Prorate Truck Bearing the
PR prefix, these plates were issued to trucks operating in interstate
service. Typically, these were tractor trucks pulling large
semi-trailers. The MVD publication New Mexico License Plates - 1984
Edition states that the “PR” prefix prorate plates were also used
on (interstate) buses (which would have been few in number compared to
interstate trucks). Registration fees were based on the miles driven within
New Mexico as a proportion of the total miles driven during the year.
These plates are known from at least as early as 1964 (but may have been
in use a year or two earlier), continuing into the late 1980s with
the PR prefix. They are related to plates bearing the embossed prefix
IR, the embossed legend “APPORTIONED,” and
plates bearing both “APPORTIONED” and the IR prefix. See the
“Interstate” section for more details.
See also Prorate Backing
Plates & Stickers.
Important Note: Though commonly—but erroneously—called “semis”
or “semi-trucks,” there is no such thing as a semi-truck. The correct
full name of the configuration is “tractor-trailer” or
“tractor-semi-trailer.” A trailer (sometimes called a “full trailer”)
has one or more axles with wheels at both the front and back ends of the
trailer. A semi-trailer has one or more axles with wheels only at the
back end, and the front end is supported by the tractor which pulls it.
In states which allow “doubles,” i.e., a tractor pulling two trailers at
once, the trailer attached to the tractor is almost always a
semi-trailer, and the one following is always a trailer (full trailer). |
