Text 15113, 138 rader
Skriven 2005-10-25 15:14:00 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
  Kommentar till text 14922 av Roy Witt (1:1/22)
Ärende: looters in NO
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 > people in California and probably as many cars registered. The
 > Highway Patrol isn't allowed to use radar/laser on passenger vehicles,

Odd. Why would they forgo on such an efficinet means of catching speeders?

 > so they have to rely on pacing to catch a speeder. In all of
 > my years driving on California roads, I learned that the only
 > way they can pace you is if you don't see them.

How can you not see them?

 > You don't see them because they take advantage of your
 > blind spot to the right rear.

You don't have a right hand mirror to take care of that?

 > I learned to drive in the right hand lanes and to watch for
 > them while maintaining a faster pace than those in the
 > left hand lanes.

Ah, that alone would get you a ticket here. Overtaking on the right is not
allowed except when going at walking speed in a traffic yam.

 > way. That one time above, I was in the left lane and hadn't
 > been paying attention.

Over here pacing to catch speeders is no longer standard procedure. Too cost
intensive. 99% of the speeers are caught by automatic cameras. The camera sends
the picture to the centrak cimputer, its software reads the number from the
plates and send you the ticket. No human involved.

 >>> Texas just passed a new law that eliminates the front plate as
 >>> of November 1st...

 MvdV>> It isn't Nov 1st yet. So technically you are still inviolation...

 > That's true, but I can see an officer explaining to a judge
 > why he ticketed me for no front plate, when the front plate law
 > expired in less than two weeks.

Over here there would be little to explain. Up until Nov 1st front plates are
required. Period. It would be up tp you to explain why you think you have the
right to ignore the law. Most likely the judge would triple your fine just for
wasting his time over such a minor issue.

 > And all I need to do is show the court that the car now
 > has a front plate to get out of the ticket.

That is even more silly. Mounting a plate after the occuerence of the violation
annuls it?

 MvdV>> Over here, the state does not issue the plates. After you have the
 MvdV>> registration, you can go to an approved plate manufaturer and you
 MvdV>> can buy two plates for a car and one for a motor cycle.

 > The states manufacture they're plates in their own prisons.
 > This gives the inmates something to do besides lift weights
 > and watch TV. Thus, I get something in return for my taxes
 > that support those prisoners.

Over here that would be considered unfair competion for the regular plate
manufacturres.

 MvdV>> If you lose a plate or if it is stolen, you can not just buy a new
 MvdV>> one. You have to rerigister and you get plates with a marker
 MvdV>> showing they are replacements. That costs money and it is hassle.

 > This is why Texas will only be issuing one plate after 11-1...
 > They've removed the registration from the plate itself and have
 > moved them to the windshield.

We'v had registration stickers on the windshield too. That system was
abandonned some twenty or 15 years ago. Same for the tag on the plate for the
compulsory yearly vehicle inspection.

It is all in the computer of the department of vehicle registration. Cops don;t
have to stop you to check te registration, all they do is enter the number on
their keyboard of their on-board terminal and they get all the data in seconds.
or if the squad car is not equiped wit at terminal ask the dispatcher at the
police station to do it for them.

Of course this systems, like the automatic speed trap depends on the plates
being accurate. A false plate would defeat the system. So three years ago they
introduced new plates that are a lot harder to forge than the old ones.

Here you see a picture of the new plates:

http://www.emergencyvehicles.nl/images/kenteken1.jpg

On the lower left of the yellow part, marked by the pointer "Unieke code" is a
ten digit number. Every plate has a unique number which is registered to the
owner.

If the car gets scrapped, the plates must be handed in for official
destruction.

If you lose a plate, you must file a report with the local police and with that
you can get a new registration with the same number but with a so called
"duplicate code". The duplicate code is a number ranging from 1 to 19. The
duplicate code is imprinted on your replacement plates above the left dash
between the second and third character. The plate on the picture has
replacement code 2. Replacement code 0 is not shown. Cars with a "1" are quite
common now. "2"'s are rare and I have only seen one "3" so far. Numbers > 9 are
shown by imprinting the last digit below the dash.

So if your plates get stolen and the thief is photographed, it is immidiately
known that it is not you speeding there, but someone else.

The marker above the right hyphen shows the number of the plate manufacturer.
The marker on the right middle shows the year and week of issue.

Only a very limited number of firms are allowed to produce the blanks. Ten I
think. Then there are a few hundred who are licensed to produce the ready
plates.

Of course nothing is full proof, but you need a lot more than just paint shop
and a good colour printer to produce a plate that can stand up to more than a
casual glance.

Knowingly and willingly driving with forged plates carries a
maximum fine of EUR 5000 or six month in prison.

 MvdV>> As a result plates are usually not just screwed on any more. Pop
 MvdV>> nails, or whatever you call them is the popular way of fastening.

 > Pop rivets.

That was the word I was looking for.

 > Yes, those make things more permanent and less
 > prone to theft than screws.

Indeed.

Cheers, Michiel

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