they haven't really changed since the 60's.

PS-Eh! Canadian dropping in on 'yer US-of-A thread, 'ere!

They changed the font on our Ontario plates a few years ago... I like the older style a lot better, with its rounder zeros and bigger crowns.

That said, I'd still rather have our dull and dreary plates than the nonsense they let people get away with in states like South Carolina, where you can get all sorts of nutty custom plates proclaiming your love of Jesus, troops, remembrance of 9/11, liberty, and so on. But even that isn't as bad as Florida's new plates, where you can't even read the name of the state at a glance, because it now says "MYFLORIDA.COM".

Having been through thousands of miles in 15 U.S. states over the last few months, and seeing plates for everything from Alaska to Newfoundland to California to Florida, I can say pretty confidently that we're better off keeping it simple.

 

[warren]

I've always wondered, what's the suicide rate in New Hampshire?

I looked it up ... 2005 statistics say that New Hampshire is 24th out 50 in suicide rates in the country, 12.4 per 100,000 people, with 162 recorded suicides for the year.

Here's a fun fact from my random factoidbag I always seem to carry around with me... back in the 1970s there was a U.S. Supreme Court case whereby a Jehovah's Witness was charged for cutting off the "Or Die" part of his license plate. He was offended by the idea of being put in a position of having to die for the sake of a government; the Supreme Court ruled in his favour, saying that his right to freedom of speech is more important than the state's right to promote their philosophy or logos.

What I like about this story is the fantastic disconnect between the notion of freedom enshrined in the license plate, and the fact that he had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to protect his right to freedom of expression, from the New Hampshire government, that was attempting to imprison him. As George Carlin would say, "it's the old American double-standard: say one thing, do something different."

 

[Greatgraddage]

Had a hire car in california a few years back which had no plates at all. We were assured it was fine!

 

[lip]

Explain your definition of the word "hire".

 

[Nabster]

I'd take my front plate off it the car didn't have a bumper designed with a cutout and a frame behind it specifically for holding the plate in place

They're technically required by our state, but half the cars here don't have them and never once have I heard/read in the court records/seen anyone have any problems because of not having it.

 

[Dr_Grip]

the euros on the other hand are smart because they use a really slim plate and i've even heard about a sticker?

AFAIK the sticker was introduced in germany after massive complaints from first-generation Mazda MX-5 (aka Miata) owners and, at least in the beginning, was only allowed if you could prove a regular license plate would ruin the look of your car. But at least they cared about the look at all.

 

[NooDle]

^same goes for Alfas, they have that V shaped grille, and you can't have the plate infront of that grille since you then block the airflow, and the engine goes all hot and dies even before it normally should

so you end up with a licence plate to the side (usually the left side), which just looks shit.

in short : Good

Ungood :

also : Dutch yellow licence plate on nice maroon coloured car =

 

[sonza68]

Both of my modern cars have no ID in the front, or a place to mount one even if i wanted to.

In states that require front plates, a plastic bracket would be riveted into your front bumper.

 

[Matt2000]

AFAIK the sticker was introduced in germany after massive complaints from first-generation Mazda MX-5 (aka Miata) owners and, at least in the beginning, was only allowed if you could prove a regular license plate would ruin the look of your car. But at least they cared about the look at all.

While the sticker plates are technically illegal here, they are still used for some cars (Jag E-types and competition Land Rovers for example).

 

[Posmo]

In Finland, we need to have both front and rear licence plates. As soon as the police spot you without a plate, they pull you over and fine you.

But from what I've heard, practically all Caterham and Lotus Seven owners in the country (Cant be more than a few dozen, hard to register here) drive without front plates.

The trick is to drive without the plate, and when the cops pull you over, just say: "Oh, it must have fallen off on the motorway, etc." They make an addition to your registration "Need to order a new front plate", and if you don't have one at the next MOT, you wont pass. A new front plate costs 30? and the addition in your registration says that you have 3 months to put a new plate on. So basically, you can drive without a front plate for 3 months for 30?, which equates to 120? a year. If the police pull you over after you have ordered a new plate, you can show them the receipt (sp? is it "receit"?) and they can't fine you Once the 3 month time is over just order a new plate, no need to put it on

 

[H0nzik]

Lots of people started driving without the front plates when the average speed cameras became common here. So they've introduced a 6-12 months driving ban for driving with any of the plates missing. Which really sucks in case you've actually really lost one or got it stolen.

 

[Lupin_IV]

receipt (sp? is it "receit"?)

Receipt contains a silent 'P'.

 

[Heathrow]

In Finland, we need to have both front and rear licence plates. As soon as the police spot you without a plate, they pull you over and fine you.

But from what I've heard, practically all Caterham and Lotus Seven owners in the country (Cant be more than a few dozen, hard to register here) drive without front plates.

.
.

They are pretty hot on it here too, but you may get a recorded warning first.
If you drove without plates any time after 22:00, it?s like saying

?please stop me officer and breathalyse me, cos I?m an idiot.?

no plates = blue rack lights flashing.

And, I saw a Caterham today, with a chromed back end.
Think it had a number on the front, as said ^ above, it was a sticker on the hood.