Page:California Highways and Public Works Journal Vols 8-9.djvu/9

 By B. A. Assistant Chief Clerk, Division of Motor Vehicles.

HERE'S a story behind the yellow and black automobile license plates which have begun to make their appearance in such large numbers on California highways since the Division of Motor Vehicles began its final license renewal drive.

These plates may not appeal to you as being either dainty or even pretty. The rather crude black letters stand out boldly against a background of deep yellow, giving a lasting impression, but rather lacking in artistic appeal.

They are not meant to be pretty. Their function is not to ornament the car displaying them, but to identify it. More than any other thing, have they served in the year just past to bring the "hit and run" driver to justice.

EXPERIMENTS MADE

Recognizing the inadequacy of the style of plate being used at the time he assumed office. Chief Frank G. Snook undertook a series of experiments to determine what style would provide the greatest degree of visibility.

Up to that time a small, rather aristocratic-looking plate had been used. When registrations increased beyond the million mark it became necessary to put seven numbers on one plate. The old plate was rather pretty, but it took a keen-eyed traffic officer to read it on a

Compartive visiblity at 50 feet distance; old plate on left of auto, new plate on right.

The new and the old system of numbers, showing the greater visibility of the new system.

moving vehicle for a distance of more than fifty feet.

"Hit and run" accidents were frequent with the old plate. A few feet away and the driver was safe because no one could read his number.

GOVERNOR APPROVES PLATE After casting about for several months Snook chose a plate modeled closely after the style adopted in New York. The choice met with the enthusiastic approval of Governor C. C. Young and the plate was adopted.

Colors of deep yellow and dull black were chosen as the combination with the greatest visibility. Yellow letters with a black background were used in 1929. These colors were reversed this year, providing a yellow background with black letters. Next year they will be reversed again to provide the same arrangement as in 1929.

The new plate is much larger than the old one, being 13⅞ inches in length and 6⅛ inches in width. It is of much heavier steel, and the old border that formerly detracted so much from visibility has been replaced by an inverted bead that will provide greater rigidity.

LETTERS CHANGED The big change is in the lettering system. If you watch cars on the roads closely you will