From time to time I use this forum to celebrate the hard work of journalists, as well as to "set the record" straight where reporting has gone awry and ventured into sensationalism. The way I figure it, as PR folks, we spend enough time complaining when a reporter gets the story wrong we should spend just as much time applauding when they get it right! With that said, I am happy for this to be an occasion where I celebrate a journalist with integrity. This time, it's Morris Jones... Read Full Story
Last Saturday the New York Times published an op-ed , written by Stefan Lonce that illustrates the challenges motor vehicle administrators face in managing both vanity and specialty license plate programs. Lonce successfully distinguishes between the two types of plates. And he even recommends a solution to the vanity plate conundrum: a national database of offensive terms and alpha numeric combinations. He suggests this would serve as a national clearinghouse for motor vehicle agency... Read Full Story
Then it was probably AAMVA's fault. Mea culpa. You see most, if not all, state motor vehicle agencies, use AAMVA's private and secure network ( AAMVAnet ) to process customer transactions. To put this into perspective for you, AAMVAnet processes approximately 3 million DMV transactions per day, and, since being placed into service in 2006, has had no outages! I'm no tech expert, but I am not sure that any newtwork service provider can boast that record. And AAMVAnet processes 99 percent of... Read Full Story
For the second time in a year , the New York Times' Chris Jensen has dug into motor vehicle fraud crimes and exclaimed, "Eurkea, NMVTIS ." Jensen has done his homework on this piece just as he did his previous articles. During the course of his research for this story, he spoke with me numerous times. I can't even begin to tell you the number of emails we exchanged. And all of his communication with me, and other affected parties, was, for nothing more, but the pursuit of the truth. In... Read Full Story
License plate controversy erupted a week ago over the proposed, and now DOA, "I BELIEVE" specialty license plate in Fla. And now, the South Carolina legislature is poised to direct the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles to issue the nation's first specialty license plate decorated with the image of a cross. Who could have ever imagined a little old piece of metal could prove to have so much mettle? Now, I'm sure most have an opinion of whether or not this is a good thing or a bad... Read Full Story
Just when you think the MSM dive to relative irrelevence has got to hit bottom...they start digging. Even respected media members cannot defend what NBC did. Quotes from guests on Hugh over at HughHewitt.com Howard Kurtz , Washington Post Staff Writer ; "[i]n all the years I've been chronicling the media, I have rarely seen the tidal wave of resentment that has washed over television organizations that showed the now-infamous Cho video. In the minds of many Americans, this was a horribly... Read Full Story
Hidden agendas. It seems a growing number of reporters are carrying them around these days. And they are hoping you won’t question the angles in their reporting.
The latest example is Kirsten Vala’s sucker punch to the state Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs) entitled, “ 10 Things the DMV Won’t Tell You ,” (SmartMoney magazine, October 25, 2007).
Here is what you should know before reading this piece.
I corresponded with Ms. Vala numerous times by email and by phone... Read Full Story
I've been in the DMV business for some time now. And for years, journalists have called me asking about the number of vanity plates in each state across the nation. And until this week, I always had to reply with a disheartened, "I don't know." But I always felt I should be able to answer that question. This week, I did. And in case you missed all the news, it's official , over 9.3 million vehicles in the U.S and over 400,000 vehicles in Canada are "vanitized." Virginia has the highest... Read Full Story
By Bonnie Rutledge, commissioner, Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles 2005-2006, AAMVA Chair of the Board
AAMVA, what can I say. It has been a large part of my business life in my 37 years with motor vehicles. In the beginning of my career it was definitely a place to go to meet my peers, learn what other jurisdictions were doing, get assistance and give input; and it has remained all those things throughout the years.
One thing I learned early on with AAMVA, as with any organization... Read Full Story
If you've been reading this blog, you know AAMVA has been requesting assistance to help fund 100 percent state participation in the federally-mandated National Motor Vehicle Title Information System ( NMVTIS ). You also know we've been waiting on the rules for this Act since 1992. Well, I'm encouraged to say that based on my podcast last week with Jim Burch, U.S. DOJ (the agency with oversight for NMVTIS) things are looking up. It also sounds like consumers have something to look forward to... Read Full Story
