Wisconsin's Division of Motor Vehicles will be taking a closer look at license plates in coming months, as the department tries to better understand how many vehicles are properly registered.
People may soon notice DMV employees taking pictures of their license plates: they're not issuing tickets, and they’re not collecting personal information. They’re conducting a survey in parking lots across eight counties, including La Crosse, Milwaukee, and Winnebago.
DMV officials want to know how many drivers are actually renewing their license plates and filing all the correct vehicle registration paperwork.
DMV Bureau of Field Services director Mitch Warren says the state does not have good information on vehicle registration compliance levels. “Registration revenue is one of the largest contributors to transportation funding in Wisconsin. It keeps troopers on the road, it keeps roadways maintained and repaired,” Warren says. “That’s very important to the state of Wisconsin that that revenue continues to come in.”
Warren says law enforcement does not have time to check every vehicle on the road.
He says the survey's results could eventually change the system. “If there is a large amount of lost revenue or folks who are operating unregistered vehicles out there, then we’re going to have to brainstorm how we can make improvements there.” Warren declined to speculate what those changes would be.
The DMV is also mailing surveys to Wisconsin residents that will better explore obstacles to keeping vehicle registrations up to date.
