License Plate Tabs-Why in the MIDDLE of the plate???

**jtf1972** · May-31-11, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by mtm

i'm not black; i'm not illiterate [[wsu '83, magna cum laude); and i don't live in a high crime area. My tag is in the center of my plate just to be contrary. I guess i don't really like the state telling me what to do with my personal vehicle if it's not something required for safety or the law...

attica! Attica! Attica!

**Hamtragedy** · May-31-11, 11:07 PM

Not to mention that when your plate does get the corner ripped off, you have to go wait at the @#$& Secretary of State office, and pay a $15 replacement fee. The very thought of having to go to the SoS office yet again is enough to piss you off. I score it with the razorblade, as well, and my birthday is in the dead of winter, rendering Ray's hairdryer into a hand warmer.

**CLAUDE G** · June-01-11, 01:24 AM

First of all you see more of this in the City, and I think thats due to the higher theft rate.

As far as sticking the sticker in the middle, it makes it alot more difficult to steal it using tin snips and the thieves would rather just move on to an easier victim.

If you use one of those plastic license plate holders that the dealers like to plaster their name all over, it also makes it a bit more difficult.

**Campfire Girl** · June-01-11, 07:32 AM

I may be wrong, but it was my understanding that the middle of the plate contains 2 small swirls down the center upon which which the police position their radar to determine speed

**Dent** · June-01-11, 09:36 AM

Heres why:

http://www.elsag.com/mobile.htm?gcli...FcN05Qodu3GGfw

The portion of the plate that can be read is in the center between the letters/numbers. If you look closely, you can see the hologram.Putting the stickers there is supposed to prevent the cops or meter reader from doing a remote scan of your plate. All they need to do is scan traffic or a parking lot and if you owe on a ticket, or the plate in question in wanted in a crime of some sort, it will show up on the comp in the cruiser. No where to hide.

**catch22** · June-01-11, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by Dent

Heres why:

http://www.elsag.com/mobile.htm?gcli...FcN05Qodu3GGfw

The portion of the plate that can be read is in the center between the letters/numbers. If you look closely, you can see the hologram.Putting the stickers there is supposed to prevent the cops or meter reader from doing a remote scan of your plate. All they need to do is scan traffic or a parking lot and if you owe on a ticket, or the plate in question in wanted in a crime of some sort, it will show up on the comp in the cruiser. No where to hide.

That scanner takes images of the entire plate. There's no need for any special embedded code in the plate since it can read the plate number directly.

The hologram is just a anti-counterfeiting device. Nothing more, nothing less. It's a 3M product, here's a link to a PDF on their web site:

http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediaw...yyyxEE37YYYYX-

**Dent** · June-01-11, 12:55 PM

I should have been a bit more clear.It is believed by some that the hologram is the readable part, therefore obscuring it would prevent observation by the "Man". The stuff of urban legends. Kinda like this:

http://www.phantomplate.com/products.html

**Meddle** · June-01-11, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by Campfire Girl

I may be wrong, but it was my understanding that the middle of the plate contains 2 small swirls down the center upon which which the police position their radar to determine speed

You are.

...

**BagAJellyDonuts** · June-01-11, 07:45 PM

Don't know if it's been mentioned but the tag does include the plate number on it. Of course that won't stop somebody from trimming it off. I'm one of those that peels off the old ones every couple years. WD40 or brake cleaner will eat off the adhesive. Got to get the surface clean to get the fresh sticker to go on later.

But as a somewhat related note, Chevrolet posted a video on their site showing their new cop car and some of it's features. One of the things it has [[and it's not exclusive) is a camera mounted to the push bar that can read license plates. It's not reading bar codes or tags, it's reading the letters / numbers. And in some areas, this has been working for quite a while. So stealing a tag will still work in a lot of areas. But as costs go down, these cameras will get cheaper. The system supporting them will too. When it gets to the point that the plate and the tag don't match up in the registry that will be automatically looking for it, sorry the thieves will get caught.

**Ray1936** · June-01-11, 08:04 PM

Computers, sheesh.

Back in "my day", each scout car crew maintained a stolen car board. Before the start of your shift, you grabbed your board and entered the new numbers on a 100-square board, and erased the recoveries. If a new stolen car was BJ 2490 [[the numbering sequence 'back then'), you went to the second square down, and fourth to the right, and entered "BJ 90". Much of your day on patrol was observing vehicles and checking them on the stolen car board. Oh....commercial plates had the alphabetic digits at the end.....so of the stolen car was 2490 BJ, you went to the same square, but it would read 90BJ. No confusion at all.

About 1975, the department started issing daily sheets in the same format, so you didn't have to get in early to update your board; you just attached a new sheet to the hunk of plywood you used. About 1980, the computers took over, and today's police officers are now candy-asses.

Well, that's how I look at it, anyway.

**One Shot** · June-02-11, 08:10 AM

Very interesting responses to this one. I sypathize with some of the circumstances. This still seems like a new thing as I don't recall seeing this years ago.
I remember the month and year tabs too. The month one was usually a one time deal.

**DetroitPlanner** · June-02-11, 08:39 AM

Originally Posted by One Shot

Can someone explain this to me? Without sounding like a racial thing it is mostly black people's vehicles that I see this on. I have literally seen plates with 4-5 stickers placed all over the face of the plate. I mostly see them placed right in the middle between the numbers/letters. The plate has a recessed area for them and instructions on the new tabs. Whats the deal??

Us blacks had a meeting where we discussed this and decided to drive you crazy.

**NorthofNormal** · June-02-11, 10:41 AM

Here's some more info on the Automated License Plate Recognition systems: clicky.

**Jimaz** · June-02-11, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Us blacks had a meeting where we discussed this and decided to drive you crazy.

You just had to spill the beans, didn't you?

**Zacha341** · June-02-11, 08:17 PM

Yeah, we BE meeting 'bout it... and planning -- fo' sho'...

Originally Posted by Jimaz

You just had to spill the beans, didn't you?

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Us blacks had a meeting where we discussed this and decided to drive you crazy.

**Magnatomicflux** · June-02-11, 08:52 PM

LOL! I think this is my favorite part of the thread.

**detlump** · June-02-11, 10:03 PM

I think that Michigan law doesn't define where to place the sticker, so anywhere on the plate is OK technically.

Now, it would be sneaky to change the law and then use it to pull over and ticket just about anyone, or force them to get new plates.

**Lowell** · June-02-11, 10:26 PM

There is a huge revenue bonanza awaiting a system of speed reading plates tied into a high bandwidth connection to police servers and tracking down big bucks penalty-loaded fines. It has to be too lucrative to resist. Kinda scary. All that is needed to make it complete are roving predator drone autos that can read, process then apply electronic boots like disabling ignitions.

and lol detroitplanner

**rid0617** · June-03-11, 12:35 AM

I'm old enough to remember when you got a plate every year. Then some genius come up with idea of a metal tab that attached to the plate with the screw that holds it on. Then they make you keep your plate [[8 years here) and these stupid stickers. NC you keep your plate forever. When they ran out of numbers and letters of the blue and white tags, they just kept the same look, just changed the numbers and letters to red and white.

**reddog289** · June-03-11, 02:00 AM

When my Gramps lived in Detroit, He would put bolts around his tabs then cover the plate with a clear plastic cover. Worked for him, Till he had to change the tabs with the bolts rusting for a year.

**JohnnyFreddy** · June-03-11, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by mtm

i'm not black; i'm not illiterate [[wsu '83, magna cum laude); and i don't live in a high crime area. My tag is in the center of my plate just to be contrary. I guess i don't really like the state telling me what to do with my personal vehicle if it's not something required for safety or the law...

right on !!!!!