ALBANY: New state license plates unveiled

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A look at the new “Empire Gold” license plate which will be issued to most vehicles registered in the state beginning in April, 2010.

November 10, 2009

New plate will improve highway safety and generate needed revenue, official says

Staff Reports The Niagara Gazette Tue Nov 10, 2009, 03:14 PM EST

David J. Swarts, state commissioner of Motor Vehicles and chair of the governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, unveiled the “Empire Gold” license plate Tuesday which will be issued to most vehicles registered in the state beginning in April, 2010.

“The bold colors of the new license plate reflect New York’s force and its resilience,” Swarts said. “These new plates, in the official colors of the state of New York, will help maintain highway safety, reduce the number of unregistered and uninsured vehicles on our roads, and generate $129 million in general fund revenue over two years, which will help address the state’s financial crisis.”

The new plate is gold in color with dark blue letters and numbers in the central part of the plate, separated by a small dark blue state silhouette. There is a dark blue banner across the length of the top of the plate, with “New York” printed in gold in the center. “Empire State” is in dark blue letters across the bottom.

State Police Superintendent Harry J. Corbitt said, “License plates are a fundamental tool of law enforcement that has been enhanced in recent years through a variety of technologies that improve their readability, especially under low light conditions. The State Police has worked cooperatively with DMV to ensure that the new plates will continue to serve the law enforcement community effectively.”

Periodically re-issuing plates is important for overall safety, law enforcement and the general integrity of the plate. License plate visibility tends to decrease as license plates lose their reflectivity and become marred and damaged from use. The legibility and reflectivity of the current Empire plate, which was issued beginning in 2001, was only guaranteed for up to five years. Current plates will have been in use for 10-11 years by the time they are replaced by the new Empire Gold plates.

Additional information on the new license plates can be found by visiting the Department of Motor Vehicles Web site at www.nysdmv.com.