Bingo.They won't say it, but it's about the new plates being reflective for tolls/photo radar.
My state had changed the entire tag system last year. They went from a stamped and painted plate to a flat plate with a reflective sticker on it.
I would think the non-reflective plate would be more photogenic – but what do I know.
Also, select (not all) Oklahoma City police and some Oklahoma Highway Patrol cars are equipped with several tag level cameras (I think I was told ten) around the car. These cars transmit tag numbers back to (somewhere) non-stop and if a tag number pops up as stolen (or whatever), it will alert the driver. Otherwise, the driver or occupants don’t get involved with the tag gathering information - except at traffic stops.
I was told by a friend; the cameras only need a tenth of a second to record the tag number and about ten seconds for a message if tag is flagged.
I asked and the reply I got, is the tag readers don’t look at if tags are out of date or if you are late on re-registering them. They are looking for stolen tags or tags that police are actively looking for.
On an unrelated (?) issue, there are nationally advertised companies who will give you a quote for selling your car based off only a tag number.
Also, some automotive software packages, like Mitchells ProDemand (automotive labor times, service manuals, TSB’s, etc.), also use tag numbers to pull up the cars (or customers).
BudW