The Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle License Tag – Where We Are
Parkway Foundation contract designers have made selection from sample run by the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Today is Tuesday, February 26. For the last two weeks, any time the phone has rung, I have winced … for we have been flooded by calls … where’s our tag?
Expectations of the state we don’t take seriously but we did receive today a color proof demonstrating the State of North Carolina’s new flat-plate printing process which will be used for all new motorcycle specialty tags and some automobile specialty tags. When our designers saw our company car tag printed with the same new process, they said ‘this needs to be better.” I agreed, but having never plowed the ground before with North Carolina DMV by asking the question, “Can you do better?”
We supplied DMV with a color test mockup file three weeks ago which they printed and finally returned to us in the mail today. It was obvious that there were some color preferences which our keen-eye designers have selected. These will be communicated to Raleigh tomorrow on the opening of their business day.
We expect DMV to provide us a timeline and you will be first to know. It will be posted on all of our social network sites simultaneously so you can bookmark your favorite.
Here are the links to our other social sites: Twitter, MySpace, Facebook Address1, Facebook Address2, Facebook Address3.
After this is all over, I will buy a round a beers at Tuggle’s Gap Restaurant at Milepost 165.2
Count on me! I have already told Cheri we are coming!
Question was raised about printing process and how tags will hold up to “sun, wind, and rain”.
Answer: DMV uses great inks in its tag production, but one thing that we have noticed about the Parkway tag, is that in the yellow / ornage color that is used, there is a huge amount of pigment used to get that color. In my personal Parkway auto tag that has been on teh road sinc eday 1, there has been some color loss simply from the sun’s untraviolet light affects on the color itself.
I was wondering if anyone knows how well this new flat-plate printing process will hold up on long motorcycle rides in the sun, wind, and rain? If inks are used, won’t they fade in the sun after many miles on the road?
Please call Lynne Fletcher at the Foundation office; she may be able to help you.
336-721-0260
I got a number instead of the personalized tag. I wonder if they will send the personalized one later ?
I’m told it looks great, can’t wait to see it in person.
Very cool, indeed !
Awesome, Ray!!! You are the first to let us know. Congratulations!!!
Houck Medford
Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
Executive Director
I received my tag in the mail today! I’m the proud owner of # 0035BR
The new plates have been received into the NCDMV office this week from the Bureau of Prisons and they are being prepared for shipment. I think you wil be “ok”. Please call Lynne Fletcher at the Parkway Foundation office on Tuesday morning (Monday is a holiday) for best advice. 336-721-0260
Thanks!
Houck Medford
Excecutive Director
We have a dilemma and that is that our current motorcycle plate is due to expire on June 15 and we need to renew it. But we want the Blue Ridge Parkway plate and don’t want to pay to renew our regular one and then have the new BRP one arrive in the mail which we have already paid for. Would we get a refund? Can anyone give us advice on how to handle this? Thanks.
Sent By: Contact Us Administrator Date/Time: 5/14/2009 11:56:45 AM
Comment:
Once the Division of Motor Vehicles receives the plates from the manufacturer, we will begin issuing the plates. The plates will be mailed to the individuals that requested the plates. If we need additional information before the plate can be issued and mailed, a letter will be mailed to the customer with instructions on how to obtain their plate.
The aluminum that is being used for the motorcycle plates is being used for personalized car license plates also and for many other specialty plates. It is not being used for the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation motorcycle plate only.
I apologize for any incorrect information, you might have received and if I can assist you further, please let me know.
Thanks,
Kay Hatcher
Sent By: Contact Us Administrator Date/Time: 5/14/2009 10:48:21 AM
Comment:
The Division of Motor Vehicles has received the required 300 applications for the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation motorcycle license plate. The Division of Motor Vehicles has been working with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation to create the plate with the design and colors that they have requested. Please keep in mind that this is the first specialty motorcycle license plate that will be issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles; therefore, it is a new manufacturing process for the Department of Corrections. Specialty motorcycle plates were not issued in the past because the plates were so small and if the letters were embossed, there was only enough space on the plate for two numbers. With the new digital printing of special plates, we are able to create a specialty motorcycle plate that will allow space for a maximum of four numbers.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the North Carolina Highway Patrol have approved the sample Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation motorcycle plate and the plates are being manufactured at this time. We hope to receive them from the manufacturer within the next two to three weeks.
If I can assist you further, please let me know.
Thanks,
Kay Hatcher
Thank you Mrs Shelton. for your the only reply I have gotten so far, It is a shame They have chashed Our checks fast, But Slow to None in responce to our questions. Should you Find Anything out or recive your plate would you Please post it. Thank you
NO – Mr. Kennedy we don’t have our motorcycle Parkway plate and I sincerely doubt anyone else does either. It is incomprehensible for any agency to take 7 months to produce what it has been producing for many, many years – simply a smaller version. This is total frustration that none of us supporters of the Blue Ridge Parkway need! We have received 0 information from the Parkway Foundation until I emailed them yesterday. I don’t have time to do blogs. Please just get the plate to my husband.
HAS anyone recived their plate yet. or is DMV still still working on things?
And is their any idea when the plates get to those you have ORDERED them??????
Here is link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blue_ridge_parkway/3311707883/
NOTE: In the tag production process, white is printed as a gray-white … the color that is the background of the standard issue NC license tag
One of the reasons for all the delay is that NCDMV has installed a new flat-plate manufacturing process (as opposed to the traditional embossing process) to help save money. Embossing is a very labor intensive and expensive process no mater who is doing it i.e. Department of Corrections. One can spot these flat plates now on NC highways, and there are even flat-plates that are being made for motorcycles. There have been two adminsitrative decisions made recently.
1) NC will go back to an all embossed plate as soon as the newer material is used up – has to do with readability; and
2) All motorcycle plates will eventually be flat plate.
Currently, the motorcyle plates in production are printed on a thinner guage metal, which “is bending in the wind”. As soon as this material is used up, DMV will go to a thicker guage metal.
The Blue Ridge Parkway motorcycle licnese plate will be the best looking tag out there!