Nanny State at work again here

[lloyd3]

I'm used to my insurance folks wanting to limit the use of my "collectable" car. It's been part of the old car scene for some time now, and for clearly understandable reasons (as it limits their liability). Recently, I got a letter from the DMV here in Douglas County, Colorado stipulating that renewing my classic car registration for another 5-years would involve me agreeing to limit my miles to 4,500 per annum. That, of course, wont be any sort of a hardship for me but....it really rubs me the wrong way.

Some unelected and feckless bureaucrat here decided that they would save the planet by limiting the use of these evil, polluting, and dangerous vehicles by foisting this scheme upon me (& certainly others here) without anybody (certainly not the voters of this largely conservative county) having any say in the matter.  Now, I'm fairly sure there are other motivations at work here. If I had to guess, there may be the perception that some folks have abused the classic car tag system here to avoid the annual emission requirements (and perhaps even the annual registration costs?) and...being largely post-COVID here now, the County government (like so-many others) is facing some tax shortfalls.  They, however, can't admit that they're low on funds now because they decided to sit on their arse and get paid for little or no work for the last 18-months. No, of course not. This clearly has nothing to do with that, it's all about saving the planet you see.   

[b5blue]

  Clearly others are abusing whatever the gimmick is there. So pile on more "laws" to correct. Florida is also rife with stupid laws and lawmakers who know not what they do. Just let go of it, life is to short.

[Dano 1]

Here in NC we have the option to register as an antique or a normal passenger car. I believe the antique tag cuts down on registration and tax cost but is also primarily for cars driven very infrequently per the DMV: "Antique plates should be used for vehicles primarily used for exhibitions, club activities, parades and other public interest events​" so a lot of people, myself included, just opt for a normal registration with no limits. Regardless of the registration type, any vehicle over 30 years old is exempt from any annual inspection so the benefits are negligible. 

Do you have annual inspections for classics? I don't understand how they would enforce the mileage and it just seems unnecessary, especially without an option for a regular registration. Either way limiting antique vehicle mileage seems completely pointless as it is largely self-policing. The vast majority of people do not drive their antiques nearly enough miles per year to have any perceptible impact on air pollution. My assumption would be that, as you said, there are people abusing the system to skirt inspection and emissions requirements so it's a classic case of a couple idiots ruining it for the rest of us. 

[tcs69rt]

I'm used to my insurance folks wanting to limit the use of my "collectable" car. It's been part of the old car scene for some time now, and for clearly understandable reasons (as it limits their liability). Recently, I got a letter from the DMV here in Douglas County, Colorado stipulating that renewing my classic car registration for another 5-years would involve me agreeing to limit my miles to 4,500 per annum. That, of course, wont be any sort of a hardship for me but....it really rubs me the wrong way.

Even if it was a hardship....unhook the speedo cable and use GPS on your phone for accurate MPH 

[lloyd3]

b5blue: Life IS too-short, so I signed the paperwork and sent it in with my check for my registration. In the scheme of things, it's nothing. What it does, however, is make me wonder just how long I'll be able to tolerate life in Colorado. At some point I'll be done here. Just haven't figured out where to go next.

tcs69rt: Nice mountain shot. No need to unhook the speedo as they didn't even ask for an odometer reading. My guess is that they're just warming us up for a real use limit of some sort being imposed. Something like "no drive" days when pollution gets bad. Who knows...

[Mike DC]

      
Is this is an environmental thing?  


Antique tags weren't recently invented when carbon emissions became a big political point.  They have been around for a couple generations.  The original thinking was that an antique car didn't use as much of the resources of the highway system.  Construction/maintenance, policing, etc.  

The age to qualify (at least in some states) was set at 25 years old, because most cars used to be junk after 5 years.  Today a 25yo car is a 1996 model and the roads are full of them.  Vehicles last much longer than they used to.  The qualification age needs to be pushed back.    

   

[XH29N0G]

I have one with antique tags and another with normal tags.  The difference is the cost of the registration and the number of miles I am supposed to drive and where I am supposed to be allowed take the car (driving to and from work would be normal tags). 

[b5blue]

Florida's old car tag fees are less and the plate is pale blue but you can just get a regular plate. We have like 50 different plates, it's kinda goofy to think our legislators sit around debating reasons for and style of plates. I will say long ago they dropped testing of any sort. 

[lloyd3]

Legislators would rather do meaningless things than actually do the hard work of solving the many real problems most States face.  Smoke and mirrors.  Denver is rapidly descending into a serious sh*thole with the homeless camping everywhere and the Mayor just banned plastic bags in supermarkets. God help us.

[John_Kunkel]

     
Is this is an environmental thing?  


Antique tags weren't recently invented when carbon emissions became a big political point.  They have been around for a couple generations.  The original thinking was that an antique car didn't use as much of the resources of the highway system.  Construction/maintenance, policing, etc.  

   

   

Bingo !!  Paying by the mile makes sense.

[RallyeMike]

I lot of bureaucratic nonsense (like this) can just be ignored. You'll be happier that way! It's not like they are going to come out and check your mileage. They'd have to put down their doughnut and leave the air conditioned room.

[Challenger340]

I very simply leave mine insured as a Car.... No collector, No vintage, NADA.... a
nd I do not need to be 'special',
I will Pay my way and enjoy my Car and it's none of the Gov'ts damn business.

[BrianShaughnessy]

There's no advantages in NY for historical plates...   maybe other states you can get a lifetime registration or something but it's just a fancy 1 year registration here...  if somebody wanted YOM plates for some reason that's their problem.   Doesn't mean jack to me.

So I don't bother with any of that nonsense.    I don't even give a crap about vanity plates.   I have regular plates on both Chargers.    It's classic insurance that actually saves $.

[LaOtto70Charger]

Wisconsin they charge you double the first year and than it is registered for as long as you own it with no additional registration fees. Only limit is you can't drive in January.  You must also have another registered vehicle.  Overall not a bad deal to save 90 dollars a year. Especially if you don't plan on selling or moving out of state.

[moparstuart]

year of make plate runs me  17 bucks a year in kansas  ,  no limitations  on miles

[Kern Dog]

Yeah, but then you have to live in Kansas.