Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Hawaii license plates
are on a new letterQuestion: I noticed that Oahu license plates are now using the N series of letters. The last series used was J. I can understand why K and M were unavailable (Kauai and Maui counties), but why did the City and County of Honolulu skip L? And while you're at it, it seems that the new plates are "NBC." What happened to the "NA" alpha series?
Could you explain what the general guidelines/rules are regarding alpha series usage?
Answer: The letters H, K and M are not used on Oahu because they are claimed by Hawaii, Kauai and Maui counties.
The letter L also has been assigned to Maui, said David Mau, assistant administrator for the city's Motor Vehicle & Licensing Division.
The letters I, O and Z are not used because they may be mistaken for the numerals 1, zero and 2.
The city began issuing the N series about a month ago, Mau said, although not all of the J-series plates may have been issued. That's because license plates are also distributed at satellite city halls, and every satellite has to have a working inventory on hand for immediate distribution.
The "NA" sequence was skipped because, Mau said, "We try as much as possible to stay away from doing words."
Other guidelines include trying to prevent proper nouns and obscenities.
Interestingly, there is no computer spewing out the possible combinations of letters and numbers. In Honolulu, at least, one person -- the office manager -- is responsible for determining the letter and number combinations.
Mau said he can't estimate when the N combinations will run out before the city starts issuing P plates. A lot depends on car sales and how quickly the rental car companies turn over their fleets.
"That's normally what dictates how fast (plates) go out," Mau said. "Also, a lot of times we see an increase when the military has the next cycle of transfers."
Officials don't anticipate going through the entire alphabet for at least another 10 years.
Mau said that people -- notably those who want vanity plates -- frequently ask if the city will be going to a seven-digit letter/numeral combination instead of the current use of six digits.
The answer is "no," primarily because there is no need to expand to seven digits, but also because it would "cost a lot of money to reprogram the computer," he said.
It would also require a change in state law.
And, while some people think it's time to change the rainbow design, in use since 1991, that won't be happening any time soon.
Mau noted that at all the national conferences of motor vehicle officials, Hawaii is "applauded for having such a nice design on both its statewide license plates and driver's license (also with the rainbow motif)."
|
Useful phone numbers
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com