In my late grade school and high school days, groups of friends from our farming community used to ride their dad’s work mules along the dusty, unpaved red-clay-covered back roads of rural Alabama. I can remember several times then a group of red-neck teens in pick-em up trucks, driving in the opposite direction, would deliberately force us off the road and into the fields and ditches. With only a rear license plate displayed on
With only a rear license plate displayed on Alabama vehicles, and with all the dust in the air, it was often difficult to identify the rednecks. I personally favor two tags per vehicle.
What’s really weird, in Missouri, is that while cars are required to display both front and rear plates, trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 12,000 pounds (which includes many pickup trucks) are only required to display one plate, and then, just on the front – http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/stathtml/30100001301.HTML . . I’d be good with one plate on the rear, for everyone, but if two plates are going to be required for cars, two should be required for trucks and buses, as well. And while we’re at it, how about “real” license plates for government vehicles, not just “made-up” ones!
My pet peeve with license plates, in general, is their graphic design, or, more specifically, their lack, in most cases, of good, unique, high-quality, graphic design. Too many are truly “designed by committee”, and include random icons or slogans that are never legible from more than 20′ away (which is how most plates ARE seen!). The current Missouri plate includes a) the state outline, b) the state bird, and c) by law, the state slogan. I guess we should be thankful that they couldn’t fit in “In God We Trust”, as well, like Indiana and Kentucky now do, or a confederate flag, like the Sons of Confederate Veterans can get in many states.
I’m a much bigger fan of KISS, everything from Missouri’s old maroon plates with white numerals to California’s old black plates and blue plates, New Mexico’s yellow ones with a simple Navajo sun, Wyoming’s bucking bronco and Colorado’s mountain range. They’re all distinctive, read well from a distance and look far classier than most other “modern” designs, although Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and Arizona aren’t bad either. Heck, our previous blue-to-green background was more distinctive than our current shading. Bring back color and contrast. Be bold, be distinctive. Don’t be wimpy!
I sense there are several off-the-clock government officials who would agree with you and would welcome “real” license plates on their gov’t vehicles, driving YOUR CAR, using YOUR GAS, while doing their honey-do errands covertly for the wife or husband. “Real” license plates might make their clandestine errand missions less suspicious.
The bigger issue isn’t license plates, but registration stickers.
Missouri needs to get with states like New York that put them on the inside of the windshield (like the emissions & safety inspection stickers) and not the license plate where they are too easily stolen
I don’t know… I’m sure it helps, but it is also a pain that in order to get those stickers you must go to certain offices — not all have printers which can make those stickers.
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In my late grade school and high school days, groups of friends from our farming community used to ride their dad’s work mules along the dusty, unpaved red-clay-covered back roads of rural Alabama. I can remember several times then a group of red-neck teens in pick-em up trucks, driving in the opposite direction, would deliberately force us off the road and into the fields and ditches. With only a rear license plate displayed on
…hit the wrong button…..
With only a rear license plate displayed on Alabama vehicles, and with all the dust in the air, it was often difficult to identify the rednecks. I personally favor two tags per vehicle.
Rear only! I want to be able to have a vanity plate or support my favorite team on the front plate! LOL! Go Cards!
What’s really weird, in Missouri, is that while cars are required to display both front and rear plates, trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 12,000 pounds (which includes many pickup trucks) are only required to display one plate, and then, just on the front – http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/stathtml/30100001301.HTML . . I’d be good with one plate on the rear, for everyone, but if two plates are going to be required for cars, two should be required for trucks and buses, as well. And while we’re at it, how about “real” license plates for government vehicles, not just “made-up” ones!
My pet peeve with license plates, in general, is their graphic design, or, more specifically, their lack, in most cases, of good, unique, high-quality, graphic design. Too many are truly “designed by committee”, and include random icons or slogans that are never legible from more than 20′ away (which is how most plates ARE seen!). The current Missouri plate includes a) the state outline, b) the state bird, and c) by law, the state slogan. I guess we should be thankful that they couldn’t fit in “In God We Trust”, as well, like Indiana and Kentucky now do, or a confederate flag, like the Sons of Confederate Veterans can get in many states.
I’m a much bigger fan of KISS, everything from Missouri’s old maroon plates with white numerals to California’s old black plates and blue plates, New Mexico’s yellow ones with a simple Navajo sun, Wyoming’s bucking bronco and Colorado’s mountain range. They’re all distinctive, read well from a distance and look far classier than most other “modern” designs, although Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and Arizona aren’t bad either. Heck, our previous blue-to-green background was more distinctive than our current shading. Bring back color and contrast. Be bold, be distinctive. Don’t be wimpy!
I sense there are several off-the-clock government officials who would agree with you and would welcome “real” license plates on their gov’t vehicles, driving YOUR CAR, using YOUR GAS, while doing their honey-do errands covertly for the wife or husband. “Real” license plates might make their clandestine errand missions less suspicious.
The bigger issue isn’t license plates, but registration stickers.
Missouri needs to get with states like New York that put them on the inside of the windshield (like the emissions & safety inspection stickers) and not the license plate where they are too easily stolen
Didn’t they mostly solve that problem by printing stickers with the license plate number on them (so they have to match)?
I don’t know… I’m sure it helps, but it is also a pain that in order to get those stickers you must go to certain offices — not all have printers which can make those stickers.