Yes, It’s Possible to Change Laws That Keep You from Driving Your Classic
We love driving our vintage cars, but sometimes local law says we can’t, shouldn’t, or are not welcome to do so. It’s frustrating, and the complexity of traffic law makes the situation confusing, even if those layers of legalese were accumulated over a century of incremental change targeted at keeping our roads orderly and our drivers safe.
The laws that govern driving are something that we agree to follow when we apply for and are granted our driving license. So what do we do when we want those laws changed?
The process is not simple or quick, but it is possible. Just a few weeks ago, a committed group of car enthusiasts won a long-awaited victory: The state of Michigan announced that it would alter the driving code as it pertained to the usage of vehicles with authentic or historic registrations (to qualify, a vehicle has to be 26 years or older).
The vehicle code of Michigan was written to restrict the driving of vehicles with these types of registrations to “club activities, exhibitions, tours, parades, and similar uses, including mechanical testing.” The law barred their use for regular transportation but granted a lower annual registration fee. A handful of drivers were issued tickets while at Detroit’s beloved Woodward Dream Cruise because the event did not fall under any of the approved scenarios yet drivers took their vintage rides out regardless of registration. John Russell, along with other members of the Twin Bay British Car Club, thought the situation was absurd, so they began the process of removing the restrictions.
Most states help people like you or I by giving us a roadmap to enact the change we wish to see. For example, Michigan.gov has a four-page explainer of the exact steps needed—in order, no less.
If only it were that simple. I reached out to a few of the people who were behind the recent change in Michigan, and they provided some valuable perspective. “I guess the word I would look for is perseverance,” said Dr. Fred Stoye, who worked closely with John Russell and other members of the Twin Bay British Car Club to march the path laid by the state. “We saw the need for positive change, followed all the legal steps, forged alliances in the legislature, and presented a plan that worked and was voted into law.”
The process was not quick. There were multiple dead ends along the way that put pauses on any progress and sometimes kicked them back to square one. In the end, the group persevered for ten years before they achieved the big victory. One of the tougher steps in the process was getting a lawmaker to pick up their cause. They struggled to find a sponsor who was willing to introduce the bill and to continue advocating for it as the bill stepped through committee review, which can take months to years, depending on a multitude of factors.
Even with a sponsor, and after the bill passed the Michigan House of Representatives, Russell and his compatriots had no time to relax. All the work up to that point could be done from afar, but when the bill entered the Michigan Senate, they were asked to testify at a hearing to explain why the relaxation of driving restrictions was worthwhile. Stoye, Russell, and other team members went to Lansing with a measured approach: “We expressed the need to drive our classic cars to keep them healthy and how there would be no adverse damage to our roads.” Their argument boiled down to the fact the current law was not particularly helping anything—so why did it exist?
Their argument might not apply to every change you or I would like to see regarding restrictions to the use of vintage cars, but the members of the Twin Bay British Car Club set a great example for automotive enthusiasts. What it really takes to change a law is the right group of people, motivated in the right way, who are willing to stick out the process.
If there is a restriction or driving law you think is outdated, superfluous, or otherwise unhelpful to the vintage car hobby: The power is in your hands. People just like you have succeeded in making change. Now it’s your turn.
***
Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. To get our best stories delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.
Respect your seniors! In this case, classic cars. Don’t Horace them. Appreciate there history & the great stories they have to pass on to the next. Generation!
I got out of getting a ticket in Royal Oak MI 10 or so years ago a few days before the dream cruise (probably the Thursday before the Cruise) I was Driving my “slighty” modified 1978 Pontiac Sunbird wagon . When I was pulled over I was informed that the violation was for my Classic Car Plate. I quickly pulled the restriction list out, and pointed to to the Testing and repair exclusion. Seeing as my car looked just like a Vega wagon I told the officer I was limping it to Vinsetta Garage for repair. And he smiled and said he could never dispute that claim in court about a Vega needing to be repaired! And handed back my Registration and License.
Sometime it pays off to drive a car with a bad reliability reputation!
Different and modern times call for drastic measures. Municipal revenues are falling.
Certainly laws are for some and not others and it applies to the penalty as well.
Drive without or proper registration, say it’s a $100 compliance violation. Offer up your signature or post a DL as bond, go to court and plea your case most likely taking a day off of work, little leniency expected as court costs are usually always collected one way or another.
Now on the other hand, many states have adopted a restorative justice form of jurisprudence, to wit: knowingly and without lawful justification, intentionally break the window of a classic car, the property of another… it’s a no-bond required offense, no penalty or restitution is ever implemented.
New application of any Laws are intended to affect those with something to lose, not the other way around.
I have not run classic or antique plates on my Supra yet even though it is 27 years old. Should look into it.
No, unless you want to limit your ability to use the vehicle as you wish…
Is this Russia? This isn’t Russia. I thought the people ran this country. We’ve paid for the roads, we’ve paid our insurance and registration fees. We pay property tax( here in Virginia) on all of our vehicles every 6 months, we pay gasoline tax. Can we please drive our vehicles? Спасибо.
The law in Michigan this article was written about has specific tradeoffs. If someone registers a classic or antique vehicle with a classic plate the registration cost is less than for a normal everyday car. In exchange the person agrees to restrictions on when and why they can drive their car. OR …… they can pay the regular fee to register the vehicle with a regular plate and drive it anytime they please.
People are free to choose but if you choose to voluntarily restrict your car usage in exchange for a discount then don’t complain about the restrictions.
Check the coverage restrictions on your Hagerty policy😂😂😂
Pay attention to who you vote for. It’s pretty obvious.
Yes, very important. I neglected to mention in my comment that the ultimate goal is to eliminate the gasoline engine altogether with new rules, not so much by the elected but the appointed and re-imagined agencies.
Classics are not for the most part an everyday driver, especially in big city/big county jurisdictions. As far as I know most big city emissions testing have never changed their rules for how old a car/truck has to be to be exempt from stringent emissions standards, e.g.southern California, has a set exemption standard of 1974. These are vehicles pre-EPA era. The failure to meet the emissions test results in eventual denial of registration furthermore brands the vehicle as a Gross Polluter, that moniker in terms can deem a vehicle as operationally unsafe which in turn might trickle down to insurability. Pursuit of happiness must not be infringed.
Your Pursuit of Happiness is not being affected.
Your Achievement or Attainment of Happiness is…
Here in British Columbia, Canada you can get Collector Plates for a car at least 25 years old and in stock condition. There is also a modified category. The only restrictions are you must have a daily driver registered in your name, and you can’t drive the old car to or from work or school. Insurance cost is about 25% of regular insurance rates. I have three such cars for a yearly total cost of about $650. What a great scheme we have here.
In Illinois, we have two types of Antique license plates available. “AV” plates are the cheapest, but most restrictive. Basically, you can drive your car in parades. “EA” plates are Extended Antique. Not much more expensive and they let you drive your car between March and November with no further restrictions.
That said, you could probably drive with no plates at all in Illinois and you’ll be fine. Enforcement of traffic laws is almost nonexistent in the Chicago metro area and may get worse. The current Cook County State’s Attorney is pushing a plan that would direct prosecutors to reject gun and drug charges if they are discovered during traffic stops.
This article is yet another example of why everyone should be involved in the legislative process. Many folks don’t even know who their legislators are, much less what is involved in making legislation. It’s fine to complain about the government if you bother to be involved, as the article suggests, but it’s not fine to just complain. So—let’s all vote, folks, not just in the national elections, but in all of them.
One way or another they WILL curtail you. When all gas is 30% ethanol and that destroys your fuel system whatcha gonna do?
Probably separate out the ethanol myself. It’s not that difficult, plenty of tutorials to be found. Just haven’t needed to do it yet.
… continue driving my Diesel cars on WVO.
Every time I drive one of my vintage vehicles, it’s essentially a mechanical test.
Cheap sht is still cheap sht.Restricted usages plates are just what YOU paid for.Funny that people have put more money into restoration then they will ever get back out of the car but end the end cry about restoration. Put plates on your car so you can drive the darn thing.Why get cheap at the end?
BINGO!
I have mixed feelings about this. While I congratulate the folks in Michigan for their success in getting a restrictive law changed (and wonder how an organized cruise is not part of authorized usage), I also feel that if you want unrestricted use, nobody twisted your arm for the antique plates.
I have antique plates on my old bug. It doesn’t get inspected and it’s cheaper than regular registration. I drive it on errands from time to time, mostly to make sure it’s still going OK. Nobody in law enforcement has bothered me, but then I often see vehicles on the road with no plates ar all, or with plastic covers on their plates that are so dark you couldn’t read them anyway. It’s clear to me that plate laws are way down the list on what gets enforced in Idaho.
Huskie, you need a dealers license to have a dealer plate. Doesn’t make sense from cost and hassle standpoint. I have my 80s/90s “classics” under an LLC with regular plates. As for Buddy, ma6be I have some cheap cars, but even without antique plates, the tax values on mine are next to nothing. Tax value doesn’t equate to market value, I think unless you have something pretty rare where the only examples are at mecum or on hemmings. Some of mine are/have been worth 10/20k in collector venues, but there are/have recently been enough in junkyards or on craigslist such that they have tax values literally in the hundreds of dollars. I had a 92 corrado vr6 that was in the 20k realm on the collector market, 800 tax value. Etc,etc. 89 allante worth 8-10k on the collector market, I think tax value was most recently 1200. Plus no emossions inspection in nc after 20 years, no inspection AT ALL after 30