Faded Alberta Plates

[Atomoa]

When I first came to the OK valley years ago, getting used to the summer influx of red-plates was part of the package. I also noticed over the years that there are quite a few of these Alberta plates here in town that are so faded that you would need to do a stencil sketch with a pencil and paper to read the numbers properly. White on white.

Alberta has farmers and ruggedness but I would suggest that BC has at least equal amounts of harsh weather and ruggedness as well as farm/rural people and their associated vehicles. I can't say I've ever seen a bleached white BC plate.

Is it just a lax law in Alberta that allows people to run unreadable plates from 1981? How do these people get their vehicles here without being pulled over and/or spend the entire summer driving around our city with unreadable plates?

Just curious.

[mexi cali]

I would suggest that BC has at least equal amounts of harsh weather and ruggedness

If that were true, you wouldn't be seeing all those faded red plates. Where exactly do you live?

[Atomoa]

If that were true, you wouldn't be seeing all those faded red plates. Where exactly do you live?

Baffin Island.

[Grandan]

When I first came to the OK valley years ago, getting used to the summer influx of red-plates was part of the package. I also noticed over the years that there are quite a few of these Alberta plates here in town that are so faded that you would need to do a stencil sketch with a pencil and paper to read the numbers properly. White on white.

Alberta has farmers and ruggedness but I would suggest that BC has at least equal amounts of harsh weather and ruggedness as well as farm/rural people and their associated vehicles. I can't say I've ever seen a bleached white BC plate.

Is it just a lax law in Alberta that allows people to run unreadable plates from 1981? How do these people get their vehicles here without being pulled over and/or spend the entire summer driving around our city with unreadable plates?

Just curious.

I have a plate on my old utility trailer that has been there since 1982 or so. There are remnants of stickers of all colours layered on the plate. The colour has worn off the plate. The reason that the letters are raised on the plate is so that no matter how faded, the plate numbers can still be read. You could be stopped and ordered to refresh the plate but I have never heard of that.
In Alberta, the colour used is RED which fades in the sun rapidly vs blue which is longer lasting.
Calgary with it's elevation is exposed to the damaging rays of the sun more so than it is in the valleys of BC.
There is only one plate on the AB vehicles so it gets twice the wear, LOL.

[LANDM]

The raised letters are closer to the sun so they fade faster.
And, of course, as grandan said, only one plate incurs twice the wear.

[Atomoa]

I have a plate on my old utility trailer that has been there since 1982 or so. There are remnants of stickers of all colours layered on the plate. The colour has worn off the plate. The reason that the letters are raised on the plate is so that no matter how faded, the plate numbers can still be read. You could be stopped and ordered to refresh the plate but I have never heard of that.
In Alberta, the colour used is RED which fades in the sun rapidly vs blue which is longer lasting.
Calgary with it's elevation is exposed to the damaging rays of the sun more so than it is in the valleys of BC.
There is only one plate on the AB vehicles so it gets twice the wear, LOL.

Appreciate the answer.

I think the red colour fading faster than blue is a interesting point that hadn't occurred to me. However there are 3 Alberta vehicles parked up the road for me and literally you cannot read the "raised letters" unless you walked right up to the plate and took a minute or two to figure it out. They are so faded that it prompted me to write this thread post because from my perspective they have no readable plates.

People get pulled over all the time for the the plastic photo radar covers, plate lights being burnt out and plates being obscured by after market ad on's. It makes me think that I could fabricate a faded white on white Alberta plate and drive around all summer with it without problem.

The thing is that these old faded plates are on newer, non-faded cars. This leads me to believe Alberta is lax with replacing plates and it's some sort of Alberta "thing", like the whole "no safety regulations for farm workers" type of wild west stuff.

[kgcayenne]

By the way, in 1981, Alberta's licence plates were still yellow/black (background/lettering). I remember calling them 'Caution Tags' I think it was either 1984, or '85 when they went to white/red. It was around the time (or slightly after) that BC plates changed from blue/white to white/blue.

[Glacier]

Back then we used to get new plates every year too!

[Steve-O]

My folks back home in Calgary have the same plates on their new car that were on their Plymouth Horizon they bought just after I got out of high school.

Plates move from car to car instead of always having new ones issued. Used to own a red car. Went to get it painted and the body shop fella told me red will fade faster than any other color. Ask Bill Nye why.

[kgcayenne]

Back then we used to get new plates every year too!

I wonder why... We kept the same plates until forced to update them when the colour changed. Hah, I've had the same plates since 1989.


What is interesting today, is that if you take insurance off your car, they take the plates back, but if it expires, they don't exactly find you to collect them.

[Atomoa]

By the way, in 1981, Alberta's licence plates were still yellow/black (background/lettering). I remember calling them 'Caution Tags' I think it was either 1984, or '85 when they went to white/red. It was around the time (or slightly after) that BC plates changed from blue/white to white/blue.

Nice one, 1981 always has such a ring to it but good to know.