New License Plates Are Making Me Mad!

**nitestokker** · 08-29-06, 01:42 AM

I don't know what college freak decided to have fifty million different plates for every state and change them up each year, but I'd sure like to kick him in the family jewels for that little nugget of wisdom. Five years ago I could peg a plate a mile away and never have a worry. Now you have to be SIX freakin' inches behind the car to ID the sumbitch and by then the people know you're watching them. WTF? I think Colorado alone, for example, has about SIX different colored plates now. I saw one the other day I called in as a MINNESOTA plate because it was BLUE!!!! Gimme a break people!

**Coloradocop** · 08-29-06, 02:08 AM

Yeah, I hear ya. Here in CO we do seem to have about 50 different plates between colleges and "pioneers" and "respecting life", etc... Even the "normal" plate comes in designer colors now.

**Ducky** · 08-29-06, 03:18 AM

http://www.scdmvonline.com/DMVNew/pl...ery.aspx?q=All

I think I counted 85 different plates for SC. I'm not exaggerating.

**Big Al** · 08-29-06, 07:42 AM

What do you all think about the "firefighter" tags?

I think they are a joke, personally!!

**Vendetta** · 08-29-06, 07:57 AM

South Carolina Chiropractic Association

I like this one I bet they sell alot of these.

I find it strange that all the NASCAR plates have nice graphics and colors......but the Vet and Purple Heart tags are just pressed out.

**BigDawg** · 08-29-06, 07:58 AM

Hell I registered a 5th wheel RV in Vermont a couple of months ago and actually got mad at them. They offer a specialty plate for Fire Fighters, but none for LEO.

**TXCharlie** · 08-29-06, 08:04 AM

Off the subject a bit, but now Texas custom plates are flat, printed on a laser printer on the spot... And the new registration stickers are stuck on with a big piece of tape.

Hmmm... Did Austin think the counterfeiters needed help?

**Vendetta** · 08-29-06, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by Big Al491

What do you all think about the "firefighter" tags?

I think they are a joke, personally!!

Hey now watch it.............I have FF tags but I have every since I was 18. But now they have my unit # on them from the S.O. I want NLEOMF plates but they are expensive

**Virginian** · 08-29-06, 08:44 AM

FOP tags are the closest to law enforcement that I've seen, I hadn't seen the NLEOMF ones yet. I heard conalabu has NAMBLA tags.

**TXCharlie** · 08-29-06, 09:42 AM

Nite, here's a list of Texas Specality Plates, all different designs:
Memorize them all, there will be a test after class

I was going to link all of them, but I could only link the top categories because I ran up against the max number of characters in a post (10,000)

Austin College
Baylor University
Lubbock Christian University
Prairie View A&M University
Rice University
Sam Houston State University
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University
Stephen F. Austin State University
Sul Ross State University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University, Commerce
Texas Christian University
Texas Southern University
Texas State University
Texas Tech University
University of Houston
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
University of North Texas
University of Saint Thomas
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
West Texas A&M University

Airborne Parachutists
Armed Forces Reserve
Congressional Medal of Honor
Desert Storm Veteran
Disabled Veteran
Distinguished Flying Cross Medal
Enduring Freedom Veterans
Former Prisoner of War
Gold Star Mother
Korea Veteran
Legion of Valor
Marine Corps League
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Pearl Harbor Survivor
Purple Heart Recipient
Texas Guard
Texas Wing Civil Air Patrol
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Army
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Navy
Vietnam Veteran
World War II Veteran
4-H
Air Force Association
American Quarter Horse Association
Animal Friendly
Be A Blood Donor
Big Bend National Park
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Boy Scouts of America
Coastal Conservation (Redfish)
Cotton Boll
Ducks Unlimited (Waterfowl and Wetland Conservation)
El Paso Mission Valley
Fight Terrorism
Girl Scouts
Go Texan (Texas Agricultural Products)
God Bless America
God Bless Texas
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
I Love Texas (Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing)
Keep Texas Beautiful (Don't Mess With Texas)
Knights of Columbus
Lone Star Proud for Kids (Volunteer Advocate)
March of Dimes
Marine Mammal Recovery
Native Texan (Daughters Of The Republic Of Texas)
Organ Donor
Read to Succeed
Red Grapefruit (Texas Citrus Industry)
Share The Road
Smile Texas Style
Space Shuttle Columbia
Special Olympics Texas
State Capitol
State of the Arts (Texas Commission on the Arts)
Texans Conquer Cancer
Texas Aerospace Commission
Texas Lions Camp
Texas Master Gardener
Texas Music
Texas Parks and Wildlife Conservation (Horned Lizard)
Texas Parks and Wildlife Conservation (Bluebonnet)
Texas Parks and Wildlife Conservation (Largemouth Bass)
Texas Parks and Wildlife Conservation (White-tailed Deer)
Texas Reads
Texas State Rifle Association
Texas Young Lawyers (And Justice for All)
Texas.-It's Like a Whole Other Country (Texas Department of Economic Development)
United States Olympic Committee (Olympic Spirit)
United We Stand
Urban Forestry
YMCA
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Stars
Houston Texans
Texas Rangers
Emergency Medical Services
Former Military Vehicle
Parade Vehicle
Peace Officer (To Protect and Serve)
Professional Fire Fighter
Radio Operator
Texas Constables
Volunteer Firefighter (Certified Firefighter)

Antique Vehicle
Classic Auto
Classic Motorcycle
Classic Travel Trailer
Classic Truck

**kingpervis** · 08-29-06, 10:08 AM

Here are just some of the plates in Minnesota:

CRITICAL HABITAT

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS
These are the worst plates ever. You can't even read them until you are right on them because of the poor color contrasts...

And here is a regular Minnesota plate:

There are many more plates in addition to these, including collegiate plates, veteran plates, RV plates, Motorcycle plates and "whiskey plates" for alcohol offenders.

**jmur5074** · 08-29-06, 10:19 AM

Thanks pervis, you just saved me some time.

One thing thats nice, at least by me...those are pretty much the ONLY plates you see......there aren't many "novelty" plates down by me, with the exception of the Support our Troops, and Critical Habitat. The only other one I see often is FF plates...not bad.

**conalabu** · 08-29-06, 11:05 AM

I agree with ya, Nite. This is another pet peeve of mine. I seem to be getting a big collection of pet peeves lately. But anyway, yeah, it is getting to the point I can't even recognize my own state plates.

**KaiGywer** · 08-29-06, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by kingpervis

Here are just some of the plates in Minnesota:

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS
These are the worst plates ever. You can't even read them until you are right on them because of the poor color contrasts...

I have these, but I definately agree they are hard to read. Did they ever decide if they are gonna lighten the background a little? Read something about that in the paper.

**TXCharlie** · 08-29-06, 06:33 PM

Wow that is hard to read - They may as well use a camouflage background

**kingpervis** · 08-29-06, 11:55 PM

Originally Posted by KaiGywer

I have these, but I definately agree they are hard to read. Did they ever decide if they are gonna lighten the background a little? Read something about that in the paper.

I sure hope so. Of course, that does nothing for the bad plates already out there that are destined to be on these vehicles for their 7 year life cycle...

**nitestokker** · 08-30-06, 12:24 AM

Another thing that sucks for me is the little expiration sticker in the corner. Some states like Wyoming cannot even be deciphered without a microscope because they put the month AND year on a sticker the size of a goddamn postage stamp. But in NE they have only the month on them and the color scheme changes due to the year. Example: 2006 is a white number on a blue background. 2007 is a white number on a green background. How in the hell am I supposed to tell the difference at night? Even in the daylight it is sometimes a bitch to read. You can call it in for expiration only, but if you have a crappy dispatcher, good luck finding the car when the dumbass gives you the info twenty minutes later!

**Bosco3379** · 08-30-06, 12:52 AM

Come to Ontario, we only have one kind of plate here

**bird1** · 08-30-06, 01:07 AM

from the illinois plate guide 2004.
passenger
deaf or hard of hearing
ham radio operator
b-truck plates for trks under 8000 pounds ( 3 types )
armed forces reserve
bronze star
medal of honor
disabled veteran
ex-pow
gold star
korean war vet
illinois nat'l guard
pearl harbor survivor
purple heart
retired armed forces
silver star
universal veteran
pow/mia
collegiate plate ( from all schools )
enviromental (2 types )
organ donor ( 2 types )
firefighters memorial
police memorial
mammogram
master mason
wildlife prairie park
prevent violence (2 types )
illinois/michigan canal
mayor
sporting series plates ( 6 types)
handicapped (2 types )
motorcycle ( 2 types)
conservation plates
thats just for passenger vehicles

**OffDuty** · 08-30-06, 01:18 AM

Add Indiana to the F'd up state list too. Apparently noone at the BMV has a clue how hard it is to read the plate month (and year) stickers from more than 12 inches.

We have split expiration months (like 15th and 30th of a given month), and two of the months (Feb and Sep) have near identical blue stickers...with BLACK print.

And the plate letter was originally fairly visible, same font size as the numbers- it just needed spaced out a bit...

so what did they do? Change to a smaller number, with an even smaller letter.

Good luck reading them. If I ever meet the guy in charge of the BMV, my first goal is to kick him square in the nuts.

And Im not going there with the specialty plate issues.. that all need a special two letter "specialty" code to run the plate...good luck memorizing all the codes. Fockers.