The bit about the partially obscured license plate is perfectly valid. It's a ticketable offense in my area, though nobody ever appears to get fined for it. In the event of an emergency, like a hit-and-run, tag details (like county, which often gets obscured by those tag border covers) may be helpful in identifying perpetrators.

It's easy to forget just how many ticky little traffic laws there are, because most cops are forgiving about the little things like that. And until an emergency, it's easy to feel like somebody's infringing on my rights. Not that New Rome isn't excessive or perhaps even corrupt, but just sayin'.