The law is clear on the color of license plates

Q. I have a 1970 Chevelle with a 454 motor. Because the car is yellow, I would like to have yellow and black license plates to match. But the Department of Motor Vehicles will only issue yellow-and-blue plate colors that were officially offered that year. Why not let us car collectors, who are willing to pay extra, order the colors we want? It seems California could make a few bucks this way. - Jerry Jorgensen, Placentia A. Note to self: Don t race any yellow 1970 Chevelles, as the famous 454 bigblock rat motor would chew up my mousy import like candy. And Jerry s car won t be easy to spot, because it will have license plates like everyone else s for that year. A 1970 car does not fall into our year-of-manufacture special provision, DAVID RIZZO FOR THE REGISTER which only applies for vintage cars 1969 or older, says Jan Mendoza, a Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman. Even then, we can only issue plates in the cn t order what you want. Mendoza explains that the license plates are made at California correctional facilities, and the time and trouble to make a unique one-off plate in a particular color scheme would cost way too much. But all is not lost. We go by what s in the California Vehicle Code, so if someone could convince their state assemblyman or state senator to introduce a bill to amend the (California Vehicle Code), then perhaps the law could be changed, says William Gutierrez, another DMV spokesman. Q. I was driving north one day on the Santa Ana (1-5) freeway, approaching Katella Avenue, and noticed that one of those large boar"CALL 5-1-1 FOR TRAFFIC INFO." I thought it odd to be encouraging people to call while driving. I know you can dial 9-1-1 while driving to report emergencies, but 5- 1-1? - Sandra McCanless, Anaheim To start, Caltrans calls those large electronic boards by the side of the freeway, changeable message signs, of which well over 200 dot the Southland. If the particular message you recall stayed up for one hour, then more than 7,500 motorists likely viewed it heading north. They might have wondered the same thing: Can you call 5-1-1 while moving? Technically, no, because that s still operational use of the telephone for non-emergency purposes, says Denise Quesada, a California Highway Patrol officer and spokeswoman. Obviously, if you have blue tooth or another hands-free device, then you are free to make the call. But to actually hold the phone up to your ear or even have it in your hand with the speakerphone on is illegal, because calling 5-1-1