New Nevada license plates encourage drivers to ‘Share the road’

By RICHARD N. VELOTTA • LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

10 years ago

Technician Kevin Ricklefs works the front desk at the DMV, 2701 E. Sahara Ave., in Las Vegas Tuesday, Dec 23, 2014. Speciality plates issued by the DMV must maintain registration of 1,000 plates, Air Force Thunderbirds, Airport Managers, the March of Dimes and the Teamsters are in danger of falling off the list this year. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The DMV, 2701 E. Sahara Ave., in Las Vegas is seen on Tuesday, Dec 23, 2014. Speciality plates issued by the DMV must maintain registration of 1,000 plates, Air Force Thunderbirds, Airport Managers, the March of Dimes and the Teamsters are in danger of falling off the list this year. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Specialty license plates decorate the wall at the DMV, 2701 E. Sahara Ave., in Las Vegas Tuesday, Dec 23, 2014. These plates must maintain registration of 1,000 plates, Air Force Thunderbirds, Airport Managers, the March of Dimes and the Teamsters are in danger of falling off the list this year. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Technician Ernest, decline to give last name, works the front desk at the DMV, 2701 E. Sahara Ave., in Las Vegas Tuesday, Dec 23, 2014. Speciality plates issued by the DMV must maintain registration of 1,000 plates, Air Force Thunderbirds, Airport Managers, the March of Dimes and the Teamsters are in danger of falling off the list this year. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A new series of specialty license plates will encourage motorists to “share the road,” a message bicyclists and pedestrians are sure to support.

But the new message made available by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles was possible only because some other specialty plate had fallen out of favor.

So goes the numbers game of the Legislative Commission on Specialty License Plates.

Under state law, Nevada is limited to 35 different specialty plates, 30 under the initial legislative authorization and five under a new tier with a different bonding formula to pay for making them.

There has yet to be a plate issued under the new tier.

Organizations pay a bonding fee to assure the state can manufacture the minimum number of license plates without losing money. Nevada then counts on the public to support them with annual renewals and new issues.

Every year, the Motor Vehicles Department reviews records in October to determine which license plate styles are being purchased and renewed. Under state regulations, a plate must be acquired or renewed on 1,000 vehicles to be maintained. Organizations that sponsor the specialty plates, which get $50 for each new plate and $20 for each renewal ($96 and $25 if it’s a personalized plate), are notified in October so they can promote them to stay above the 1,000-plate minimum.

In December, the department made the cut and new organizations that have applied to benefit from the program were to be notified.

The new plate displays the “Share the Road” message with bicycle and pedestrian imagery. On the new plates, the state collects $61 initially and $30 on renewals with the $25 and $20 going to the cause to support grant funding to be awarded by the Nevada Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.

“This license plate will not only bring awareness of how important it is for us all to share the road, it will also help fund safe bicycle and walking programs and projects,” Nevada Transportation Department Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager Bill Story said.

Next behind the bicycle and pedestrian safety group are Reno, Nevada Bighorns Unlimited, the Indian Health Board of Nevada and the Great Reno Balloon Race. There are 12 causes on the waiting list.

But for every winner, there is a loser.

Four groups that were notified they were in danger of having fewer than 1,000 plates or renewals include the Nevada Veterans Services Department’s Air Force Thunderbirds plates; the Nevada Airports Association’s support of rural Nevada airports; the March of Dimes; and the United Labor Agency of Nevada’s Teamsters Local 631 family assistance programs.

If those plates have failed to reach the minimum, they’ll be transferred to the list of 17 that have lapsed or are no longer renewable as commemorative plates or issued before 1970.

Motor Vehicles Department spokesman Kevin Malone said many of the specialty plates are in no danger of being phased out.

The Las Vegas Centennial plate, which features the image of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, “is the most popular by a mile,” Malone said. As of November, there were 85,700 plates and renewals in circulation.

The Lake Tahoe plate is a distant second with 17,389. Close behind that is the State Emergency Response Commission’s “United We Stand” plate, which has bald eagle and American flag imagery and has 16,768 plates.

One of the biggest recent plate issues was for the Nevada Cultural Affairs Foundation’s observation of the Nevada sesquicentennial celebration. It sold 10,795 plates.

How does the UNLV-UNR rivalry stack up for license plates? There are 8,676 Wolf Pack plates in circulation compared with 4,434 backing the Rebels.

Nevada isn’t the only state to provide specialty license plates to generate money for causes.

Some states have plates with imagery representing a professional sports franchise with the money collected benefiting the team’s charitable causes.

And some states don’t seem to know when to quit supporting causes.

Virginia, for example, offers more than 200 specialty license plates.

Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find him on Twitter: @RickVelotta