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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

#271

Post by Tangurena2 »

manual89 wrote: post #31

Too bad the plate cost data wasn't presented. Was wondering which was the most expensive. In Oregon the cost varies pretty wildly, and some don't have a renewal surcharge.

Generally, if the plate is for a special-interest group, part of the registration fee is a "donation" to that group.

In Kentucky, part of the registration/renewal fee is an "ad valorum" tax (based on the assessed value of the vehicle). The state constitution requires taxes to be based on assessed value. This value drops every year until it hits the minimum assessable value of $200 for (land) vehicles and $100 for motor boats.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#272

Post by Tangurena2 »

danzk wrote: post #187

I thought it was amusing that California has a Horseless Carriage license plate. Doesn't that just mean it's a car?

"Horseless Carriage" is generally the name for license plates for vehicles over 50 years old. "Historic Vehicle" is generally the name for vehicles 25-50 years old. Neither plate is intended for driving on the road. If a cop wants to be a jerk about it, your car is getting towed.

I used to work for a state motor vehicle agency.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#273

Post by madcaptenor »

Kon-Peki wrote: post #145
tzs wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick Google search suggests that there are 760 000 living University of Indians alumni, 640 000 living University of Michigan alumni, around 500 000 living University of Wisconsin alumni, 450 000 living University of Florida alumni, 350 000 living University of Georgia alumni, and 170 000 living Georgia Tech alumni. I think that is all the schools people have mentioned so far. It does seem reasonable that most of…

> I wonder what the smallest group of people is that gets a special plate in every US state? If I had to guess, it would be military in nature. Perhaps the Congressional Medal of Honor? Less than 4000 have ever been awarded. But I just checked 3 different states and only 2 of them offer a special plate for that. So you need something more common to have such a plate in every state.

Hawaii has the fewest plates (14).

Three are things that won't exist elsewhere in the US: Polynesian Voyaging Society, Haleakalā National Park, and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

There's the standard plate, of course.

And there are ten kinds of veteran plates: Purple Heart, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Combat Veteran, Korea Veteran, World War II Veteran, (generic) Veteran, Persian Gulf Veteran, Gold Star Family, Vietnam Veteran - Motorcycle, Vietnam Veteran.

So it has to be some sort of veteran, but searching for "Korea", "Gulf", "Vietnam" makes me think it's not veterans of any specific war.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#274

Post by Moomoomoo309 »

woodruffw wrote: post #173
some_random wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People usually drive their own car, and taking away someone's license can be life destroying in most parts of the country.

This sounds like a good reason to pursue policies that make taking away a license not life destroying, rather than pursuing policies that allow people to destroy lives by continuing to drink-drive.

Easier said than done, unfortunately. In suburbs, that'd require completely changing zoning, adding public transit, and waiting for new stores to be built in or near neighborhoods. In rural areas...I don't even think you can fix it, there's no infrastructure by design. (in cities, this usually isn't insurmountable, so there it'd just be incremental improvements)

The biggest roadblocks are the zoning and the public transit, because NIMBYs will come out of the woodwork to prevent any work being done. What it comes down to is that the people who can make laws affecting DUIs and the people who can lessen car dependency in an area aren't really the same people, so it's much more difficult to get done.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#275

Post by tzs »

madcaptenor wrote: post #273
Kon-Peki wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder what the smallest group of people is that gets a special plate in every US state? If I had to guess, it would be military in nature. Perhaps the Congressional Medal of Honor? Less than 4000 have ever been awarded. But I just checked 3 different states and only 2 of them offer a special plate for that. So you need something more common to have such a plate in every state.

Hawaii has the fewest plates (14). Three are things that won't exist elsewhere in the US: Polynesian Voyaging Society, Haleakalā National Park, and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. There's the standard plate, of course. And there are ten kinds of veteran plates: Purple Heart, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Combat Veteran, Korea Veteran, World War II Veteran, (generic) Veteran, Persian Gulf Veteran, Gold Star Family, Vietnam…

They've got ham radio plates. Like most other states they look just like the standard plate except they have a ham radio callsign instead of something in the format of their normal sequence.

So I guess it will come down to what is the smallest subset of veterans that gets a special plate in every state?

Here in Washington there isn't actually a veterans plate. There are 6 military plates (army, marines, navy, air force, coast guard, and Washington national guard) and a gold star plate.

You also get a decal to indicate status (veteran, retired, active duty, reserves, disabled veteran, army guard, air guard, army retired (for Army National Guard retirees), air retired (like army retired but for Air National Guard), fallen hero (for family members of someone killed in action), family, and gold star.

I'd say a military plate plus the state issued decal that identifies you as a veteran would count as a veteran's plate.

If it is just "veteran" that gets a plate in every state that would be something like 16 million people, which is more than ham radio license holders (under a million).

It is starting to look like there might only be two groups that have plates in all states: veterans and ham radio license holders.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#276

Post by HWR_14 »

brewdad wrote: post #231
HWR_14 wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There are absolutely states where if the officer says you are impaired, you are going to jail. Even if you blow 0.00. Will you be convicted? Probably not but you’ll still get to deal with court costs and paying a few grand to a lawyer. Oh and you get to explain an arrest, that can never be expunged, for the rest of your life.

Why would you have to explain an arrest? And how does that differ from being arrested for a murder you didn't commit and being sent to jail?

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#277

Post by haswell »

hansvm wrote: post #249
Clent wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about my right not to be murdered by a habitual drunk driver?

If it makes you feel any better, you don't have much of a right in the US not to be murdered by habitually sober drivers either [0-4]. Other drivers are often very aggressive [5], there's not all that much you can do to mitigate harm at the time, there's practically nothing you can do to discourage that bad behavior if they didn't actually crash into anything, and even if they do your options can be limited. [0] http…

I can’t compare directly to SF, but I’ve noticed a similar trend in Chicago. Drivers here have always been a bit aggressive, but in years past, I wouldn’t have classified it as downright dangerous.

The things I see now are mind bogglingly stupid and dangerous.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#278

Post by ryandrake »

haswell wrote: post #269
Clent wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about my right not to be murdered by a habitual drunk driver?

I was specifically addressing the argument that driving drunk should automatically result in a permanent ban regardless of frequency. If it’s happening habitually, the penalties are generally more severe, and that seems reasonable. If someone reforms themselves, gets sober, stays sober and can prove that, they’re no longer a habitual drunk driver. To add to a sibling comment, the level of distracted driving happening…

Take a ride on a tall (or double decker) bus, and just look down into random people's cars as they drive. Last time I did that, I'd say close to 80% of the drivers were scrolling through social media or texting while they were driving. It's a massive problem, and I agree it should be treated exactly like DUI and people should have their licenses revoked for repeatedly doing it. Playing with your phone while driving is probably even more dangerous than DUI because it's been so normalized that people doing it don't even realize how much of a menace they are.

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#279

Post by Rebelgecko »

hnbear wrote: post #263
wpsimon3 wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The white on black is so popular that I've heard people inquire about it at the DMV and get upset when the person working there tells them it doesn't exist! The Reviver "RPlate" is strange to me. I can't imagine paying that much myself. BUT, I can see a huge market if they're marketed toward lessors. I have to imagine I'm not the first to think of this, and maybe this is already out in the wild...but if someone misse…

I’d never heard of Reviver till now. Seems to be solving problems I’ve never had. “ Reimagined convenience, personalization, and safety.” a metal plate I got effectively for free from the DMV and screwed to my car is very convenient, and never posed a threat. Sure, I can’t change it from my smartphone, but never wanted to either.

But if you pay them $20/month, you'll be able to save 30 seconds a year by not having to put a new registration sticker on your car

Re: All of the vehicle license plates available in America

#280

Post by mitchdoogle »

gambiting wrote: post #180
coldpie wrote: 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…

Distracted driving is just as bad (or worse) than drunk driving in terms of reaction time. Texting, social media, doing makeup, fiddling with stereo/maps. People routinely do these things and while they are doing them, they are putting themselves and other drivers at serious risk. And yet they don't carry anywhere near the same stigma as drunk driving. My point is, if you're going to be that draconian about drunk driving punishment, you'd better be consistent and adopt the same attitude towards people who text and do tiktoks while behind the wheel.

Personally I don't think either should result in losing a license, at least not for the first offense

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