License plates with symbols

[Blue_Chameleon]

When making a traffic stop, how do you read off license plates that have symbols on there? Like hearts, stars, etc...

Our department do not have MDTs yet...and I have yet to run into one of these plates. How does your department's dispatch center handle these things?

[H8Criminals]

Hey Blue -- good question, and I know it must confuse the heck out of officers from other states. The answer is actually quite simple, if you can memorize this:

StarS - precede tag with an "ss*"
HeartS- with an "ht*"
HandS- with an "hs"

get the idea?

Actually, I'm just kidding. The tags are considered "personalized" plates and should be run using only the letters and numbers, no shape. IE: INO(heart)U would be run as personalized "INOU".

Some know some states call them "vanity" plates or "specialty" plates, but its all the same thing.

Has anyone else from out of California seen those plates and wondered the same thing Blue did?

Check out this site: http://www.pca-ca.org/kids.htm

[Blue_Chameleon]

Thanks H8Criminals.

What about special dealer plates? Most dealer plates that I know of are short and the print is smaller. This one that I saw was different. It was something like this:

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D
12345
V
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How would you read the "D" and the "V" part?

[This message has been edited by Blue_Chameleon (edited 03-08-2001).]

[tcsd1236]

This has always been a pet peeve of mine. NY has something like 149 different plate styles; they make gobs off the vanity plate business. I try to run the odd plates from my MDT, but I usually wind up calling it in to dispatch. There is a special code they use to run the vanity plates. Some of the municipal plates are as much a problem.
Then the out of state plates are a pain. The smaller vertical lettering never seems to matter when I run an out of state plate.
My pet peeve is the MDT responses; some states have a squared away response that has everything down to previous cars that plate appeared on, previous plates appearing on that car, detailed suspension info, etc. Other states barely send you a registered owners name and address. The States should get together and come up with one kick-***, uniform format for DMV responses so I don't have to spend 10 minutes trying to decode the readout on my screen.

[JKT]

Originally posted by tcsd1236:
This has always been a pet peeve of mine... Then the out of state plates are a pain. The smaller vertical lettering never seems to matter when I run an out of state plate.
My pet peeve is the MDT responses; some states have a squared away response that has everything down to previous cars that plate appeared on, previous plates appearing on that car, detailed suspension info, etc. Other states barely send you a registered owners name and address. The States should get together and come up with one kick-***, uniform format for DMV responses so I don't have to spend 10 minutes trying to decode the readout on my screen.

Texas has about the same number of "special" plates and it can be a royal pain. If there was a standard format, it would be sooooo much easier. Also, ever tried to decipher and out-of-state III response? It's just as confusing http://www.officer.com/ubb/confused.gif

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Optimistic pessimist: Hope for the best, but expect the worst.

Jack

[Don]

I am convinced that the LAST thing in the world that law makers want to do is to make it easy on the cops. Not only with all of the different formats, but different colors for the same states.

Then you have states like Azirona that in some years have issued two plates and in some years have issued one plate. Moving into the state when I did, I was issued one plate for each vehicle. But one plate on a vehicle registered in Kaliphornia when I worked there guaranteed a traffic stop. http://www.officer.com/ubb/confused.gif

Whatever happens, lets don't standardize ANYTHING. It might make it too easy for the cops! http://www.officer.com/ubb/frown.gif http://www.officer.com/ubb/mad.gif

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"Happiness is a warm puppy." Charlie Brown
"Happiness is suppertime!" Snoopy
6P1 (retired)

[Niteshift]

FL allegedly leads the nation in number of completely different designs.

Honest to God, sometimes we're not even sure that it's a FL plate. http://www.officer.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

PITA

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Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna

[H8Criminals]

Blue --- usually, the tags are read from left to right. With that, if there are 2 stacked letters at the left, read them as top to bottom, then left to right. THe Olympic tags are that way ... there is a U over S then 12345. Read it as US12345.

By the way, I just applied for my personalized plates for my jeep ... "NO DONUT" .. they wanted to deny me because they (DMV) thought it was insulting to cops ... until I showed them I am one ... then they thought it was funny.

Blue -- also, have you applied for your confidentiality yet???

[Sig220Man]

Originally posted by Blue_Chameleon:
What about special dealer plates? Most dealer plates that I know of are short and the print is smaller.

Blue:

Dealer plates can be run on CLETS on both the VEH and REG mask by checking the box that says "Dealer plate" and running the full series of numbers in the plate field MINUS the "DLR" on the left side. Ignore the "type" box as checking the "Dealer plate" field at the top accomplishes the same thing.

So, if you come across a dealer plate that says "DLR231521A", you ignore the "DLR" part and run "231521A" instead. As dealer plates are issued to the business, and not assigned to a specific car, you will only get the dealership information and nothing for the car it's attached to.

The "1A" part is a sequential number that is unique to that plate only; the "23152" is the number assigned by DMV to that particular dealership, and ALL dealer plates assigned to that dealer will start with that number.

My understanding is that Manufacturer (MFR), Distributor (DST), and Dismantler (DSM) plates are run the same way; however, I haven't had the chance to pull any over.

[tcsd1236]

What about you guys from states with a smaller letter somewhere in the middle of the plate data? I've run those both with and without the letter, and nothing comes back. How do you guys read those plates? I can't think of what states plates I see those on......

[NorthernProtector]

Wouldn't it great if all plate numbers were barcoded! Just install laser readers on the front of the PC and with a push of a button it scans the plate just like at the checkout in the supermarket.

Ain't technology grand!

[Sig220Man]

Originally posted by NorthernProtector:
Wouldn't it great if all plate numbers were barcoded! Just install laser readers on the front of the PC and with a push of a button it scans the plate just like at the checkout in the supermarket.

The newest license plates from Mexico have barcodes on them.

[Niteshift]

"The newest license plates from Mexico have barcodes on them."

My DL has a magnetic stripe on it.....still haven't found a way to put it to use yet. http://www.officer.com/ubb/wink.gif



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Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna

[Jims]

Virginia has lots of vanity, special interest group, and other tags, as well as about 4 types of temporary tags. Pet peeve re. temp tags - why can't people write the date in thick, black letters so I can read it from farther out than 3 feet!
We don't have MDTs in our cars and call everything in. If its a "weird" tag - I just tell the dispatcher and give everthing on it. For example, FOP tag FP1234 or vanity tag nancy ocean david ocean nancy union tom sam.
Other states tags drive me nuts sometimes; I had one I couldn't find the state listed on it till I had the car stopped. Too much decoration in the way, from the plate design.

[Landric]

Howdy,

In Virginia, symbols like "&" and "!" are the same as spaces. You do not have to enter them in the computer for the tag to come back. For instance VA tag "ABC&123" would be "Adam, Boy, Charles, 1,2,3".

The same is true for North Carolina.



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-Landric

"The Engine could still smile...it seemed to scare them"-Felix

[RaychelR]

Niteshift.. Ohio moved to the magnetic stripe on the license's years ago promising that LE would be able just to "swipe" them. Havent seen anything of the sort yet. Heck, my adjacent county doesnt even have MDT's in their cars!

[shooter1201]

Hey Niteshift...remember about 12-15 years(I'm showing my age) ago when FL had that 'design a new plate' contest? It was during the heyday of 'Miami Vice'. Some really kewl designs turned up, then they picked a crummy 'winner'. I guess some of the neat designs were too much for the FL inmates to produce?

Anyway....my pet peeve is having to actually have the DL 'in hand', before dispatch can tell us(I'm in TN) whether the driver of the vehicle has a CCW.

And THEN there is MS. In MS, new car buyers do NOT receive a 'drive off' tag. Being in a county that butts up against MS, we stop a LOT of MS cars for 'failure to display proper vehicle registration'.

Coming back from Birmingham, AL a few weeks ago, I saw a 'new'(to me) 'drive off' tag. It was a professionally made tag, which simply said 'TAG APPLIED FOR'.

[Niteshift]

GA is the same way.....they put a tag with the dealers name on the car. Drives me nuts.

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Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna

[Jims]

I hate those "tag applied for" or dealer advertisement non plate states. There's also one state in New England (I forget which) which gives a slip of paper that they put in the rear window. Of course, if the window is tinted - you can't see the slip. Since I work about 2 miles from many car dealerships; I see a car with no tags and my first thought(hope) is freshly stolen. And all too often - no they're from ... DRAT!

[Jims]

Found a new gripe about license plates (actually it's not really that new).
Stopped a car with California tags; the tag design had so much crap in the middle I couldn't tell if one letter was C, G, O or Q!
A few years ago, Virginia put out a "autumn leaf" pattern which spread into the tag number area and made the tags hard to read. After this was pointed out (many times), DMV did the smart thing and changed the design to a border of leaves. It's better, though it still can be hard to read sometimes.

But why couldn't this problem have been foreseen?