Publisher's journal: Motorcycle awareness on New Mexico plates

You’ve got your standard New Mexico centennial license plate, your standard red and yellow plate and your standard chile plate. That last one’s really pretty and it won the America’s Best License Plate Award in 2017.

But did you know the Land of Enchantment has almost five dozen sanctioned license plates, including one that just hit the road last month?

Travel with me here …

There’s the standard centennial personalized plate, the red and yellow prestige vanity plate, and the Las Cruces plate, because, well, we all know about Las Cruces drivers.

For the educated among us, there is the University of New Mexico plate, the New Mexico Military Institute plate, the New Mexico Highlands University plate, the New Mexico State University plate, the New Mexico Tech plate, the Western New Mexico University plate, the Northern New Mexico College plate, the Central New Mexico Community College plate, and the New Mexico Junior College plate. Oh, and don’t forget the Eastern New Mexico University license plate. (Sorry. No Clovis Community College or Mesalands license plates. Someone should launch an investigation.)

There is a disabled person plate, a horseless carriage plate, an Air Force veteran plate, an Army veteran plate, a Coast Guard veteran plate, a disabled veteran wheelchair plate, a Marine veteran plate, a Navy veteran plate, a Pearl Harbor Survivor plate, a woman veteran plate and a Gold Star family plate.

Not everyone knows this, but there’s also an amateur radio operator plate, an autism awareness plate, a patriot plate, a wildlife artwork plate, a bass fishing plate, a Boy Scouts centennial plate, a children’s trust fund plate, a children’s trust fund motorcycle plate, a pet care-spay/neuter plate, a breast cancer awareness plate, a Route 66 plate, an organ donor plate, a Cumbres and Toltec Railway plate, a farm and ranch heritage plate, an adopt a child plate, a pollinator protection plate, a childhood cancer awareness plate, and a National Future Farmers of America plate.

Then there’s an emergency medical technicians plate, a fraternal order of police plate, a retired firefighters plate, a retired New Mexico State Police plate, a retired law enforcement plate, and plates for firefighters and volunteer firefighters.

Plus there are four plates for motorcycles – horseless carriage, 100% disabled veteran, veteran and children’s trust fund.

And now … finally … the news peg on which this license plate hangs:

As of July 1, there is a “look twice for motorcycles” plate available for purchase in New Mexico.

Richard Sturgeon, a Los Alamos motorcyclist, led the charge for the state’s latest specialty license plate. He wants motorists to know that 5,932 motorcyclists were killed on the road in 2021, the latest year for which statistics are available. That’s 14% of all traffic deaths -- though only 3% of registered vehicles are motorcycles.

Lawmakers this legislative session approved the “look twice for motorcycles” plate with bipartisan support.

Of course no one thought to make the plates available for motorcycles … something to watch for next year.

David Stevens is publisher of Clovis Media Inc. Email him at:

[email protected]