The Year in Review: 2024 with eTags

A very good morning -or afternoon or evening, depending on when you’re reading this – to all of our beloved readers this day.  We love that you’re here, and we wanted to take a moment to thank you for hanging out with us in 2024.  It’s been a wild ride for a lot of folks across the U.S., and it’s no small thing to know that we’ve got such a cool group of automotive-obsessed people to chill with here on the blog.

We’ve gone through so many different topics with you over the last year: from how to transfer a title to how to renew a registration, from the importance of emissions testing to out-of-state transfers, from trending vehicle news to our Florida Specialty Plate Spotlight Series, from new laws to fun facts…we’ve really tried to cast a wide net over all things automotive.

We hope you’ve loved our contributions as much as we’ve loved putting them together for you.

Because it’s been roughly 52 weeks now, we thought we’d do a little year-in-review, highlight some of our most popular posts, and remind ourselves and you of the best bits from the blog. Think of it as the Cliff’s Notes of the automotive world. (High school, anyone?!)

Okay, in no particular order, here goes:

• When moving to a new state and bringing you vehicle with you, most states in the country will require you to switch your coverage to your new place of residence. This can be done by either transferring your current policy to your new state (if your provider operates there) or by purchasing a new plan from a local insurance company.

Love it or hate it, emissions testing is a basic requirement in over thirty states.

• In order to register or renew (depending on the regulations in your state) the registration on vehicle, it will likely need to pass an emissions test, thereby regulating toxic fumes and decreasing the amount of chemicals released into the environment.
• In the state of California, it is illegal for women to operate a motor vehicle while wearing a robe or dressing gown.
• If you lose your license plate, or it becomes damaged or stolen in the state of New York, you can order a replacement tag quickly and easily at etags.com.
• When purchasing a motorcycle for the first time, some important factors to consider are: how the bike fits you, what your purpose and usage will be like, what your current driving ability is, as well as having an awareness of reviews, maintenance, and other costs.
• The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico has made it illegal for taxi drivers to manually pull potential customers into their cars.

Whether you need to transfer a title to your name, add or remove an owner from a title, the process is simple with the assistance of our title experts at eTags.

• When renewing your vehicle registration in the state of Maryland, there are several ways to go about it. You can do so by mail, by kiosk, in person, or the superfast way at etags.com.
• If you’re planning on purchasing a car, truck, SUV, motorcycle, or RV via a private sale, one of the most important steps to remember is: be sure the seller is in possession of a clean, valid title in their name. Without it, or with a defaced (damaged, altered, corrected) title, the sale will not be valid.
• Moving to Ohio? You will be required to transfer your vehicle’s paperwork (title and registration) and obtain both an Ohio title as well as Ohio license plates within thirty days of your move.
• Even in the absence of painted white lines or a designated crosswalk, pedestrians always have the right of way in California. Unless there is a sign prohibiting them from crossing, of course.
• The Lemon Law (depending on the place you live) is a law that states that any new vehicle that has spent more than thirty days in the shop for repairs or has been sent for alteration a certain number of times (for the same issue), and still has not been fixed must be eligible (by the manufacturer) for refund or replacement.
• Vision Zero is the goal of many counties, cities, and states (and countries, at that) that aims to achieve a number of Zero deaths caused by traffic crashes by the year 2050.
• One of the best deterrents to potential car thieves is a well-lit, public parking spot. The more people around, the closer you are parked to a building entrance, streetlight, or elevator the less likely a thief will be to choose your vehicle to steal or vandalize.

In the search for the best auto insurance policy, one factor to consider is giving the little guys a chance.

• The big companies may not always have the cheapest policy or the one that’s right for you. Shop around, keep an open mind, and you may just come out ahead.
• Choosing a Florida Specialty Plate (and potentially personalizing it) not only means you get to display your hobby/interest/passion, but it also allows you to support the cause, charity, foundation behind that particular theme.
• The state of Nevada expressly forbids the riding of camels on its public highways.
• If your Check Engine light pops up on your dashboard, it may not mean your vehicle needs to be rushed to the emergency room that very minute -don’t panic!- but it does indicate that a trip to the mechanic should probably happen sooner rather than later.

And there is our recap.  Sadly, we cannot squeeze a full year’s worth of info into one post (you’d be here a while) but we hope this roundup has reminded everyone of a few important facts as well as a few fun factoids.  We’ve enjoyed the trip down memory lane, and we hope you have too!

Once again, thanks for hanging out with us here on the blog.  We love what we do here at eTags, and remind you that as always, we’re here to help!