The mission of the Black Rock City Department of Mutant Vehicles is to enable Burning Man participants to share their Mutant Vehicle creations with the community of Black Rock City, and to license vehicles for use by disabled participants. Mutant Vehicles contribute to the surreal thread that binds Black Rock City together. They are “art on wheels”: radically, stunningly, (usually) permanently, and safely modified motorized vehicles.
DMV ran well and had very few real problems this year. The DMV had a significant increase in the number of pre-registration applications for mutant vehicles , and we licensed a record number of vehicles to drive on the playa.
The most notable change for the DMV this year was our prominent placement on the Esplanade, at 6:30. Our placement resulted in two major benefits: (1) It allowed for ample room for Mutant Vehicles (MVs) to park and be reviewed, and (2) it created a nightly spectacle of MVs in a place that everyone could enjoy the show. We look forward to bringing Black Rock City the same show next year.
We streamlined some of our licensing processes, and were internally more organized this year than in 2007. Paperwork and reference list improvements made it possible to license more vehicles in the same amount of time as last year.
There were also a few challenges. Taking On-Playa MV pictures remains a challenge, and we will be carefully reviewing the picture process for 2008.
We look forward to continuing to grow our ranks and refine our pre- and on-playa processes. We encourage anyone with concerns or suggestions to contact us.
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BlueCross