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NC "Share The Road"
automobile license plate

bicycle chain
Update:   Congratulations — your efforts paid off! HB 85 was signed by the governor and is now State Law. [Info].
North Carolina has joined the ranks of states that offer a "Share the Road" motor vehicle license plate to it's residents. Applications submitted now will be eligible, on a first come basis, for the lowest plate numbers. The cost is $30 — $20 of which goes to NC-DOT Bicycle & Pedestrian Division for bicycle safety and education initiatives.
See the NC-DOT Bike & Ped announcement
Download an application: PDF
Share the Road. — Issuable to the registered owner of a motor vehicle in accordance with G.S. 81.12. The plate shall bear a representation of a bicycle and the phrase 'Share the Road'. … The Division must receive 300 or more applications for the Share the Road plate before the plate may be developed. The Division shall transfer quarterly the money in the Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account derived from the sale of the Share the Road plates to the Department of Transportation, Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation, for its programs. NC Share the Road license plate
(Note: Design pending approval)
Make it happen - Contact your representative in the NC Legislature!
(I've already emailed mine, and she's going to vote for it.)
If you don't know your NC House Representative - do a lookup online.

Bill info, including status and complete text. Note that H.B. 1731 is superseded by H.B. 85 "Various Special License Plates" which combines the "Share the Road" plate with a number of other new plates.

What?

A Bill in the NC house to authorize a "Share the Road" automobile license plate.

Why?

Motorists experiencing "road rage" take out their aggressions on cyclists because they see us as a vulnerable minority and have been conditioned to think in terms of "Us vs Them". Cyclists are criticized for "getting in the way" of the people "paying for the road". As you know, this is all wrong - nearly all cyclists drive cars. Most cyclists own a car, drive as much as any motorist and even those who don't, do pay the same taxes to support public roads (albeit less gasoline tax, but cycling puts insignificant physical stress on the road). When I've got a judgement-clouded-by-anger motorist approaching me from behind, I'll be glad for him to note that the car ahead of me has a "Share the Road" plate - i.e. I am not alone.

Where does the money go?

For MOST other plates, $10 goes to administration and $20 to "Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account". For the "Share the Road" plate, that $20 will instead go to the NC-DOT Bicycle & Pedestrian division.

How?

Contact your NC STATE (not U.S.) Representative and ask them to vote FOR HB-85 "Various Special License Plates." You can do this by phone, mail or e-mail, after you look them up (by Zip Code) online.

After that, if you still feel energetic, it woudn't hurt to contact the Bill's two sponsors to thank them and express support.
(Note that the two sponsors represent the two major political parties and both East and West NC.)

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