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Carrol Jo Bummer

License plates, fuel tax decals and bingo boards.

Question

Hello again,
I come to you master modelers with a question that has been on my mind for years now.

We all know a bumper of license plates and a door of fuel decals were a part of the big rig dress code back in the day, but what determined which plates/decals/sleeper script was required for one’s truck?

Suppose an owner-operator lived in California, and he operated up and down the West Coast and out to the Rockies.  Would he need plates/decals for each state?  And was the little “bingo board” used in lieu of license plates for states he didn’t frequent as much?

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You only needed plates and/or fuel permits for the states that you actually operated in or planned to operate in. Some states issued door decals, some issued metal license plates, and some issued those little stickers that go on the bingo board (love that name btw). It was up to each individual state to issue or not issue visible proof of permission to operate in their state. Some issued these things at the first weigh station you came to and some had to be ordered by your carrier and delivered to the carrier and displayed on your truck before you entered the state. Some states had what they called "reciprocity" with some other states, so that if you were base-plated in state "A" you didn't need any special permits to operate in state "B". 

It was a mess, not to mention a mess of paperwork. You carried a hardback folder for all your permits in your truck at all times. If you operated in a large number of states both of your doors would be covered with fuel permits and you could have 8 or 10 or more license plates hanging off the front of your truck. It's funny now to think of it.

That all went away during  deregulation, which began in the late 70s.

Pretty crazy while it lasted, tho.

Thanks for the fun memories.

Johnny

 

 

 

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