I can understand why doctors would need to be identified by their license plate in case there is an accident on the road and emergency help is needed. But I can’t imagine that a dentist is going to be stopped on the road for an emergency root canal. Why the specially marked license plates for dentists?
OK. I’ll play.
What state has specially marked plates for dentists that aren’t merely vanity plates that they chose?
For that matter, what state has plates for doctors that aren’t ‘vanity plates?’
I have never seen either of them.
Do you mean the plates that start with “D” on them? Because those are car dealership plates.
New York has special MD plates, but I don’t know if dentists get them. They are not vanity plates, but have a blue “MD” printed vertically before the number.
What is the purpose of the doctor having such a plate? Do they have to pay an increase fee over the normal fee for a plate?
Back in the good 'ol days, New York had special DMD and DDS license plates, in addition to MD plates. Now, though, the state has special plates for all sorts of occupations.
Then again, why do ham radio operators have their own license plates? “My God … there’s a topospheric ducting emergency!”
NY also has plates that say SMA. It is for town justices. It stands for “State Magistrates Association” Do not listen to beautiful women that say it stands for “Sado-Machochism Association”
We did a thread on the NY plates around a year ago, I think it was. They had special plates for physicians, dentists, even social workers, IIRC. The list was rather long and a bit absurd, IMHO.
Ah, here it is! http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/profpl8.htm
Note special plates for hypnotherapists and registered engineers!
NY also has plates that say SMA. It is for town justices. It stands for “State Magistrates Association” Do not listen to beautiful women that say it stands for “Sado-Machochism Association”
So, it’s a vanity plate as far as I’m concerned.
No different from Ohio’s ecology plates.
ah, QADGOP, you and your memory. I put that URL out there for that thread, 'cause you didn’t believe there were MD plates.
Actually, ltfire, I was commenting on how the poster who said that all Maryland plates had MD on them was speaking tongue in cheek. I also said I’d never seen MD plates in Maryland.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=185063
Special plates aren’t issued to doctors by virtue of their status in any state I’m aware of. It’s not like state/county/municipality plates that some states have that designate official vehicles.
As samclem mentioned, Ohio has plenty of special plates. Several colleges and universities, police and firefighters associations, Masons, etc. I have one of these special plates, myself. But it’s not a vanity plate, as it’s standard serialized style.
West Virginia has possibly more special plate varieties than any other state. They’re so rampant back home that standard issue plates are virtually outnumbered by special ones. Everyone is unique, just like everyone else.
I would have thought car-mad California would have the most special plates, but was I ever wrong!
West Virginia has plates for square dancers, bowlers and telecommuters?? Why would a telecommuter need a special plate? Why would a telecommuter need a car?
The reason for all the special plates is that people are willing to pay more for them, and pay more than it costs the state to make them. In other words, it is a voluntary tax.
Hams are used in emergency communications (earthquakes, hurricanes etc)
Brian
As is often the case, the answer to the original post is “money.”
The state makes more money on vanity plates; they don’t cost that much more to make then regular plates, and the state gets a big extra fee for them.
“Help Stamp Out License Plates – Do a Stretch in Prison.”
Not telecommuters…telecommunicators. Appears to be a special subset of ham radio folks. Amateur radio has it’s own plate, as well…where you can get your call sign on the plate.
New York State, though, had special plates for doctors and dentists long before the onslaught of personalized plates. I remember 1970s-era blue-on-orange MD and DDS plates. In fact, here’s a picture of a 1974 MD plate. This was long before the era of special license plates for colleges, sports team fans, environmental causes, and the like.
