BEHAVIOR
They identify vehicles for law enforcement. They make the connection
between owner and vehicle so you pay parking fines.
HABITAT
In the United States and most other countries, license plates are required to be viewable from the rear. Most are mounted (bolted) to the rear bumper or to the tailgate or trunk lid.
In some states, front licenses are also required. These are bolted to the front bumper.
HOW IT WORKS
License plates identify the registered owner. Each state creates its own coding system for licenses and records vehicle information numbers and other data along with the license plate numbers.
INTERESTING FACTS
License plates have been used from the very dawn of the automobile age. New York was the first state to require their use. In the United States the standard size for a plate is 12 by 6 inches. Most license plates are made by prison inmates. License plates are punched out of mile-long coils of 0.027 inch-thick aluminum. The
aluminum has to be washed and flattened. Plates are not painted; graphic sheets are glued to the plate. The corners are rounded and holes are punched for mounting. The raised numbers and letters that are unique to each plate are stamped into the plate. Prison inmates stamp each plate individually. Then the raised numbers and letters are inked. After that the plates are loaded into an oven to set the ink and adhesive (that holds the graphics).
All rights reserved
Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN: 978-1-55652-812-5
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sobey, Edwin J. C., 1948–
A field guide to automotive technology / Ed Sobey.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-55652-812-5
1. Automobiles—Popular works. 2. Mechanics—Popular works. I. Title.
TL146.5.S63 2008
629.2—dc22
2008046620
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