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All of the vehicle license plates available in America

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Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#221
post #24

Do they do NPR, number plate recognition, in the US. There is a lot of it in the UK, in fact I think average speed checks are based on them. I would have thought it would be hard with all that decoration.

We call it ALPR - Automatic License Plate Recognition and it is both controversial and omnipresent. Average speed checks are not a thing here, ALPR is used primarily for toll collection ("pay by plate") and secondarily for law enforcement and asset reposession. (If you drive with a suspended license or don't pay a car loan, a mobile ALPR may bust you) Most plates are still legible to these systems despite the decorat…

> People do stuff like obscuring the plate with a bike rack, a magnetic leaf, tinted license plate cover, etc

Just get a Tennessee plate -- they decided to use a background color with a text color that both show as the same under IR, so most ALPRs can't read them (at night at least). They refuse to change it, last I checked.

* https://www.newschannel5.com/news/capturing-new-tennessee-ta...

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#222
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you have to get caught first. USA is bigger on pulling vehicles over for ??? reasons than most other places. I’m figuring in UK if you get a DUI, it’s because you were driving allll over the place or got into a 3am collision.

I don't get your point. Are you defending people driving drunk in the USA because they are more likely to be caught? In my country it's also common to get caught after being stopped for speeding or car malfunction (like missing headlight), after a minor crash, by driving in a suspicious way, or just during a random check (that police is allowed to do). In total, around 450 drivers out of 1000 are tested for drunk-dri…

0.02 seems absolutely insanely low.

Being awake for 17 hours (working late) is similar to having a BAC of 0.05%. [1]

Being awake for 24 hours (working a double shift) is similar to having a BAC of 0.10%

Simply talking on a phone while driving has been shown to be similar to a BAC of 0.08%.

Texting while driving is equivalent to a BAC of 0.19%! [2]

It seems like 0.02% BAC would be similar to listening to the radio.

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/work-hour-training-for-nurses/long...

https://facilities.uw.edu/blog/posts/2016/07/26/texting-and-....

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is going to sound maybe insensitive but I've noticed driving drunk is a cultural thing. I've been with certain groups of people and pretty much it seems everyone and their cousin has a DUI and no one regarded it as a major crime. It sounds crazy but I bet if you were born 40 years earlier, you wouldn't care. Drunk driving wasn't even a thing until Mothers Against Drunk Driving made it a thing in the 80s. I don't…

There's also drunk driving the crime and drunk driving the act. What I mean by this is that when people go out to eat lunch or dinner, they drive to the restaurant. They obviously need to drive back when they're done. They obviously also had some good drinks while they were there; beer, wine, the works. Even just a sip of alcohol will count as drunk driving, legally speaking. The police largely turn a blind eye to th…

In the US most states have a BAC requirement above 0.00 to be drunk driving (so "a sip" of alcohol doesn't qualify). Also the idea that no one should buy liquor at 10 pm or that it is strange to get drinks for someone's party is odd. Why would the liquor stores be open if no one needed liquor then?

Your statement seems pretty judgmental.

But yes, we agree don't drink and drive.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#224
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The theory is they'll just drive anyway without a license. Plus in many/most parts of the US, a car is effectively required to live, so removing one's ability to drive is a seriously major punishment. The whiskey plate indicates to other drivers that the car could be more dangerous than expected, and yes, I think the shame is supposed to be a component as well. It's harm reduction, not a perfect solution. I don't kno…

>>so removing one's ability to drive is a seriously major punishment. Being caught drunk driving 3(!!!) times is a seriously major crime. I'm a strong advocate for a complete driving ban after a single drunk driving episode, 3 is just crazy to me. I get the argument that in US that basically makes it impossible to get anywhere without a car but I don't know - get a bicycle or something, literally anything is preferab…

Being drunk on a bike is probably even more dangerous than drunk driving a car. Unfortunately, one doesn't need a license to use public roads with a bicycle.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#225

A relative had an immigrant colleague that was intrigued by different US license plates. One day their manager had one that had a new colour scheme that he never saw before. The intrigue overtook him and in a big group he had to ask how he got this new beautiful plate. And how could he get one themself? Turns out the state required you to “wear” this license plate after your third DUI or something. Oops. Edit: looks…

I'm concerned with the "in Ohio, first time OWI offenders are required to stay in jail 3 days"... Like, post-conviction? Or are they punishing before conviction here? It's sort of fucked, considering that there are several medical conditions commonly mistaken for drunk driving.

Yes, post conviction.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#226
post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also drunk driving the crime and drunk driving the act. What I mean by this is that when people go out to eat lunch or dinner, they drive to the restaurant. They obviously need to drive back when they're done. They obviously also had some good drinks while they were there; beer, wine, the works. Even just a sip of alcohol will count as drunk driving, legally speaking. The police largely turn a blind eye to th…

In the US most states have a BAC requirement above 0.00 to be drunk driving (so "a sip" of alcohol doesn't qualify). Also the idea that no one should buy liquor at 10 pm or that it is strange to get drinks for someone's party is odd. Why would the liquor stores be open if no one needed liquor then? Your statement seems pretty judgmental. But yes, we agree don't drink and drive.

I speak from experience and what I've heard.

The police are almost never going to police restaurants, bars, wineries, and other such places even though there will obviously be plenty of potential drunk drivers to arrest. Meanwhile, a friend who parted ways with me after a night out stopped by a liquor store on the way home and was questioned and subsequently arrested (he was legally drunk) as he came out.

The point of this story is that the law states absolutely clearly that noone is allowed to drink and drive. On the other hand, practicality and reality means police will turn a blind eye to certain areas while enforcing the law elsewhere; knowing this is how the real world works is handy and important for what I hope are obvious reasons.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>so removing one's ability to drive is a seriously major punishment. Being caught drunk driving 3(!!!) times is a seriously major crime. I'm a strong advocate for a complete driving ban after a single drunk driving episode, 3 is just crazy to me. I get the argument that in US that basically makes it impossible to get anywhere without a car but I don't know - get a bicycle or something, literally anything is preferab…

This is going to sound maybe insensitive but I've noticed driving drunk is a cultural thing. I've been with certain groups of people and pretty much it seems everyone and their cousin has a DUI and no one regarded it as a major crime. It sounds crazy but I bet if you were born 40 years earlier, you wouldn't care. Drunk driving wasn't even a thing until Mothers Against Drunk Driving made it a thing in the 80s. I don't…

Reminds me of what my dad told me on drunk driving: "It is no longer safe to drink and drive. It used to be the worst that was likely to happen was you would wrap your car around an oak tree and that would be one less idiot in the world. Now the roads are full and you are likely to hurt or kill somebody else."

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#229

Northwest Territories wins best plate every time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of...

If you see a car with those plates in 'the south' (ie where 90+% of the country's population lives), you can presume that a car has physically travelled thousands of kilometres across a vast, nearly unpopulated wilderness to get to where you are. People who live in remote areas seem like hardy people; seeing that someone drove that far proves that they're a hardy person.*

*Of course, the effect is greatly reduced if you see a tourist sample plate that someone bought, with all zeros. That just means the person's been there. Far more impressive if the car's been there.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>so removing one's ability to drive is a seriously major punishment. Being caught drunk driving 3(!!!) times is a seriously major crime. I'm a strong advocate for a complete driving ban after a single drunk driving episode, 3 is just crazy to me. I get the argument that in US that basically makes it impossible to get anywhere without a car but I don't know - get a bicycle or something, literally anything is preferab…

This is going to sound maybe insensitive but I've noticed driving drunk is a cultural thing. I've been with certain groups of people and pretty much it seems everyone and their cousin has a DUI and no one regarded it as a major crime. It sounds crazy but I bet if you were born 40 years earlier, you wouldn't care. Drunk driving wasn't even a thing until Mothers Against Drunk Driving made it a thing in the 80s. I don't…

and I'm sure there's a different timeline where you're a serial rapist.

It's irrelevant to the time and place that we live in now, and drunk drivers are a menace that should be purged from our streets.

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