1935Packard Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 I've noticed that many classic car owners photograph their cars with the license plates taken off, and I was wondering why. Is the reason that the plates may not look so great? Or is the concern that bad people might be able to trace the plates and identify the home address of the owner? Or is it something else?Along these lines, I recently learned that Congress passed a Driver's License Privacy Act in 1994 that basically makes it illegal for a state DMV to give out your information without your consent: you can get info on that law here. I don't know if people don't trust the state DMVs to follow the law, or maybe people don't know about the law, but I figured I would mention it if privacy is the major concern with having plates in pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 If you watch enough TV car shows you'll notice that every license plate is blurred for the same reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1935Packard Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 Yes, I had noticed that. What I can't figure out is whether the privacy threat is real or whether folks just got into the habit before that law existed and never noticed that Congress had changed the law.Take the case of car shows. It's very common for car show visitors to photograph cars at shows and put the pictures on the web. Does that suggest that we should take the plates off our cars when we get to car shows (and maybe put them back on when the show is over and we need to drive home)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 There are much deeper things to worry about. With the internet searches, they don't need your license plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Or is the concern that bad people might be able to trace the plates and identify the home address of the owner? </div></div>That's it! They can get your name, address, driving record, and pretty much everything else that a cop can get using those numbers. In some states they can get your Social Security number that way too. I.D theft, anyone? <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> It's very common for car show visitors to photograph cars at shows and put the pictures on the web. Does that suggest that we should take the plates off our cars when we get to car shows (and maybe put them back on when the show is over and we need to drive home)? </div></div>I know people who do.It's possible to use access to this information to shop for vehicles to steal at a later date, or just to shop for owners who are wealthy enough to have 1932 Cadillacs around the house and probably have better stuff to pick through. Worse yet, if you provide/publish public access to that number, the owner of the vehicle can conceivably sue you for putting them at risk. That's why the numbers are fuzzed out on TV and in publications.Of course they can get all this stuff walking down the street as well (minus the owner's name initially), but concentrating a bunch of high end antique cars in one location or publication with the owner's names and (often) home towns makes their job that much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted sweet Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 in NY the plate number is on the registration sticker on the windshield. if i was as paranoid as some of you i would be hiding in basement behind the furance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest elmo39 Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 The same rule applys here in New Zealand your plate # is shown on your reg sticker on the windscreen . if it got to the stage where i got paranoid about it i would not own a old car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 While sometimes they are blurred out intentionally, sometimes it is just that the reflective qualities of the plates make them unreadable due to the flash from the camera. I have photos that I have taken of my car in which the plate is unrecognizable and it is just from the reflectivity of the plate and the flash. This photo is one example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaman Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 If I remember correctly, doesn't the NY reg window sticker even give the owner's address? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friartuck Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 This year, on this AACA Discussion Forum, under a thread called "Clever License Plates", I foolishly posted a picture of my plate and 56 days later I got a parking ticket summons in the mail for a town that I had not visited in this century! This car is used about twice per year, only on weekends and sunny, not on a weekday afternoon while I was at work (as the summons cited). When I pressed the issue to the court over the phone, on the third call, they misteriously dropped the summons. I surmised the parking authority attendant (New Brunswick, NJ) thought he could get an uncontested ticket to fill the monthly quota. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted sweet Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 nope, just plate# , VIN, and expiration date.<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: novaman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If I remember correctly, doesn't the NY reg window sticker even give the owner's address? </div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old gto Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 <span style="color: #3333FF"> I don`t understand the big concern, any thief could get my tag number as I`m going down the street. But, he`d have to get through the gate, the dogs, the truck that sits in front of the garage, the door, the Smith & Wesson, and THEN he may see one of the cars, LOL!</span> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest L.C.22 Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Hey I'm still wondering if the shiny side or dull side goes up on my tin foil beannie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: L.C.22</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hey I'm still wondering if the shiny side or dull side goes up on my tin foil beannie </div></div>Are you wearing white shoes and a white belt? I believe the dull side goes out after Labor Day. Welcome to the Forum, you'll fit in just fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest L.C.22 Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Most times I just shw my dull side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shop Rat Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: L.C.22</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hey I'm still wondering if the shiny side or dull side goes up on my tin foil beannie </div></div>Welcome to "Camp Chaos".Great sense of humor. We could use you around here.Care to share some of that medication???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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