Georgia License Plates......

A few years ago I heard some news report saying that the Georgia legislature was going to try to minimize the number of specialty license plates issued for cars in our state because they preferred a more uniform look. Apparently someone shot that idea down, however, because now we have about a gazillion different specialty plates, and more of them pop up every day it seems.

I never really wanted a specialty plate, mainly because there have been few times in my life when I could afford to shell out an ADDITIONAL $35 on top of the regular fee. I thought briefly about getting a UGA plate, but I must have been in one of my bitter periods and decided I had given those b***ards enough of my money already.

When the "Share the Road" plates became available, however, I discovered I wanted to proclaim myself a cyclist, and the BRAG sticker on the back of my car wasn't nearly enough. The extra money generated from the specialty plate fees (allegedly) goes to supporting bicycling safety initiatives all over the state, so I thought that was a worthwhile cause.

When Hubby went to get the plates for me because he is a man and doesn't listen very well, he thought I wanted one of the plates designating a Georgia educator. The lady at the desk told him I would have to come in a produce my teacher i.d. badge before I could get that plate. I'm glad she told him that, because otherwise I would be driving around all bitter and stuff because I would have the wrong plate on my car.

Yes, I just used the word "bitter" twice in one blog post. I'm in Jamaica, so be bitter about THAT.

That got me wondering, though, about the requirements for having a specialty tag on one's car. Suppose I weren't an educator, but I just wanted to support education by paying the extra fee every year and sport the license plate on the back of my car? They wouldn't LET me?

Side note: I am proud to be an educator, and I would gladly have paid the fee for that plate, but I don't agree with where the extra money goes. It goes into a fund to compensate teachers and their families who are injured while on the job. I agree wholeheartedly that those families should be compensated, but how often does that happen? I thought the funds could be better used to serve a larger group of teachers. For example, they could fund extra sick days for teachers who use all their sick leave up taking care of a chronically ill family member.

Whew, I think I just sprained my ankle jumping off that soapbox. Sorry.

Funny, though, about having to prove I was a teacher. When I went to get my Share the Road tag, they didn't ask to see my bicycle. What if I didn't really have one? What if I didn't even really believe in sharing the road? 

Anyway, as I started noticing the other specialty plates out there, I wondered how those people proved their devotion to their causes.

If Hubby wanted one of these, would he have to show them a scorecard? Demonstrate his swing in the parking lot? Take his golf clubs in when he went to purchase the plate?

I can understand some of the requirements. My mother-in-law, for example, has one of these.

 

I will defend to the death the right of officials to ask for documentation so that only the truly disabled can have these tags. 

These two are to show support for the idea that dogs and cats should be spayed and neutered.

I guess we COULD get Gus and Libby to go into the tag office with us, but I'm not sure they have the same views on that subject. They might not be good spokesdogs.

Likewise Missy (aka Little Brutus) and Olive (aka Big Brutus). First of all they aren't going to like being on a leash, and the tag office people are not going to like hearing what the Brutuses have to say about being spayed and neutered, respectively.

 

 

The plate below is to show support for wildlife in Georgia, specifically the bobwhite quail. I'm pretty sure there's a law against taking those into the tag office, even if you COULD get the quail to cooperate.

 

You can get the antique/hobby vehicle tag for your vehicle if it is more than 25 years old. Hubby was excited when his '69 Ford pickup qualified. (He bought it brand new, and it lives in our basement. I'm not kidding.)

 

For some reason, though, when it came time to renew the plates last week, he became spectacularly UNEXCITED when he discovered that he's been paying an extra $35 every year for the license plate on a truck that lives in our basement. He came home with a plain old regular tag. And $35 extra in his pocket.

 I could have used the one below for my bicycle.

 

I have never, ever seen one of those on the road. Who has those? 

Let's just say you COULD talk the bobwhite quail into going to the tag office with you. What about THIS fellow?

I can't even get a decent PICTURE of a hummingbird, much less get one in the car with me.

I'm pretty sure THIS one would be illegal.

 Here's a real challenge.

 

Yeah, let me know how that turns out, getting that dolphin in the car with you. I have to say, though, that SOMEONE in the state government has a sense of humor. You can't tell it by most of these samples, but the first two letters generally have something to do with whatever the cause being supported is. The plate for spaying and neutering starts with DC (dogs and cats), the Share the Road one starts with RD, the one supporting the University of Alabama starts with RT (Roll Tide). The one above? The one for protecting wild dolphins? The license starts with EE. EE! EE!!!!! That is hilarious. Sorry, that may just be my sense of humor. EE. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

If you support the Georgia Aquarium, do you have to take one of each of the animals/fish?

 A ticket stub? A picture? A receipt for some concessions that cost more than my first semester's tuition at UGA?

This has both the sea turtle and Jekyll Island on it. Do you have to support both?

 

I guess this guy could hitch a ride with the dolphin.

 

There was a time when no one in his right mind would sport the license plate below on a vehicle. That was back in the days when there were bumper stickers all over Georgia that read: "Go Falcons! And take the Braves with you!" I guess it's a different story when the team is 11-2 (perhaps 12-2 by the time you read this post) and leading the NFC.

 

Now believe me when I saw that I am NOT making fun of the cause on the license plate below. I believe fervently in the need to raise money for breast cancer (and all cancers, actually) research. But if you want this tag, do you have to have breasts? Or do you just have to like them?

I won't even go into how I feel about the specialty tags below. I respect each fan's right to show his or her support for any team they want to. I just believe they should move to those states.

The Florida one (naturally) really gets my goat. Some Georgia legislators tried to pass a motion a couple of years ago that if Florida would not reciprocate and allow a tag in their state for UGA alumni, then the UF license plate could not be renewed in Georgia. I stood and applauded and cheered and vowed undying devotion for every single one of those crooked politicians UGA-loving souls. Then there was a public outcry about their wasting valuable tax dollars debating such meaningless (MEANINGLESS? ARE THEY KIDDING ME?) issues under the gold dome, and the matter was dropped. Now we are forced to avert our eyes every time we spot a car with the UF license plate on the back. The "F" can stand for something other than Florida in my mind if I want it to.

 

By the way, I was going to use photos of actual license plates for this post, and I started months ago, taking pictures of cars in parking lots when I went to the mall, the "Y", ballgames, etc. Then I decided that in this crazy post-911 world, taking photos of people's license plates wasn't a very safe thing to do. I was going to blur out the actual numbers, but I may not have had time to explain myself, particularly if someone's car sported this license plate.

Seriously?

When I went to find a sample of this license plate, I found another link that allows you to CHOOSE WHICH SPECIFIC DRIVER you want your plate to show.

Double seriously?