[Spridgets] Tags and Titles rules for a Brit!

[Rick Fisk]

Hi Daniel.

A little misinformation in some of the answers so far.  :-)  

In some states the license plate stays with the car for it's entire life, as long as the car stays in the state and is not sold and registered in another state.  California is one state for example where the plate stays with the car for it's entire life.   If a used car is sold the new owner gets a new title and registration in his name, but the same plate is used.  In Michigan where I live now the plate stays with the driver and gets transferred from car to car.  You can also get a new license plate here whenever you want.  The plates in Michigan are replaced by the state after a certain number of years because they deteriorate in our weather.

Many states have inspections for emissions control equipment.  California is one such state, and while car guys hate smog devices they do work.  I lived in California back in the sixties and I remember times when you could literally not see three blocks down the road because of the smog.  We had regular smog alerts when the kids at school were not allowed to go outside because just breathing the air was the equivalent of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.  Michigan has no smog inspections.  We just let our pollution blow over to Canada and New York.  

Safety inspections are left up to the individual states, some have them some don't.  However, the states with very thorough safety inpections have the same accident rates as states with no inspections, so in my opinion they are really nothing but a money grab by the state.  No one seems to be able to prove that the "safety" inspections do any good at all other than providing an income source for the state and the inspection station operators.

One other thing no one has mentioned is that some states require a plate on the front and rear of the car while others (such as Michigan) only require a plate on the rear.  The plate is mostly used to identify a vehicle trying to leave the scene of an incident.  How often does someone back away from the scene of a crime?  

Rick

> On Sep 6, 2021, at 6:00 AM, Kent McLean via Spridgets <spridgets at autox.team.net> wrote:
> 
> Weslake1330 wrote:
>> So the tag is what I'd call the number plate
> 
> Correct. Also called a license plate.
> 
>> and each year you have to pay the government ('the man'?)
>> for a sticker that says you are paying something like road tax on it
> 
> It goes by various names, but yes. Registration (with fees that various by state and possibly by city/town) gets you your number plate. That plate does not stay with the car forever. You sell the car, you turn in the plate and the new owner gets a new plate. Some states also charge an excise tax, so they can make more money. I think NY City also adds a city tax. Taxation with representation.
> 
>> or that it has passed annual inspection?  
> 
> That is separate from your license plate. Like your MOT, some states require an annual safety inspection. Some don't. Some also require an emissions test. Some states have regions that require an emissions test. YMMV depending on where you live.
> 
> The US and Great Britain, two countries separated by  common language. :)
> 
> Kent 
> '56 100
> '60 Sprite
> 
> ------------------------
> 
> spridgets at autox.team.net
> 
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Suggested annual donation: $12.75
> 
> Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/spridgets  http://autox.team.net/archive
> 
> Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/spridgets/refisk@chartermi.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/spridgets/attachments/20210906/865c722b/attachment.htm>