Just need to vent...

Yes, much of the English-speaking world finds "fanny pack" hilarious.

A cargo sporran, though.... that's an excellent term.

 

I have seen people wear fanny packs in sporran position. Sort of.

 

My (Scottish) dad always said you should wear your sporran on the inside of your kilt. Because "That way, if you get pickpocketed, at least you'll enjoy it."

 

I'm told the Febes used to use "Fast Action Gun" (probably a reverse backronym) bags that were almost indistinguishable from civilian 'fanny packs' but I'm a hard sell on that use case.
I was given one for use overseas but I never bothered with them much.

They simply make you someone else's holster.

 

BC?
.

 

Wonder if they own a bike?

Wouldn't be the first time somebody put hitch gear on just to obscure the plate.

 

Ha! In 2019, we drove my wife's 2017 Prius to Maine and, while driving through Illinois, I got pulled over.

Trooper asked where I was from and I told him "Colorado" He said he wasn't able to see the word "Colorado" on the bottom of my license plate because of the plastic frame the Toyota dealer had on the car. When we stopped for the night, I removed the stupid thing.

 

it's amazing we don't have automatic turn signals yet

 

In Australia you have to have a separate plate affixed to a bike rack or anything like that.

 

That is far far worse than the bike rack that caused me a written warning in South Dakota. Though there were significant hints that the real reason I was stopped was for having a marijuana-state plate.

In my home and neighboring states and province, that rack has been no problem, even before the Pandemic (& post-George Floyd) non-enforcement pattern began. And I've worked alongside them for bike event incidents, so it wasn't like they never saw it or had no opportunity.

Here, technically, we need a separate plate holder attached to the back of the rack, and move the regular car plate to it. Finding a plate holder that actually does the job, is a separate complication. Nearly non-existent enforcement seems to have produced nearly non-existent supply.

 

The same in Washington. The embossed metal style is gone. The newer laminated plates seem to be getting continually worse, as if the manufacturing process is gradually being cheapened.

Our youngest plate, on our 2014 SUV, was peeling badly enough to require replacement last fall. The middle plate, on my current Prius but transferred from my first Prius acquired in spring 2009, is showing problems but is not bad enough for replacement yet. The spouse's car's plate is our oldest, left over from when the state abolished the 7-year automatic replacement requirement, and is clearly in the best shape.

I should check to see if my state has a similar policy, but very much doubt it. Back when plates had to be replaced the moment the 3M reflection warranty expired, replacements were explicitly not free.

 

There's very little enthusiasm for traffic enforcement in the USA, and it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Some younger drivers are learning that a valid plate is just another way to get caught. Better to print out a web-sourced PDF of a legitimate-looking temporary tag, because nobody's going to bother them if they drive OK, and nobody will catch them if they don't.

Plus it saves a lot on insurance.

 

I've seen footage of some fairly enthusiastic traffic enforcement in the US. Just not with white drivers....

The US is far from alone in that, though. A few months ago, I rented a truck to take stuff to Broken Hill. The rental company is Bangladeshi-owned, and the truck had a giant picture of Bangladesh Parliament House on one side and a monument to the martyrs of the war of independence on the other. It was a very stylish truck.



In a small rural town, I was stopped in a "random" traffic check. When I got out, the cop was visibly disappointed that I was not Bangladeshi.

That really is extraordinary. You'd get, at the very least, a five-year driving ban here for doing that.

 

That is quite weird.

What happens if you live in a place with toll roads? Do you just not get charged because the plate recognition won't work?

 

Stupid drivers....my 21 year old niece (in South Carolina) was stopped on a bridge and got slammed into....pushed her up into the car on front of her and 4 cars were involved. Stupid driver probably texting. She has a 2020 Honda so I'm hoping it's not totaled and I told her to ask the repair folks to ONLY use OEM parts.

 

They must be new to this non-racist enforcement thing. Here, the police are much better practiced at not visibly displaying their disappointment.

How are such offenders initially caught and ID'd? Are high speed chases for such non-violent offenses not yet banned for their risk of injuring or killing innocent bystanders? In my state, offenders are simply speeding off these days, knowing that it is mostly illegal for police to continue chasing them for such offenses. The few caught are mostly those unlucky enough to flee within view of airborne police who can track them from above, calling in reinforcements on the ground to where the offenders stop and hide or duck into a garage.

I'm not sure there are many five-years bans here for anything short of vehicular homicide.

 

They just bill it to somebody else with a valid account.