wales@ucla-cs.UUCP (03/30/85)
In article <159@ucbcad.UUCP>, Mike Klein <klein@ucbcad.UUCP> says that
an "E" in a diamond on a California license plate denotes an emergency
vehicle.
Not quite.
The "E" in a diamond (or, on older California plates, an "E" in an
octagon) denotes a publicly owned vehicle that is exempt from regis-
tration fees. (The "E" thus stands for "exempt", I assume.)
I was unable to find any section of the California Vehicle Code which
specifically talks about plates with this "E", but I think that the
applicable section of the Code is Section 4155, which basically says
that:
(1) License plates on publicly owned vehicles must display a
distinguishing symbol or letter (not specified in the Code,
but I assume it is the "E" in a diamond).
(2) Such plates need not display the year issued. (For "normal"
cars in California, the rear license plate must display
stickers showing the month and year when the current regis-
tration expires. A new "year" sticker is issued each year
after payment of registration fees, and it is stuck on the
plate over the old "year" sticker.)
(3) Registration of such a vehicle lasts indefinitely and need
not be renewed annually (again, unlike normal cars).
I have seen many, many NON-emergency vehicles with "exempt" plates. For
example, school buses owned by public school districts have them. Also,
here at UCLA (which is a state-run school), ALL the cars owned by the
University have "exempt" plates. (They also have decals on the back
saying "University of California -- For Official Use Only" -- but that's
another story altogether.)
If I remember correctly, the "exempt" plates in at least some other
states have an embossed caption that says "PUBLICLY OWNED" or some such.
California "exempt" plates, on the other hand, have no special marking
except for the "E" in a diamond/octagon.
--
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Rich Wales
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Computer Science Department
3531 Boelter Hall
Los Angeles, California 90024 // USA
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Phone: (213) 825-5683 // +1 213 825 5683
ARPANET: wales@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA
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