? about license plates

[zhead240]

here in canada when u buy your plates u are issued 2. they are to be displayed on the front and back of your vehicle, required by law.for many year i've noticed that tourist from michigan only display one plate on the stern (the back for u land lovers). u would think law enforcement would lobby for 2 plate display as it would double their chance of identifying suspect vehicles. is there any logic for the one plate display??? do all states only have one plate???? tia.

[sblake01]

Many US states have only a one state requirement. Arizona comes to mind but there are others. California requires two.

[zbane]

Not all states require two plates. New Mexico and North Carolina do not require them, but there is talk of NC changing that.

[Arne]

As more jurisdictions here in the US go to photo enforcement, there will be more states requiring two plates.

FWIW, here in Oregon you are required to have both plates unless the car is registered as an antique or Special Interest vehicle. All 240/260/280Zs and most ZXs qualify as SI (more than 25 years old), but that registration requires that the car not be in normal use - just for shows, events , parades and such.

[Walter Moore]

A few years back there was a push here in Indiana to require 2 plates. It ended when in a newspaper interview the head of the Indiana State Police quipped that "I have never seen someone flee from the the police in reverse." LOL

Some of the small towns that make a lot of money from speeding tickets were lobbying for the change I think. It hasn't come back, but greed knows no bounds, so I expect the suggestion will return again someday.

[zhead240]

[QUOTE=Walter Moore;225976]A few years back there was a push here in Indiana to require 2 plates. It ended when in a newspaper interview the head of the Indiana State Police quipped that "I have never seen someone flee from the the police in reverse." LOL
the witticism of police only shows his ignorance and stupidity.
what about amber alert??? cops could identify oncoming vehicle with a front plate. it would be difficult to do by rearview mirror or rubbernecking.
also witnesses at scene could get a read of front and get second chance to confirm from back. my experience, cops rarely solve crimes on threir own, they need the public tips and input.

[DougN]

Thank goodness Georgia does not require two plates! When I was exiled to Upstate NY they required two plates, but I just kept the front one in the truck, and said it came off in the car wash if I was ever asked about it :classic:

@zhead240Z, don't try to push your two plates on us! :classic:

[zhead240]

not trying to push it on y'all, just want a logical explaination why, which hasn't been answered yet. maybe because it's cheaper??

[hd240z]

Since they stopped using prison labor to make the plates the cost has gone out of sight :p One plate per car is a savings of 50%. Looks good on your performance review.:rolleyes:
Nebraska has now started using smooth flat metal plates instead of the embossed letter/number plates of old which I would bet was a cost driven decision. Guess they dont care if the plates can be read after a fire.

[TomoHawk]

This is a chronic question ;) But there is a way to put the front plate on:

The bw/front bumper has a pair of threaded holes that aren't spaces right for U.A. license place because they were put there for the Japanese plates. I haven't confirmed it yet, but I'm pretty sure that you can bolt on a bracket for the U.S.plates there. I put my cheapie plastic bracket on the other side.

thxZ

[sblake01]

This is a chronic question ;) But there is a way to put the front plate on:

The bw/front bumper has a pair of threaded holes that aren't spaces right for U.A. license place because they were put there for the Japanese plates. I haven't confirmed it yet, but I'm pretty sure that you can bolt on a bracket for the U.S.plates there. I put my cheapie plastic bracket on the other side.

thxZ

I'm not really sure if I understand what you are saying about the spacing since I have a 78 and my front plate is bolted directly to those threaded holes. All of which has nothing to do with the topic of the thread.

[sakijo]

Hawaii has 2 plate requirements. My police friend says that it's so that they can clock you with their radar/laser guns. They are trained to aim for the plate - which is white and very reflective.

[CanTechZ]

Not all provinces in Canada require two license plates. Here in BC two are required but in neighboring Alberta only one plate is required.

In BC we have a collector plate program (still two plates), where if a vehicle is 25 or more years old and verified to be fully stock, or restored to stock and is good condition it can qulaify for this program. The benefits are a unique set of plates, very low insurance rates, full pleasure only driving priledges, & only one set of plates/insurance is required for all qualifying collector cars in your fleet. I have had these plates since 1995, the other benefit is that collector plated cars are exempt from annual emissions testing.

Mike

[Sailor Bob]

Newfoundland (Canada) is a one plate province as well - when I got my car in California it had two. I prefer the one plate look.

[TomoHawk]

I'm not really sure if I understand what you are saying about the spacing since I have a 78 and my front plate is bolted directly to those threaded holes. All of which has nothing to do with the topic of the thread.At a local car showm I had a off-duty policeman ask me (unofficially) why I didn't have a license plate in the front. I showed him where the screws were in the bumper and explained that the spacing wasn't the same as the U.S license plates. Maybe your bumper is different than the one I have on my car.

The point is relavent, as it is possible to mount a front plate in states where it is required, even though it's not as obvious as on most cars. The most you'd need is a special mounting bracket andto get those two rusted-in screws out of the bumper.

[sblake01]

Maybe your bumper is different than the one I have on my car.

Evidently. Though mine is OEM and I'm sure yours is too, I'm just curious as to why the spacing would be different. Don't all US states use the same size plate?

[Tony D]

Michigan HAD a two-plate requirement till the mid 80's, then they changed.

Of course, they used to issue new metal plates every year as well.

It was found it was cheaper to just put tags on the plates, like many other states did.

Let me ask you, since you are insistent on 'wanting a good reason' as to why the state of Michigan only issues one plate instead of two:
When Michigan went from Two Plates issued by the State to One Plate issued by the State, were the FEES paid to the Sate decrease by half?

The answer: No, they did not!

This is simply a way to DOUBLE the fees (profit) to the State by simply reducing the amount of service or product provided.

It really is that simple. If you saw the Michigan Secretary of State revenue statements during the years involved, you would agree completely. It was a selling point for the removal of the front plate. There was no compelling reason to put the plate on the front.

For all it's worth, photo enforcement is a Bogus reason for employing a front plate as well. So are Amber Alerts. Since the Amber Alert has been instituted EVERY case has been from someone driving alongside or BEHIND the suspect vehicle. The closing rate is too great to get a proper reading on a front plate.

They really are totally useless. Unless you photgraph them. And in that case, a plate is useless, a sticker could be used as effectively without increasing drag or unaerodynamic flat, vertical surface on the front of today's cars!

The way OBD is going, Licene Plates will be useless within 10 years as it is...remote target acquisition through remote monitoring driectly from the vehicle's ECU will be commonplace. If VIN-Coded Transponders aren't legislated before then, that is... FAR more effective than relying on Human eyes. Think about 'photo enforcement'---it still can be foiled fairly easily. But a VIN Transponder going through the same proximity radar field that currently triggers the cameras...with a link to flash download of the vehicle's ECU current OBD Status giving vehicle speed, throttle position, etc....Fourth Amendment? What's that? You were, after all, breaking the law!

Remember guys, OBD2 had protocols specifying 38 open channels to be left in the archeticture for "Remote Monitoring Channels"---Wonder what was applied when OBD3 was instituted?

[Tony D]

Evidently. Though mine is OEM and I'm sure yours is too, I'm just curious as to why the spacing would be different. Don't all US states use the same size plate?

You BOTH have OEM Bumpers. One is OEM, one is OEM JDM.
The spacing on Japanese Plates is further apart than on North American Plates.
You will notice in the back of the car, there are two unused plates for the rear plate as well.

I had to make a bracket to fit my US plate to my Fairlady Z's, though on one of them, the PO had drilled out and installed some bolts.

Same thing happens when the US Spec Cars go to Japan: Plates don't fit, got to drill out the second set of holes, or make an adapter bracket.

Good Excuse for the 'no front plate' though!LOL

[Tony D]

Since I can't edit these damnable posts and add this stuff later...

BTW, in addition to to the above reasons for the front plate being useless, the 'witnesses' is specious as well. The front plate, at ANY give speed will be a mere 'flash' compared to the rear plate as the car drives to the horizon. If it is going slow enough to get a good front-plate reading by visual I.D., you would be better spending your time checking out the driver, what he's doing, and then picking up the plate as it goes away.

Try this: Stand at a drag strip at the 60 foot line---or even the 1/8 mile point. Close your eyes, and at some point during the race before the car reaches you open them---try to read the plate before it passes, then watch it and try to read it as it's going away...you will find 'going away' is far easier to do. The mind doesn't process things coming closer too well (refocus), but for some reason something going away is easier to keep in focus.

Front plates are useless, save for Photo-Revenue Enhancement Purposes. As long as the plates aren't altered to give 'reasonable doubt' when presented in court. I ain't sayin' any more on that issue! (shhh!)

[sblake01]

I'm aware of the differences in plate size between the US and Japan. I said his bumper was also OEM. I was just curious as to why a car destined for the US would have a bumper on it that wasn't designed for US type plates unless some PO had changed it at some point. My 320 pickup has both sets of holes for the plate as well as areas where the RHD stuff, steering column, pedals, etc., would be mounted. I understand that as they were most likely trying to keep costs to a minumun in those days. As far as the 'Photo-Revenue Enhancement' system, they also get some fairly recognizable pictures of the driver since it's human nature to look an the flash from the camera.