Not had an answer to why it it considered OK in some states not to have a front plate.
"Because they [states] say so"!
No kidding, Matt, it is up to the individual states and their rules. Some states (my Oregon, for example) require a front plate. I lived and worked just under a calendar year in Mississippi, but because it was a temporary position (visiting faculty), I was able to keep my Oregon plates and so avoid the $400 Mississippi registration fee. Mississippi did not require a front plate at that time, but I was not allowed to remove mine because the car was still registered back in Oregon, where it was required.
And does the plate stay with the car or the owner?
It may or may not. The plate stays with the car, yes, and stays with it when sold, but the old owner can choose to keep their plates and the same or a future owner may choose to change plates if so desired. This can be for a number of reasons, including replacing a damaged plate, buying a vanity plate (one with letters of one's own choosing, subject to state approval...you wouldn't believe what people dream up), or a plate to show support or affiliation for a Cause or affiliation. Oregon has a number of these. You've seen my "Share the Road" cyclist plates. Here's more:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/pages/vehicle/plates.aspx#available_plates As you can see, we have them now for war veterans, salmon, wineries, to support the Arts and Culture, etc. In some cases, the money raised goes to the cause, funding for the further development and maintenance of salmon estuaries, for example.
Over here prices can go upwards of many thousands of £.
Of course, ours all cost something, but nowhere near as much as yours. See:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/pages/vehicle/plates.aspx#fees My plates required a one-time extra fee of USD$20 at issuance because it was a new car. It would be half that for a vehicle already registered.
Also, the plates now indicate the year of the car and location of registration.
Ours may or may not. A year range can generally be inferred from the number/letter series if the viewer is savvy to the scheme, but not otherwise. Here in Oregon, we have places on the plates for month and year stickers and they are different colors so it is easy to see if they are current. In Mississippi, the counties were also designated on the plates. Oregon has few but very large counties. Some of our counties are larger than a few states on the East Coast. Mississippi had zillions of tiny counties, so I guess it was more important there.
Also,over here the lettering has to be of a set 'type' and the letters/ numbers should never be swished together to make a word or phrase.
Here, plates used to be more uniform when I was a kid, but now lettering can also vary by state, as can the number/letter schemes and order, and prefixes. The fonts can be different, as can the size and spacing and of course the background colors and design. Some are small and mooshed together and very difficult to read. Sometimes, there isn't much contrast between background and letters. Really, there have been many times when I wished for a black-on-yellow EU style for easier reading. On one of many jobs worked while a uni student, I was a parking attendant and also pre-processed the many parking tickets issued on campus so they could be transferred to punch-cards for "computer" entry. A lot of the plates I needed to record were very hard to see from inside my little "mouse house" and required I go out in the rain and snow for a better look. It hardly made a difference. The roof leaked, and there was no heat beyond a 60-watt hanging bulb and no ventilation except for the holes in the walls, one window, and a door that did not seal. Oh! Sometimes our plates have embossed letters, and sometimes the are just printed as part of the overall reflective surface "tape". That can vary within a state. It does here, but we seem to be moving to the flat tape for everything recently.
Sounds like we are quite up tight compared to USA?
No, just "different". The one big difference I see is an overarching scheme to make the plates more uniform nationwide. Here, there isn't as much consistency and it varies by individual state. The only place where there is uniformity is plate size. That seems to be pretty standard, though mounting holes can vary slightly in width.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Dan. (...who also drives)
