U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for April 26

WASHINGTON -- April 26, 2015: Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

FIRST LICENSE PLATES

Profile America WASHINGTON, DC -- April 26, 2015: Many automobile license plates proclaim glories of the issuing states; others spell out something dear to the drivers but indecipherable to anyone else. Those plates and the more basic ones are requirements to drive on public roads. New York was the first state to require license plates on motor vehicles this month in 1901. At the time, there were just fewer than 15,000 sputtering automobiles in the entire country, traveling over muddy, rudimentary roads without a license for the driver or the automobile. Now, there are over 250 million cars, trucks, and buses in the nation, and all sporting license plates. Decorative frames for license plates are a niche product in America's 37,000 auto parts and accessories stores, which generate $48 billion in annual sales. You can find more facts about America's people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at Census.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 4220 Vehicles in early 20th Century: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 716 Motor vehicles today: Vehicle Stats