Registration plates

[jakematic]

After seeing the picture of my front Euro tag in a thread about the bracket, the following conversation with a friend ensued...

Jake---So I take it North Carolina has seceded from the union, again! ;-)

Well I can always tell when a yankee moves here by the crazy expired stickers in the window

When I travel I get one these reactions:

• Oooh I got Euro Delivery too ! - I did not
• Where are you from in Germany ? - I am second generation American
• You from Canada ? - Huh ? Really ?
• You with the government ? - I can neither confirm nor deny that, followed by stern look
• An exceedingly elderly couple recounting every second of their trip to Italy for me - by far the most interesting conversations

Visiting family in NY last month someone saw the A8 and asked 'Living in Indiana now?'


Previous incarnation:

 

[Uwe]

As with a number of other things, PA bucks the NE control-freak trend:

-Uwe-

 

[jyoung8607]

Ohio requires a front plate, but it seems to be widely ignored. I don't have one on the Phaeton; it came from Wisconsin and didn't have a bracket. I bought one and had it painted. I keep it in my trunk for plausible deniability in case I get pulled over.

I always thought the European plates were neat. I've thought about getting one. The Ohio front plate requirement is stated such that I think I could legally get away with it, too. It's very odd: they go out of their way to say you SHALL be issued a distinct registration number and county sticker, and you SHALL be issued two plates bearing that number, and you SHALL display your distinct registration number and county sticker on the front. It does NOT say you have to use the issued plate. If I had a European plate made with my number and put my county sticker on it, and kept a printout of that piece of Ohio Revised Code in my glovebox, I think I'd be fine.

Jason

 

[Keithuk]

That's something that really annoys me about the US. I think it was something like 19 states don't require front number plates as Uwe's map shows. It should be the same law that covers all states. Else if your drive from LA to TX in theory you would be fined for not displaying one.

The Euro number plate shows the abbreviated letter of the country it was registered, in the US you would need the state abbreviation.

 

[Andy]

I got the Passat from NJ where they brutally drilled the bumper, so I put this on:

Mk7 GTI has no front plate holes, hence no europlate.

Also I always thought this was cool:

 

[jakematic]

Else if your drive from LA to TX in theory you would be fined for not displaying one.

It's common here to see a differently tagged vehicle and automatically assume it's from out of state.
Which can lead to trumped up tickets... just because...

The Euro number plate shows the abbreviated letter of the country it was registered, in the US you would need the state abbreviation.

That's the difference between the US and Eurozone enforcers.
We have (an allegedly limited) set of federal laws, with the rights and powers held by individual US states rather than by the federal government.

 

[jyoung8607]

That's something that really annoys me about the US. I think it was something like 19 states don't require front number plates as Uwe's map shows. It should be the same law that covers all states. Else if your drive from LA to TX in theory you would be fined for not displaying one.

It only applies to cars registered in that state. They can't and won't bother out-of-state drivers complying with their home state registration rules.

Jason

 

[Uwe]

That's something that really annoys me about the US. I think it was something like 19 states don't require front number plates as Uwe's map shows. It should be the same law that covers all states. Else if your drive from LA to TX in theory you would be fined for not displaying one.

Nope. Just like your authorities can't/won't fine a car driving around the UK with plates from some other country. When it comes to drivers' licenses and motor vehicle registrations, each US state is effectively like a separate country.

The Euro number plate shows the abbreviated letter of the country it was registered, in the US you would need the state abbreviation.

The name of the state is on each plate:

-Uwe-