That's all.
Vanity and commercialism, however, have literally obscured those legitimate services.
License-plate holders, originally introduced to simply dress up and customize drab plates, have evolved into glutinous carriers of political, social and commercial claptrap.
In the process, the pudgy holders have managed to obscure the names of issuing states and their renewal tags and dates.
While holder messages--Shit Happens, Jesus Saves and Joe's Auto Sales--are protected by the First Amendment, their carriers still interfere with valid identification processes such as police surveillances, hot pursuits and gathering of eyewitness information.
Granted, vehicle plates seen frequently in a given state are easily identified because of common colors and text. But what about vehicle visitors from the 49 other states?
By the way, why do vehicle owners accept commercial plate holders advertising dealerships where they spent thousands of their hard-earned dollars?
Nuke the plate holders.(18 APR 99)