NC’s colorful custom license plates in jeopardy

Posted on 21 Feb 2012 by Justin Ruckman

The General Assembly decreed last year that, starting in 2015, DMV shall issue standardized plates to replace all the pretty ones (…). The new design must be “easily read by the human eye and by cameras installed along roadways as part of tolling and speed enforcement,” the legislation said.

But is this really necessary? Probably not, said Barry Mickle, operations director for the N.C. Turnpike Authority.

Standardized plates would make life easier for toll collectors that use cameras to identify cars, Mickle said. But this technology has improved quickly in the past few years. The cameras used now on the state’s first toll road, the Triangle Expressway, are smarter than your average bear. (…)

“We know that many people buy full-color plates solely because of their appearance, not because they’re necessarily supporting a particular cause,” [Holly Demuth, North Carolina director for Friends of the Smokies] said. “We’re concerned that a less attractive plate will be less popular and generate less revenue.”

Read more by Bruce Siceloff in the Charlotte Observer.