Governor Fallin and other officials revealed Oklahoma’s new license plate which will start being distributed January 2017. The new plate features the state bird, scissortail flycatcher, flying over a varied blue background. The plate also features the Department of Tourism’s website, TravelOK.com.
“The new design will act as a travelling billboard for those looking to experience and explore our beautiful state,” said Fallin. “Just as important, the new plates are more clearly visible at night and will aid our law enforcement officers as they work to keep us safe.”
It has been seven years since Oklahoma launched a new tag. The Highway Patrol says many of the tags have lost its reflective sheeting and have become hard to see at night.
The new tags will be an extra five dollars for Oklahoma motorists. One dollar of the fee will go to help cover tag production, while the other four dollars will go to DPS. The new fee is expected to raise about four million dollars in revenue.
“When a state trooper pulls someone over, the first thing that trooper does is run the license plate,” said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Chief Ricky Adams. “That’s how we alert our dispatchers that we are on a stop and get our first clue of a potentially dangerous situation. The ability to quickly see and easily read a tag number in bad weather or low light conditions is of paramount importance to law enforcement.”
The tag replacement also has the effect of forcing those who aren’t paying to renew tags properly or not carrying insurance on a vehicle to do so because it will be obvious who isn’t compliant.
“Oklahoma has the unfortunate distinction of being a national leader in uninsured motorists,” said Insurance Commissioner John Doak. “That phenomenon makes our roads less safe and is unfair to the majority of Oklahomans who comply with the law and drive responsibly. A license plate reissue is a responsible and reliable way of increasing the number of drivers with insurance.”
