North Carolina Proposes a Dual License Plate Bill

If you've stood in line at the North Carolina DMV lately, you may have noticed a change to the plates their handing out, the blue lettering that's graced the plates since 1982 has been replaced with bright red lettering. However DMV may soon be handing out a new surprise, two plates. Senator Janet Cowell introduced a bill that would require all vehicles to have both a front and rear license plate. The bill number S673, would be supported by police because they say it would allow them to catch speeders easier, and improve public safety. The question is, will it really improve safety enough to outweigh the disadvantages and huge costs of the plates?

The first major obstacle of the new bill is the outright cost of supplying and additional 8.4 million addition plates for the vehicles already in use. That money will have to be pulled from the budget, or will have to be paid for directly to the DMV. This means less money for constructing I-540 and other road improvement projects.

Many car owners will be opposed to the bill because of the cosmetic damage caused to their car. Many cars are not fitted with brackets for forward plates, meaning one would have to be retrofitted to the car, or holes will have to be drilled directly into the bumper. This may not be a big deal for your average car owner, but imagine drilling two holes in the carbon fiber bumper of your 300,000 dollar Lamborghini. Not only does it cause damage to the car, but most people will agree the front plates are unsightly at best.

The benefits to law enforcement are extremely low. The plates can not be seen at night due to the fact that no cars have forward mounted plate illumination lights. A police officer looking in his rear view mirror during the day at the car behind him will see the letters backwards, making the plate useless. Driving past the officer, the front plate can easily be obscured by other motorist.

The evident lack of value to law enforcement, combined with the high cost of updating current cars with a second license plate, and continuing to produce dual license plates for new cars, makes the new bill pointless. If you would like to contact the senators in NC senate, a list of phone numbers and email address is below.

Chairman
Senator Larry Shaw (Dem)
Phone: (919) 733-9349
Email: Larrys@ncleg.net
(910) 433-2522 (FAX)

Vice-Chair
Senator Steve Goss (Dem)
Phone: (919) 733-5742
Email: Steveg@ncleg.net

Vice-Chair
Senator Clark Jenkins (Dem)
Phone: (919) 715-3040
Email: Clarkj@ncleg.net

Members
Senator Austin M. Allran (Rep)
Phone: (919) 733-5876
Email: Austina@ncleg.net
(828) 324-0498 (FAX)

Senator Phil Berger (Rep)
Phone: (919) 733-5708
Email: philbe@ncleg.net
(336)623-2023 (FAX)

Senator Harry Brown (Rep)
Phone: (919) 715-3034
Email: Harryb@ncleg.net

Senator Janet Cowell (Dem)
Phone: (919) 715-6400
Email: Janetc@ncleg.net

Senator Don East (Rep)
Phone: (919) 733-5743
Email: Done@ncleg.net

Senator W. Edward (Eddie) Goodall (Rep)
Phone: (919) 733-7659
Email: Eddieg@ncleg.net

Senator Malcolm Graham (Dem)
Phone: (919) 733-5650
Email: Malcolmg@ncleg.net

Senator Neal Hunt (Rep)
Phone: (919) 733-5850
Email: Nealh@ncleg.net

Senator John H. Kerr III (Dem)
Phone: (919) 733-5621
Email: Johnk@ncleg.net
(919) 734-4215 (FAX)

Senator Jean Preston (Rep)
Phone: (919) 733-5706
Email: Jeanp@ncleg.net

Senator Joe Sam Queen (Dem)
Phone: (919) 733-3460
Email: Joeq@ncleg.net

Senator John Snow (Dem)
Phone: (919) 733-5875
Email: Johnsn@ncleg.net

Senator Richard Stevens (Rep)
Phone: (919) 733-5653
Email: Richards@ncleg.net

Senator A. B. Swindell (Dem)
Phone: (919) 715-3030
Email: abs@ncleg.net
(252) 459-4385 (FAX)

Senator Jerry W. Tillman (Rep)
Phone: (919) 733-5870
Email: Jerryt@ncleg.net

Senator David F. Weinstein (Dem)
Phone: (919) 733-5651
Email: Davidw@ncleg.net
(910) 608-0034 (FAX)