Colorado drivers love their specialty and personalized license plates.

Of the more than 6.3 million registered cars in the Centennial State, over two million of them possess a plate other than the classic green background and white mountain variety. There are over 200 kinds, ranging from the most popular black plate to others championing everything from the Boy and Girl Scouts to breast cancer awareness, colleges and sport teams, firefighters, state pioneers and even one to protect “our pollinators.”

More than 80,000 plates are personalized, though it’s not exactly clear how many of those are also pressed onto the specialized variety ones.

Although license plates predate the invention of the automobile (they were on horse drawn carriages), the introduction of vanity or customized ones goes back to the state of Pennsylvania in 1931.

In the depths of the Great Depression, motorists in the Keystone State could only add their initials, an idea soon adopted by Connecticut to reward and incentivize good driving. Those with a clean record were invited to put their two or three initials on their plates. By the 1940s, state officials increased the allotment to four letters.

Perception is not always reality, obviously, but growing up, I associated vanity license plates with rich people. Neither my father nor mother were envious of the wealthy, but I’m sure they influenced my thinking regarding the correlation. When I asked about our family getting one for our 1975 Plymouth Gran Fury Station Wagon, my dad said customized plates were best left with people who didn’t know what else to do with their money.

Only in my heart of hearts, I knew that wasn’t true, primarily because on my favorite campy television show, “Batman,” the Caped Crusader and his faithful sidekick, Robin, drove around in a heavily modified 1955 Lincoln Futura with the custom plate “BAT 1.” I knew Bruce Wayne was loaded, but Batman was a crime-fighting humanitarian who didn’t seem affected by his millions.

I was in the 7th grade when the first “Back to the Future” movie released and featured Doc Brown’s 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 with the pitch-perfect customized California plate: “OUTATIME.”

Speaking of California, they claim credit for the launch of the modern personalized plate. It was in 1972 when Governor Ronald Reagan signed a bipartisan bill into law declaring the initial $25 fee and $10 annual renewal cost would be funneled into a state fund “to fight air pollution and support other programs to preserve and enhance the beauty of California’s environment.”

If that sounds familiar, it’s because any Coloradan who requests one of the specialty black, blue or red plates ($60 fee and $25 to renew) is assured their money goes to the Disability Funding Committee. That’s a governor appointed group that helps those battling a handicap. It’s a good cause. Launched in 2023, over $13 million was donated to the group last year alone. The black-style plate (486,075 of them) is far and away the most popular choice, followed by the sesquicentennial option (68,687).

Funds from personalized license plates with clever names and abbreviated sayings and such go to help support the state’s transportation infrastructure. Last week, I drove behind someone whose plate simply read, “MOM.” I was impressed that was even available, though there’s no way of knowing how good a mother the driver really is. As a family, we often make it a game to see who can be the first to decipher the more cryptic plates.  

License plates don’t tell you everything about someone, but they do tell you something – at least what they want you to know. Being heard and seen is a basic and healthy human desire, and that’s what’s going on with specialty and vanity plates.

It’s probably my own frugality (okay, cheapness) that prevents me from joining the game, but I like it that other people aren’t so inhibited. Rather than working hard to be interesting ourselves, it’s always better to be interested in someone else. If given the chance, asking that someone about what’s behind their choice of license plate is a good excuse and opportunity to find out what makes them tick.

There are millions of plates out there, and even more stories behind them. Be more curious about the people who requested them – whether it’s asking about their specialty plate, a customized message on it, or more importantly, about their life itself.

And to all Gazette subscribers: TYFRRDN

Paul J. Batura is a local writer and founder of the 4:8 Media Network. He can be reached via email Paul@PaulBatura.com or on X @PaulBatura.