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Mr. Luddite

On 11/1/2014 1:28 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 21:15:30 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/31/2014 8:40 PM, wrote:

They do sell a tag cover that you can read the tag through but it
seriously reduces the laser reflection and it is hard to see from an
angle, frustrating cameras.

Heh. You don't have annual vehicle inspections in Florida like we do.
People have tried the plastic over the front plate trick by getting
fancy plate holders. Won't pass inspection if you have one installed.

That was another bureaucratic boondoggle that we got rid of. In fact
it was a democratic governor who did it. (Bob Graham)

Years ago Massachusetts required all of the privately owned gas stations
and repair shops that were licensed by the state to do vehicle
inspections to install dynamometers (at considerable expense) for under
load emission testing. Your car or truck would be driven onto the
rollers and a sensor was placed in the exhaust. Emission levels at idle
and at high speed were taken by a computer.

Then, about 3 or 4 years ago active emission tests were eliminated. All
the stations had to dig out the dynamometers or simply no longer use them.

All they do now is plug the computer into the vehicle's OBD-II connector
and check for faults. If your car is a 1996 or older, it is exempted
from this test completely and all they do is check the horn, lights,
etc., like they did 35 years ago. Some stations will jack up the front
end and check for bad ball joints or tie rods.

When we had the winter house in Jupiter FL, I bought a used Ford Ranger
down there and registered it in Florida. I was very surprised to find
out there was no vehicle safety or emission testing required.
Up here you have to get a car, new or used, inspected within 7 days of
purchase.

The only problem I ran into in Florida was getting insurance. Because
the Ranger had Florida tags I couldn't put it on my MA insurance policy.
Then, because I held a MA driver's license, I was told I couldn't get
insurance. Finally Allstate gave me a policy but only after they
received a fax from my MA insurance company stating that I had held a
policy for some number of years and was in good standing.

The other thing unique to MA is that it is the only state in the Union
that does not issue temporary paper tags (or plates).

When we sold the place in Florida my last trip back involved hauling two
Harley motorcycles back to MA. I bought an enclosed trailer and got a
temporary FL tag for it that was good for 30 days. Used it to drive
home, then tossed the paper tag away.