11 plates withdrawn from sale

Hehehe. Just received this email from the DVLA. Seems they missed a few;

"These '11 number plates have been withdrawn and will no longer be offered for sale."


UF 11 UKA
UF 11 UKR
AC 11 NTS
BC 11 NTS
CC 11 NTS
DC 11 NTS
EC 11 NTS
FC 11 NTS
GC 11 NTS
HC 11 NTS
JC 11 NTS
KC 11 NTS
LC 11 NTS
MC 11 NTS
NC 11 NTS
OC 11 NTS
PC 11 NTS
RC 11 NTS
SC 11 NTS
TC 11 NTS
UC 11 NTS
VC 11 NTS
WC 11 NTS
YC 11 NTS

I'm surprised they didn't spot these earlier.
(They should use Regfinder.net : )





Reg

A great single/single number plate gallery.

I met a man on the Internet. (No wait! That's not how it sounds!)



As regular readers of this blog will probably be aware, interest in number plates - be it professional or hobby - can be a bit of a lonesome affair.

In my relatively short time in the world of vehicle registrations, I have learned that 'indifference' is rarely a word that can be applied to it. People seem - more often than not - to have a deep seated "Clarkson-esque" loathing of the entire subject or, at the opposite end of the scale, a weird kind of snobbery about it.
(Paradox: "Even the most serious personalised number plate fans seem to dislike most personalised number plates").

With this in mind, it's always good to meet 'Number Plate Nerds' who are a bit more positive about their passion.

There are a couple of strings that I follow on the 'Pistonheads Gassing Station' forum.

("Real Good Number Plates (Vol 2)" and "Spotted! Real Rubbish Chav Number Plates". You'll need to register before viewing/commenting on them, I think).

Commentators here, do tend to suffer from a touch of the afore mentioned snobbery at times (I'll have to include myself in that statement if I'm honest, though my snobbery is inverted and so doesn't count) but, if you don't get involved then it's a great source of information and - believe it or not - sometimes even a good laugh!

Single/singles' are never far from the central topic as they are widely regarded as the Holy Grail of UK number plates, being among the very first ever issued, and pictures of these plates are always a welcome addition.

One of the regular contributors to these Pistonheads forum strings has come up with the idea of publishing a picture gallery purely for single/single registrations which is a good thing for two reason. Firstly; it's a great resource (for me, obviously), and secondly; It's something that seems to be agreeable to all commentators. (Which is bloody rare!)

The guys' user name is "Shmee" and his picture gallery is;

"Shmee150's Photostream"

If you have a single/single number plate picture that doesn't appear to be in the gallery then feel free to send it to Shmee at; plategallery@shmee150.co.uk
He's up to 111 'plates at last count and is always keen to add more.



Reg

PS; I've added "Shmee150's Photostream" to the resources box on here for easy of access, in case anyone snaps a plate they want to add at a later date.

The 11 number plate series ready to view

Even the DVLA are excited about this sequence of number plates !



YO11 ARE/ not GO11NG/ TO 11EED/ to be a LO11ERY winner to find six and seven LE11TER word NU11BER PL11TES in this lot!

(The regfinder scan is under way. Watch this space.)


Reg

Council agrees to sell £7000 private number plate

WEST Lothian Council has agreed to sell off its private registration plate worth an estimated £7000.

After numerous calls from taxpayers, officials at the council believe the sale will send out the right message to staff and the community, as Scotland’s local authorities struggle with a debt in excess £9 billion.

Retaining the ASX 1 number plate is no longer a priority, said Council leader Peter Johnston as he also announced plans to get rid of the chauffeur driven Volvo S80.

He said: "We've said from the beginning that no stone can be left unturned in our quest to find vital savings in the face of a £60 million budget shortfall.

"Councillors must lead by example and we will be moving to approve these changes at the council executive in early November."

But other cash strapped councils are still refusing to follow this example, even though half of the Scottish local authorities own prestige number plates, a few of which are believed to be amongst the most valuable in the UK.

Glasgow City Council owns two registrations which are each said to be worth up to £500,000, and the City of Edinburgh Council owns the S0 plate, valued somewhere in the region of £100,000 and £500,000.

'G0' is one of the official registrations owned by Glasgow City Council




Edinburgh Council's 'S0' plate





ES 1, the plate that currently graces the provost of Perth and Kinross's car, is thought to be worth around £150,000.

West Lothian Council's move to sell unnecessary assets has been welcomed by groups campaigning for less waste in the public sector and Emma Boon, from Taxpayer's Alliance, said it was time the other authorities did the same.

"While it's great that West Lothian are selling their number plate and getting rid of their civic car, it's disappointing that other Scottish councils are yet to follow suit. Said Emma.

"In these tough financial conditions councils must find significant savings.

"It would be unfair to expect taxpayers to continue to fund a civic car and it's disgraceful for councils to cling on to these luxuries at a time when taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet."

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "Services have yet to finalise their proposed savings for the coming year."

And officials at the City of Edinburgh Council said the local authority would not be putting its personalised number plates up for sale as they were of "historical value to the city".

A Rover 75 used by Midlothian's Council has the registration plate SY 0, with an estimated value of £50,000.




A spokesperson said: "There are no plans to change the civic car provision in the near future and consideration has not been given to changing its number plate.
The SY 0 plate is part of Midlothian’s heritage and an asset which grows in value every year."

"The vehicles are not just used by council dignitaries but are also essential for guests including visiting royalty and important businesses."






Reg

Council slammed for not selling NH1 number plate worth "£400,000"

Bosses at another Council have been slammed for refusing to bolster the coffers by selling the mayors private registration plates, worth an estimated £400,000.

The number plate 'NH 1' has been on the Mayor of Northampton's ceremonial car for decades.

But Northampton Borough Council say it is not worth selling because it would only reduce the local individual’s council tax bill by £4.

But the TaxPayers’ Alliance yesterday urged the council to sell the reg plates and raise money for those struggling to make ends meet.

A spokeswoman said: "These number plates are a luxury that the council can ill afford at a time when it is facing spending cuts.

"It's a disgrace that they're trying to hang onto these at a time when some taxpayers in the area are struggling to make ends meet.

"The plates are an indulgence and they should sell them off as soon as possible."

Northampton Borough Council leader Brian Markham said the plate is part of the town's heritage.

He said: "If we got £400,000, that would be the equivalent to £4 off the average council tax bill for a whole year for the council taxpayers of Northampton. But that is only one year, next year you can't sell the number plate again.

"More importantly, that number plate is part of our heritage – not just for the council but for the town – we've owned that since the first number plates for cars."




Reg

China bans unlucky number plates

China turned superstitious by barring the issuance of number plates bearing the "unlucky" number '4', causing a mixed reaction from the public.

Beijing's traffic management bureau has stopped issuing car registration plates bearing the number as many Chinese consider it to be unlucky because it sounds similar to the word for death.

From this week, drivers in the capital who bought new cars no longer need to make a special request to omit the number, as it has been removed from the registration plate choosing system by the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau.

The BTMB have stated that the decision was made because number plates bearing a '4' have always been unpopular.






Reg

10 O number plate sells for £92,920 at DVLA auction

The final day of DVLA Personalised Registrations autumn auction got off to a great start when the registration 10 O sold for 92,920 pounds.

The winning bid was made by phone during at a tense and busy auction room at Rudding Park, near Harrogate so mystery still surrounds the successful bidder.

10 O is the latest in the O series released by DVLA Personalised Registrations in January 2009 to mark its 20th anniversary. Since then, more than 1.62 million pounds has been generated from this series alone.

While DVLA staff celebrated the sale of 10 O, the precise 92,919.69p (73,500 hammer price plus VAT, buyers premium and assignment fee) still falls short of the 210,000 pounds paid for 1 O in January 2009.

In total, the sale of personalised number plates by the DVLA has raised £1.6 billion. All money raised goes to the Treasury.





Reg

£26,000 personalised number plate for daughter aged 11

Doting dad Harbhajans Bains has spent 26,000 pounds on personalised car number plates for his daughter - aged 11.

Mr Bains bid at a DVLA auction for 99A, the year she was born and the first letter of her name, six years before Amun can even start learning.

The 41 year old pharmacist, of Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield, said: "My limit was to be 15,000 pounds but Amun had told all her friends. And I can't resist a unique plate."

Harbhajans now has 24 number plates, including ones for other kids Jeevun, 10, and Bahadar, 8.




Reg

RIP Sir Norman Wisdom

Reg

Great number plate collection

To find and own your perfect numberplate is always a special thing, especially if it's dateless as avid numberplate enthusiasts will agree. To find 'his and her' sequential plates is even better. To have a collection of five in a sequence is exceptionally rare and pretty special indeed!
But here's one lucky owner, Mr Powis who has just that; number plates 1 POW, 2 POW, 3 POW, 4 POW and 5 POW, each proudly displayed on his cherished car collection too.


"I've always had a fascination with personalised plates" comments Mr Powis. "I don't know whether it's a vehicle vanity or de aging thing or whatever, but ever since my first car, I've had some form of private plate on all of my cars. Admittedly, the plates have generally got more 'special' over the years, but I never anticipated ending up with my 'Royal Flush' of POW plates."


Mr Powis bought his first private plate in 1997, and over the years bought a number of POW plates which have since either been given to family members, or currently for sale through PrimoRegistrations. The main dateless collection started in 2007 and took just under four years to complete. "I certainly didn't start looking for this many' or this actual sequence in fact" retorts Powis. "I originally wanted 1, 11 and 111 POW" he highlighted. But he lost 111 POW to another bidder at auction and had to rethink his strategy.


"I bought the first three plates through dealers, and then asked for the last two to be released at auction, it was certainly exceptionally nerve racking with the final one, as I knew I had to win it to complete the collection. Luckily nobody else bid for that one and I secured it for the list price."
Which brings us onto money. Who knows what this collection is now worth? The perfect sequence of these low number, dateless plates makes the collection considerably more valuable than their individual components, and POW are good letters too and could refer to a wide number of things (POWER springs to mind!). We consider the valuation to be in the region of 250,000 pounds, but as Powis quickly responds "yes, but you've got to find somebody not only rich enough, but who has enough cars for them all, and has a particular connection with POW for it to be worth anything like that amount!"


And he concluded with an amusing anecdote; "The funniest thing happened though, when we moved home into our local village. A rumour got out that we were linked to the Royal Family [POW referring to the Prince of Wales], which the local postman thought to be true, and therefore thought suitable to spread across all of his post rounds! Even now, years later, we're asked if it's true! Maybe I will write to Prince Charles to see if he wants to buy them. I'm sure he meets all the criteria!"




Reg
Thanks to PrimoRegistrations for the article.

DVLA's Penultimate Sale of 2010

DVLA Personalised Registrations' autumn auction is almost upon us, with the prestigious Rudding Park, near Harrogate, the setting for this year's penultimate sale.

As ever, next month's three day event, which gets underway on Tuesday, October 5, will feature 1,500 personalised registrations, with reserve prices ranging from £250 to £10,000.

DVLA have again served up an eclectic mix of number plates, ranging from the sublime, like the "star" 10 O, GEN 151S and FLY 805S, to the humorous like RA55 STA, TUN 151A and CHE 4T!

For owners of arguably the greatest modern Ferrari, the A599 GTO will undoubtedly strike a chord along with F50 XXX, other popular registration plates directly reflecting car marques and models will be F635 BMW and LAM 80S while FHM 848E will certainly add a touch of glamour!. For the Liverpool FC fan, LFC 80Y surely is a must.

To register an interest or to download an auction catalogue, Click Here.




Reg

Vinnie Jones wears his name on his number plate

For Vinnie Jones, it's important that everyone knows exactly who is driving the shiny black Range Rover as the footballer turned actor's number plate spelled out the words 'UK VIN'.

And cruising behind him wife Tanya brought up the rear in a matching black Jaguar with the plate 'UK TANYA'.



Quite why the couple were driving in convoy is unknown, but it's clear that they are fans of the high profile Los Angeles lifestyle.

The reformed footballing hardman has fit in well in Tinseltown enjoying a certain amount of big screen success since debuting in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells.

He recently revealed how other former players keep calling him in the hope of landing a movie role.

Ex Wimbledon teammate John Fashanu and Chelsea legend Kerry Dixon is among those who have called on Hollywood based Vinnie for advice.

Vinnie said: 'I've had so many calls. They want to be in a film. Or they want me to get their sons in.'

He also said he wants to open his own stage school to help budding British actors.

Vinnie added: 'It's so scary out there! These youngsters come to Hollywood and don't know where to begin.

'I'm going to give them a bit of guidance if I can so that they don't get ripped off. It's hard to know who to trust.

"It's so difficult to get an agent, let alone an acting part! I've been around a while so hopefully I can help,' he told The Sun.


Read more Here!

Popemobile to have SCV 1 number plates.

The latest Popemobile has been unveiled ahead of the Pontiff's visit to the UK, a Mercedes with an average speed of 6mph.

The M class vehicle, with space for the Pope to stand and wave at the crowd, will be driven by a so far unnamed British driver.

It is not the first time the car has been used, having already made several outings in other countries.

The Popemobile carries the number plates SCV 1, which stands for Stato della Citta del Vaticano, or Vatican city state in Italian. (The 'SCV 1' on the Pope Mobile is Vatican registered, so is a duplicate of the UK one which is currently on a Cherokee Jeep)

Although the average speed is just 6mph, the vehicle can go much faster if needs be.

Historically, different Popes have used a variety of methods to enable them to greet the public.

Many years ago a simple chair was used that was held aloft and carried by papal attendants.

The first modified vehicles were used by Pope John Paul II in the 80s and were often crude adaptations of vans or trucks. The vehicles were issued the number plate VIP 1 for his visit. The cherished number plate VIP 1 was then sold to Roman Abramovich for £285,000 in July 2006.

Today he will travel from Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh through the centre of the Scottish capital for his first day of his visit.

After traveling to London for events tomorrow he will be driven in the Popemobile at 5pm from Lambeth Palace through to Westminster.

On Saturday evening, prior to a prayer vigil at Hyde Park, the vehicle will again be making its way through central London.

Pope Benedict moves to the West Midlands on Sunday where people will be able to line Hagley Road in Birmingham as he makes his way to an open air mass at Cofton Park.





Reg

Tourist beware. Watch your speed in Spain.

A new speed campaign has been launched on the roads of Spain and the authorities targeting foreign drivers with their radar gun sights.

Plans to stop and fine tourists breaking the speed limit have been boosted by a new system. Each roadside camera can photograph number plates from any country. The picture is then shown to the driver on the spot, there is no escape.

"In 2009, 30 percent of offenders were foreign vehicles, and on some speed traps in the summer the figure exceeded 40 per cent. Here we have an alternative that enables us to show the driver the offence they have committed," explained
Frederico Fernandez, the deputy head of Spain’s
Dirección General de Tráfico.

The new speed cameras have been installed at four locations in regions where there is a high number of vehicles with foreign registration plates. The move has heightened the debate in Spain on whether speeding fines save lives or if it is just another way for the government to raise funds.


You could always get one of these ; )




Reg

The law finally catches up with number plate fraudster

Justice has finally been served to a fraudster who ripped off a motorcyclist from a village near Burton more than a decade ago.

Mark Seabridge, 46, boasted to a friend as he flew off to a new life as a restaurant owner in Tenerife that he had conned someone out of 6,000 pounds for a private number plates, Stafford Crown Court heard.

The victim was Mark Sadler, from Wychnor, who had handed over a banker's draft for 6,000 pounds for the cherished registration M4RKS in 1999.

However, Anthony Johnston, prosecuting, told the court that all Mr Sadler got for his money was a pair of number plates, as Seabridge did not own the actual right to it.

It had been bought by someone else at auction.

Mr Sadler, who wanted to put the number plate on a motorbike, got his documentation returned and when he tried to contact Seabridge, he had disappeared.

Mr Johnston said Seabridge's partner had revealed the money was spent on living expenses in Tenerife.

Amanda O'Mara, defending, said Seabridge had subsequently lost his restaurant business on the Spanish island.

He was arrested when he came back to the UK in 2006 to be a prosecution witness in a trial.

However, he then went missing again until his recent arrest.

The court heard Seabridge had already served 37 days in custody, including a sentence for skipping bail following his arrest in 2006.

Seabridge, from Farnborough, Hampshire, admitted a charge of obtaining money by deception and was given a 12 week prison sentence, suspended for a year.

He was also ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid community work.

Judge Mark Eades told him: "This was a case of blatant fraud on Mr Sadler.

"You regarded it as a con to get money to feather your nest in Tenerife.

"If I was Mr Sadler, I would feel extremely aggrieved." Judge Eades also told Seabridge that he was lucky he was coming before the courts now, at a time when sentences are less severe than previously.

Referring to current sentencing guidelines, he told the defendant: "If you had come up for sentence in 1999, the notion of getting a four week sentence would have been laughed at."





Reg

Town Hall Number Plate Spies, Caught in the Act

Snoops at local town halls across the country have been caught in the act, using the DVLA’s database to spy on people.

The Big Brother tactics emerged after councils were given the go ahead to use DVLA car registration records, strictly to track down owners of ­abandoned ­vehicles.

Instead, bureaucrats have been checking up on residents suspected of other offences that have nothing to do with motoring, in a blatant breach of the rules.

As a result, several councils have been banned from accessing the database and many more have received warnings after serious breaches were uncovered.

155 of the 432 local authorities allowed to use the ­database were audited, showing that the DVLA’s ­system was accessed 750 times a day in the 2009/10 financial year.

However, it was discovered that ­councils were using the system to try and find people for a variety of non motoring offences including horse fouling, littering and owning unruly/dangerous dogs.

Red coded warnings were sent by the DVLA to the chief executives of 56 authorities where ­serious breaches of the system had been uncovered. A further 99 also received warnings about abusing the system and 12, which failed to make the changes requested by the DVLA, have been banned ­altogether.

Campaign director of Big Brother Watch, Dylan Sharpe, said: "The outrageous and often illegal abuse of the DVLA database is yet another example of the way in which local ­councils will use any available means to keep a check on their residents.

"Law abiding people, or those suspected of very minor offences, are regularly having their ­personal lives exposed.

"They are being spied on for ­nonsensical reasons by these inflated town hall bureaucrats.

"The Government needs to rein in this sort of clandestine snooping as a matter of urgency."

Inspectors found councils breaking the rules by searching for registration plates with partial ­numbers, or by failing to log in and out of the database correctly.

Councils were given 24 hour access to the database to make it easier to find the owners of abandoned vehicles.

After a move by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs the access was upgraded to help council staff investigate so called SDHp "environmental crimes".

A DVLA spokesman said: "We carry out regular audits of users to ensure they respect the terms and conditions of the contract and user agreements which cover this service. The reasons for suspension range from failure to respond to an audit letter to failure to comply with record keeping or data access requirements.

"In most cases, suspensions were related to mismanagement and record keeping, rather than inappropriate access."

The barred authorities are Nottingham City and Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, Corby in Northamptonshire, Brighton and Hove, ­Hastings and Lewes, all in East Sussex, ­Elmbridge in Surrey, Hull in East ­Yorkshire, Tower Hamlets in east ­London, ­Blackpool in Lancashire, ­Bedford in Bedfordshire and Stroud in Gloucestershire.




Reg

Driver allowed to keep satanic plate

A driver in Skye was cleared in court after it was claimed that cyclists, who complained about her driving, did not like her "satanic" S666 SKY car number plates.

Sally Phelps, 65, was accused at Portree Sheriff and JP Court of careless driving in her black Volvo sports car by passing too close to a couple of women cyclists and frightening them. She was found not guilty after defence solicitor Duncan Burd produced a Bible in court and told the three magistrates on the bench: "The two cyclists were annoyed at the devil's car going past them so decided to report her to the police."

Yesterday, Mrs Phelps, a community councillor, of Kilmuir House guest house, Kilmuir, said: "I am not scrapping my unique registration plate, despite its apparent controversy. I had no idea my car number had connections with the devil.

"When my husband, Roy, bought the number several years ago it was for the 'SKY' part. The 666 bit came with it."

One of the cyclists, Fiona MacDonald, 49, who said in evidence she was a Christian, claimed she "felt the heat" of the car as it passed her with its "number of the beast" registration plates.

Mr Burd told the court; "In the Bible, Revelations 13:18 says 'Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast for it is the number of a man. His number is 666'."

Fiscal Stewart Maciver told the magistrates; "It is not the case that the cyclists were out to get her as she shot past in her fancy Volvo. There is nothing more sinister than it is a distinctive plate."

Both Mrs MacDonald and her friend, Victoria MacLean, 42, both of Uig, Skye, denied that the 666 registration plates had prompted a complaint to the police.

The chairwoman of the magistrates told Mrs Phelps; "It has been a difficult decision but there is reasonable doubt, so you are entitled to an acquittal. You are not guilty."




Reg

Unfineable Number Plates in London

Reg

Council names and shames foreign super car drivers who flout parking laws

Brazenly pulled up on yellow lines in some of London's most salubrious locations, the wealthy owners of these super cars pay little heed to the rules of the road.




But a council is naming and shaming drivers of foreign-registered vehicles in an attempt to recover nearly 4 million owed in unpaid parking fines.

Westminster Council claims the owners of Bugattis, Ferraris and Lamborghinis routinely flout parking restrictions because they know officials are powerless to trace them in their own countries.

The council, Britain's largest parking authority, accuses the culprits of a "blatant disregard" for the country's road laws by refusing to pay the penalties.

In the past three years, offenders have failed to settle a total of 36,332 parking tickets, leaving the council 3,776,490 pounds out of pocket.

Top of the authority's most wanted list is the owner of a £300,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom, who owes them 2,000 pounds for 18 parking tickets.

While the owner of a Bugatti Veyron L'Edition Centenaire would have lavished 1.2 million on buying their 250mph car, they have failed to pay a 120 pound fine for parking on a single yellow line outside Selfridges.

Despite having the distinctive car registration 111111, the council is also struggling to track the driver of a red and black Bugatti Veyron ticketed this month near Marble Arch. All three cars are on Arabic plates.

Other prolific offenders include owners of a US registered Hummer and a Lamborghini Murcielago from Dubai.

Westminster Council is calling on the Government to help establish a system of international co operation to allow local authorities to trace foreign motorists – 80 per cent of whom refuse to pay fines.

Currently, there are no laws to provide parking authorities with access to overseas driver and vehicle registration data to chase up parking fines.

New EU legislation will allow member states to share such information but experts say British authorities will not be able to use the law because parking offences are not classified as criminal offences in this country.

Cllr Lee Rowley, Westminster Council's cabinet member for parking, said: "British taxpayers can no longer foot the bill for foreign motorists who seem think the rules of this country do not apply to them.

"We would like to see a more rigorous system put in place to hold these drivers to account and send a clear message that this blatant disregard of the law will not be tolerated."

Officials say the problem is most pronounced among vehicles registered in the Middle East, which are frequently seen parked on yellow lines, in bus lanes or in residents' parking bays in expensive parts of the capital.

Many wealthy Arabs have their sports cars flown into Britain by private jet during the so called 'season' in July and August, when it has become fashionable to visit London.

The issue follows complaints, from residents in Knightsbridge over sports car owners shattering their night time peace by racing through the streets around Harrods.

The Daily Telegraph disclosed last week that campaigners claim wealthy Middle Eastern visitors are making residential roads "like the starting grid of Le Mans" since the Qatari royal family purchased the department store in May.

Official figures earlier this year show that owners of foreign registered vehicles evade motoring fines totaling nearly 15 million pounds each year across Britain.

Sparks, a coalition of London councils established to tackle the problem, said 330,000 tickets worth 12.9 million are issued to foreign registered vehicles in London each year for parking and other contraventions. One in eight foreign registered vehicle owners fails to pay their congestion charge.

In June it emerged that foreign diplomats in the capital owe more than 37 million in unpaid congestion charges, parking fines and other motoring penalties.

Last year, Westminster Council wrote off more than 20 million in unpaid parking fines after failing to trace the owners of offending vehicles.

Owners of vehicles on foreign number plates are allowed to drive them temporarily in Britain for a total of six months in any 12 month period without registering them or taxing them in the UK.

After that they must register and tax them with British plates through the DVLA.

Those with number plates bearing letters or numbers not identifiable in Britain must obtain a temporary registration mark from the DVLA for the duration of their visit.






Original article by Murray Wardrop
Published: 7:30AM BST 14 Aug 2010
Telegraph.co.uk

Brussels "Unifies" European Number Plates

Europe's holiday makers are hitting the roads, this summer, with more or less uniform number plates, after a 12 year debate over their design and colour schemes. Belgium finally settled a political argument over the tags in June, removing the last obstacle to introducing the new plates in all 27 European countries.

However, "uniform" is a relative term in Europe, where there are dozens of languages and so ways to even say "number plate". There are already exceptions to the suggested EU standard of black lettering on white background and a European flag on the left. British drivers, of course, being allowed to opt out altogether.

Drivers still show their nationalities on the EU number plates, with a country code placed within the ring of gold stars on the EU flag, or just below it: D for Germany, NL for Netherlands, S for Sweden, E for Spain and so on.

Issuing nations may also allow local or regional symbols.
For motorcycles, there is a square EU-style tag.

American style number plate slogans would probably go against the rules, but
one option might have been "In Varietate Concordia" ("United in Diversity"), the EU motto that is available in Latin and the union's 23 languages, no one opted to take this up, though.

EU officials first recommended uniform black on white plates back in 1998, as they would be more readable and embody the union's single market. The European number plates would also help cameras spot speeders, tax dodgers and vehicles jumping through electronic toll booths in a continent with largely open borders.

Most EU members, and even some non members like Norway, now make EU plates mandatory.

In places like Finland, Sweden, Cyprus, Denmark and Britain however, the number plates are available but optional. In Britain, drivers are entitled to replace the EU flag with those of either England, Scotland or Wales.

Paul Watters, head of public policy at Britain's Automobile Association, said few UK motorists choose the EU flag.

"The government has allowed us to have the freedom to choose to display national flags," he said. "We wouldn't want to see the EU flag become compulsory in the U.K."

France began issuing the EU tag in 2009 and also tried to drop traditional regional indicators, to avoid stigmatizing drivers from less fashionable areas.

Parisian cars mostly carried the number 75, while 93 is the indicator for nearby Seine-Saint-Denis, a Parisian suburb with a large immigrant population.

Richard Mallie from the French "departement" of Bouches du Rhone (regional indicator 13) and 230 other French lawmakers rebelled, insisting the departement number was "a matter of roots, of attachment to an area."

They won the day which means French drivers can now pick any department number they like. Mallie says 75 percent still opt for their departement of residence.

In Belgium, the most ardent proponent of European number plate unification and home to the EU headquarters in Brussels, the EU tag started two years of debate between Dutch and French speaking politicians. The French speakers rejected black on yellow tags as they are the colors of Belgium's Dutch speaking north. Neither side where interested in black on white.

In June, Belgium decided its HGV's would adopt the EU plates, but passenger vehicles could have dark red letters instead of black.

Denmark opted for a black on white EU plate but included a red boarder around it, hinting at its red and white flag.

Europe's shift to standard number plates may sound innocent enough but it is an emotive point.

In the 1990s, EU officials sensed a backlash to what former British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd called a "European superstate inveigling its way into every nook and cranny of Europeans' lives." That backlash would be blamed in 2005 for the death of the EU constitution.





Reg

Next DVLA Number Plate Auction

The next DVLA number plate auction is to be held at the Heritage Motor Center, Warwickshire on 4th, 5th and 6th August.

There are some great number plates with low reserves, such as '999 A' at 2900 pounds, '56 ME' at 2700 pounds, and the highly sought after '8 O' at 10,000 pounds, but you can expect to see the latter fetch upwards of five times that amount.

CLICK HERE to view the full auction catalogue.




Reg

Number Plate Advise.

I just wrote this as a reply on a forum then thought, I might as well post it here.
See what you think;

A friend of mine went to a DVLA auction a couple of years back with the intention of buying a ***1 or 1*** number plate.
Within reason, he wasn't fussy about the letter combination as he was thinking in terms of investment/heirloom.

At the auction, he soon realised that he was being out-bid by one man on every '1' plate that came up.

During an interval, the auctioneer approached my friend and explained that his rival was a dealer and suggested that he ask the dealer to 'step aside' on just one of these number plates, so as he could buy it and bugger off. This would leave the dealer with no competition on the rest of the one plates, ergo he could buy them cheaper.

A win/win situation you'd have thought but no.
The dealer refused this proposition and my mate, being a stubborn git, stayed for the duration of the auction just to bid the dealer up on every '1' plate.

When relaying this tale to me, he couldn't grasp the reasoning behind the dealers decision not to step aside as, over the course of the auction, this cost him "10's of thousands".

As I explained to him. It's all about the bigger picture.
It won't matter to the dealer if you beat him up by 1K on every plate at the auction.
(He claims that the most any of them sold for was 8K, BTW)
What's important is that he gets 'control' of as many of this type of number plate as possible that come onto the market.

If you control 80% of a commodity, then you control the open market price of it.
The other 20% are not going to complain if you force the market price up.



Reg

Should East Lancashire councils sell valuable number plates?

CASH strapped town halls have been slammed for refusing to give up number plates worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The mayoral car registrations are among the most sought after in the country.

Blackburn with Darwen's plate has been valued at up to 200,000 pounds, while Burnley's would raise 100,000 and Rossendale's 20,000.

Campaigners say keeping these 'egotistical luxuries' is a 'disgrace' at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet.

But defiant councils said they have no plans to cash in despite facing multi million pound spending cuts.

The Lancashire Telegraph has been given three independent valuations for the three high value plates.

Pendle, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley and Lancashire County Council do not have personalised plates.

Top of the pile was CB1, the plate of Blackburn with Darwen's black mayoral BMW, which was valued at between 150 and 200,000 pounds

Councilor Colin Rigby, executive member for resources, said: "There are no plans to sell the number plate.

"Any proceeds would only be a one-off, which might delay savings, but we still need to make ongoing savings year on year."

And Tory Mayor Sheila Williams said: "It might paper over some cracks for a year, but where do you go from there?

"It’s part of the town's history and this would be like selling off the family silver."

Labour opposition group leader Kate Hollern said: "I'm sure people of Blackburn could come up with plenty of things that money could be spent on.

"It would refurbish 10 houses for a start."

And Lib Dem deputy mayor Karimeh Foster said people would want the plates, which date back to 1904, sold if it helped protect front line services.

Mary Anderson, who is leading the fight to save Shadsworth Community Centre, said she was stunned at the value of the Blackburn with Darwen number plate.

She said: "It is a disgrace. This is the exact amount they are saving from the four community centres. The public needs to be aware of this."

Burnley council's HG1 plate is worth 100,000 pounds, according to all three companies.

It was taken from a fire engine in the 1930s when the council was also responsible for the fire service.

Council leader Charlie Briggs said the town hall had once tried to sell the plate to former Opportunity Knocks host Hughie Green.

He said: "He wouldn't have it. I knew then it was worth a considerable amount of money, but I didn't realise it was worth that much.

"But why would we want to sell it? It's part of Burnley.

"When you see HG1 coming you know the mayor's inside the car.

"If we're talking about selling the family silver that would really be scraping the bottom of the barrel."

Burnley businessman Andrew Brown, who ran as an independent candidate in this year's General Election, said the council should sell the registration plates because of the cuts it was facing.

He said: "It would make sense for the council to put it up for sale with a reserve price of 100,000 pounds if that is what it is valued at.

"If the reserve is met then everyone is happy."

Rossendale council's 1MTC plate was valued at 20,000 pounds.

The council said it was not certain where it had come from, although it is believed to have been donated to the authority in 1971.

Again bosses did not want to sell.

Mark Wallace, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "It's disgusting that councils are hanging on to these egotistical luxuries at a time when taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet.

"Councils facing spending cuts should be selling these private plates as soon as possible."





Reg

Emerates '1' number plate at auction

The world's most expensive number plate purchase.







Reg

Police number plate recognition camera rules tightened

Police cameras that record motorists' movements must be more tightly regulated, Home Secretary Theresa May has ordered.

The 4,000-strong automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) network logs more than 10 million vehicles every day.

The government is to look at limiting access to the database of 7.6 billion images, details of number plates and the date, time and place of capture.

Privacy campaigners said restrictions on the ANPR network were long overdue.

The cameras capture the front of cars and photographs can include images of the driver and any passengers.

Ministers will consider how long these records can be held. The current limit is two years.

Mrs May says she wants proper accountability and safeguards in the use of this database.

It comes as a decision was taken to remove 72 ANPR cameras in Birmingham after it emerged their installation, in areas with large Muslim populations, had been funded through a Home Office counter-terrorism fund.

Home Office minister James Brokenshire told the Guardian the national changes were necessary for public confidence.

"Both CCTV and ANPR can be essential tools in combating crime but the growth in their use has been outside of a suitable governance regime," he said.

"To ensure that these important technologies continue to command the support and confidence of the public and are used effectively, we believe that further regulation is required.

"We are examining a number of options and will also be considering the work of the interim CCTV regulator, who is due to report to ministers shortly."

The government is also looking at introducing a lawful right for police forces to log the information and greater transparency over where the cameras are.

The system was rolled out in 2006 to track uninsured drivers and stolen cars.
Review 'overdue'

The cameras work by scanning registration plates and checking them against information stored in various databases to identify vehicles of interest to the police.

An ANPR camera can read a number plate every second.

However, civil liberties group Big Brother Watch branded the network "an unnecessary and indiscriminate invasion of privacy."

Campaign director Dylan Sharpe said the review was "long overdue".

"ANPR gives the state the ability to track every car journey we make. It is about time that some restrictions were placed on the use of this intrusive technology."

The organisation is funded by the Taxpayers' Alliance pressure group, which lobbies for lower taxes and greater government efficiency.

Police say use of the cameras has led to the arrest of burglars, robbers and drug dealers, among others, and that they target criminals and not innocent law-abiding motorists.







.

ASBO Hounds Not Number Plate Fans

Dog Gang - Watch a funny movie here

Reg

Next DVLA Number Plate Auction Announced

The Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire is the setting for the next three-day auction commencing on the 4th August. Go to http://dvlaregistrations.direct.gov.uk/auctions to view the 1500 registrations on offer.

DVLA Personalised Registrations has secured a limited number of free tickets enabling registered bidders to visit the motor museum containing the world's finest collection of historic British cars.

Number plates in the auction include 8 O (10,000) C44 RLS (900) BMW 80Y (900) and TVR 80Y (400).




Reg

Lucky number plates go up in value when times are bad

The basis for many superstitious beliefs may be little more than fantasy but their economic effects are all too real. According to Travis Ng and colleagues at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, casual estimates suggest that between $800 and $900 million is wiped off the value of US businesses every Friday the Thirteenth! Now Ng's team has explored the economic cost of superstition by comparing the value of Hong Kong car number plates purchased through auction from 1997 to 2009.

The new research focuses particularly on the presence of 4s and 8s in Hong Kong plates. There's a consensus in Hong Kong that '8', which rhymes in Cantonese with 'prosper' or 'prosperity', is a lucky number, whereas '4', which rhymes with 'die' or 'death', is an unlucky number.

Controlling for visual factors that affect price (for example, plates with fewer digits are more sought-after) Ng's team found that an ordinary 4-digit registration plate with one extra lucky '8' was sold 63.5 per cent higher on average. An extra unlucky '4' by contrast diminished the average 4-digit plate value by 11 per cent. These effects aren't trivial. Replacing the '7' in a standard 4-digit plate with an '8' would boost its value by roughly $400.

As well charting the monetary value of superstitious beliefs, Ng's study was also able to record how the economic influence of superstition varies according to ongoing macroeconomic circumstances. For instance, the presence of a '4' in a plate always drops its value, but during bad economic times, the diminution in value is greater. On a day that the stock market had dropped by 1 per cent, the 'cost' of having a '4' in a standard 4-digit plate was increased by 19.9 per cent. 'A "4" is bad,' the researchers wrote, 'but it is even worse in bad times.'

Curiously, the effect of ongoing market conditions on the impact of 4s and 8s wasn't equal. The stock market price exaggerated the 'cost' associated with an extra '4' on both 3-digit and 4-digit number plates, but it only affected the premium associated with having an extra lucky '8' on 3-digit plates. 'We are not able to come up with a good explanation for the asymmetric effects,' the researchers said.

'We have shown that the value of superstitions can be economically significant,' the researchers concluded. 'We have also shown that some results are consistent with the view that people tend to be more superstitious in bad times.'


Ng, T., Chong, T., & Du, X. (2010). The value of superstitions. Journal of Economic Psychology, 31 (3), 293-309 DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2009.12.002

Ireland introduce bicycle number plates

UP to 1,000 bicycles are to be fitted with number plates. The new scheme, to be launched in Co Mayo, is designed to increase awareness of road safety for cyclists.

Only vehicles with combustion engines have to carry designated number plates, under current law.

But Noel Gibbons, road safety officer with Mayo County Council, said that the bicycle registration scheme would bring cyclists into line with drivers of larger, more powerful road vehicles and was hoping it would give them a higher visibility.

"The purpose of the number plates is to raise awareness of cycle safety and encourage more people to take the two-wheel mode of transport, rather than four wheels," he said.

"We also want to get the young cyclist to remember that they have a responsibility for their own safety when using a bicycle.

"The number plates are made from a reflective material and will be hung under the bicycle saddle, increasing the chances of other road users seeing the cyclist. They can be customised or personalised to show the name of the cyclist, making them a great novelty gift for every child," Mr Gibbons added.





Reg (new tax imminent?)

Vespa number plate sells for 1185 pounds

Vespa fans are used to adorning their two-wheeled wonders with accessories but only one devotee can now show off the ultimate add on.

For Neil Little placed the winning bid on the personalised plate VE55SPA during first of two DVLA Personalised Registrations auctions being held this summer.

Neil, who paid to total of 1,185 pounds for the registration, will soon be sporting it on his new, limited edition, Vespa LXV.

"I have private plates on all my vehicles but I believe this one will really stand out from the crowd. It's the ultimate registration for my scooter!" Said the 40 year old carpenter from Meopham, Kent.

"I don't usually spend the amount I did on the VE55 SPA plate but, as soon as I saw it was going under the hammer knew I just had to have it."

The second DVLA Personalised Registrations auction of the summer is set to commence on August 4, at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire.




Reg

Number plates for the future

A car fan from Harrow splashed out on Monday morning when he bought a collection of personalised registrations encompassing the new 60-series within minutes of them being released for sale.

Rishi Gautam (pronounced Gotam) has patiently waited for the 60's release to buy a series of registrations which represent his surname; GG 60TAM, MR 60TAM, DR 60TAM and MS 60TAM.

While he already has the number plate R15SHE on his Jaguar X Type, he spent just shy of 2,800 pounds to secure the collection of 60 registration plates for his future generations.

The automotive design engineer said: "I'm a self confessed petrol head. I love everything about cars and I especially admire private number plates."



"Although I've owned R15SHE since 1997, I've always wanted to add more plates to my collection and have been looking for ways in which to spell my surname.

"After researching the possibilities I realised a couple of years ago the 60 series would be ideal and have since just sat back and played a waiting game. I contacted the DVLA and asked when they'd go on sale and have since had Monday, June 7, in my diary."

He added: "I'm extremely proud of my surname and wanted some personalised registrations to show it off and my collection will do just that even though I've bought them for my future wife and children!"

Explaining his reasoning behind the purchases, Rishi added: "I wanted plates to directly represent my surname, hence buying GG 60TAM and MR 60TAM. I have high hopes for a son or daughter of becoming a doctor and so I couldn't resist
DR 60TAM. MS 60TAM would sit well on my wife's car."

In order to secure his four number plates, Rishi went online and bought them in quick succession. The 60 figure will indicate all brand new vehicles registered for road use from September 1, 2010.





Reg

Should motorbikes have front number plates?

There has been a call for Motorcycles to be fitted with front number plates so they can be detected by front facing police cameras, by the RAC Foundation.

The move would allow bike registrations to be read by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras used to pick up uninsured or untaxed vehicles.

A spokesman for the RAC Foundation, which was established in 1991 as the research arm of the RAC but is now independent of the breakdown firm, said: "We think that if it could be done safely then there's a very good reason why it should be done.

"Then ANPR cameras would be able to pick up motorcycles in exactly the same way they can four-wheeled vehicles."



Reg

DVLA forces Auto Trader to change its iPhone app

Auto Trader has been forced to remove a key feature from its iPhone app, just two weeks after it was released.

The DVLA has a problem with the image recognition element of the app, which allows users to take a photo of car number plates and get results from dealers selling that make and model.

The DVLA says that this feature conflicts with its ethical code, as it allows users to capture images of vehicle registration plates, even though cameras and most mobile phones are capable of doing the same thing.

"The application draws only on publically available information and does not release owner details or information on where a vehicle is registered. However, we take consumer security extremely seriously and so have happily agreed to comply with the DVLA's request. As a result, from the 30th March, the 'snap' function will be removed from the app." Said the Auto Trader.

It's a puzzling move as the app provides no information other than the make and model of the car photographed, and since there are plenty of other mobile services which use number plate information, such as the vehicle text check services which are commonly advertised.

It robs the app and its users of a valuable function, one which worked well and that also provided an added 'wow factor' for the app, though perhaps, if the image is the problem, Auto Trader can replace this with the option to type in plate numbers to achieve the same result. On the face of it, this seems to be an odd decision on the part of the DVLA.




ReG

60 number plates on sale now

The 60 series of registrations can now be bought from DVLA Registrations in readiness for when they can legally be used on our roads on September 1, 2010.

The new 60 series opens up a great deal of personalised number plates like BA60OON, AS60 ---, CY60RGS, etc.

Prospective buyers have been able to sift through the millions of combinations available through DVLA Personalised Registrations website for the past month.

More good news for those interested is DVLA Personalised Registrations' is that the 'open sale' period also ensures that every new style combination is available for the month of June, with the exception of those plates destined for auction.



Reg

Number plate SOLO ACT for just 2850 pounds!

A retired car dealer has shown how he has gone it alone in the world of business by placing the winning bid on the DVLA Personalised Registration, SO10 ACT.

Kane Ronald bought the private plates to show people how he fought back the critics to become one of Hampshire's most prolific car salesman.

"I've gone it alone all my life and so I thought this registration was a great way of telling people my story." Said the 67 year old from Lyndhurst.

Kane's story is a real rags to riches tale, he started his working life as a humble car salesman but worked tirelessly to eventually own his successful business.

He added. "People always told me to settle down and stop dreaming about the big time. But I refused to listen and worked hard for the finer things in life. You should never give up on your dreams no matter how many people tell you otherwise."

Ronald walked away from the Whittlebury Hall auction with a smile after buying the personalised registration for just 2,850 pounds.



R3G

ESS3X number plate sells for 6,520 pounds at DVLA auction

A mystery buyer from Chelmsford snapped up the personalised registration ESS 3X for a bargain price of 6,520 pounds.

Immediately after securing the number plates with a final bid of 5,100 pounds, the delighted Essex based man declared he would have spent another 15,000 pounds in order to get his ideal plate. The total amount paid includes VAT, Buyers Premium and Assignment Fee.

The sale came during the climax of DVLA Personalised Registrations' first day of its latest auction currently being held at Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire. At the end of the day the agency had raised 1.2 million, with all money going to the Treasury.

"Both DVLA and the customer are both extremely happy with the result. Managing to raise a sum seven times its reserve is a tremendous achievement, and to hear our customer is delighted to have bought a bargain is music to my ears." said Damian Lawson, DVLA Personalised Registrations' Marketing Manager.

The mystery purchaser of the ESS 3X plate, said: "I'm absolutely delighted. I've bought numerous registrations from the DVLA over the years and I expected to pay a lot more than 6,520 pounds for this one, in fact I had another 15,000 pounds to spend!"

While the ESS 3X registrations will probably make the headlines, 1 EPS was the greatest success of the day, fetching just short of 20,000 pounds.


Reg

Three of the coolest number plates in history go under the hammer! (And you get 007's DB5 thrown in!)

RM Auction is putting a great car up for auction, this time a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, which is an actual James Bond car! This car with the registration plate FMP 7B has been a property of Mr.Jerry Lee for over 40 years. He had bought the car from the film company for $12,000, and now it's expected to fetch over $5 million!

This DB5 is a full blooded Bond car. It has Front and rear hydraulic over rider rams on bumpers; Front firing .30 caliber Browning machine guns powered by trunk mounted oxy/propane system; Wheel mounted tire slasher; Retractable rear bullet-proof screen; Radio telephone concealed in secret compartment; Radar scanner in racing type wing mirror with tracking screen in the cockpit; Passenger ejector seat with removable roof panel (seat since replaced with standard seat); Oil slick ejector from left side rear light cluster; Triple spiked nails from the right side rear light cluster; Smoke screen released through separate rear system, located next to rear exhaust and most importantly; Three revolving number plates featuring licenses YRE 186H, 007JB and JB007.

Not that all of these things actually work on this car, but there they are! And the coolest thing is they're all hidden away normally.

"The James Bond car has brought me much enjoyment for some 40 years," said Jerry Lee. "Even as I sell it and use the proceeds to fund the Jerry Lee Foundation, the car will continue to give me great pleasure as it furthers the mission of the Foundation to do good around the world."





Reg

DVLA hoping for the million

DVLA Personalised Registrations could find itself in "seventh heaven" during its forthcoming three day auction which gets underway on June 2 at Whittlebury Hall.

Buoyed by the 7 O and 10 OOO registrations set to head line at Whittlebury Hall, DVLA's team of experts believe the agency could surpass the magical seven figure mark from the sale of a single series of personalised plates.

Released by DVLA Personalised Registrations to mark its 20th anniversary last year, the O series encompassing the registrations 1 O, 2 O, 3 O, 4 O, 5 O, 6 O, 9 O, 1 OOO and 2 OOO has amassed a staggering 872,000 pounds.

And while the agency is 130,000 pounds short of its magical 1 million mark, the high expectations surrounding 7 O and 10 OOO being sold at the Northamptonshire venue, ironically, the scene where 1 O sold for a whopping 210,000 pounds in January 2009, indicate that that million pound figure could well be banked for The Treasury.

DVLA Personalised Registrations Marketing Manager, Damian Lawson said: "While we had high hopes for the O series, we never in our wildest thoughts believed we could be on the verge of raising 1 million from their sale so soon.

"Since 1 O was sold at Whittlebury Hall 18 months ago there has been a terrific amount of interest surrounding the whole O series and while we do not expect to surpass the 210,000 pound it made, it would be truly ironic if Whittlebury proved to be the setting for hitting the magical million mark."

In total, DVLA's forthcoming auction will comprise 1,500 number plates chosen to offer an eclectic mix to suit all tastes, styles and pockets, including;

ALS 911 (reserve 1,900)
BOO7 HAM (900)
EL10 OTT (1,000)
ESS 3X (900)
F458 RED (900)
F1 USA (1,900)
GOF 11E (350)
H15 DOG (900)
599 JS (2,600)
51 NKS (1,900)
N47 URE (350)
N188 LER (300)
7 O (10,000)
0007 BND (900)
10 OOO (8,000)
OWN 805S (350)
ROL 333X (400)
SO10 ACT (1,000)
SKY 7V (400)
SO10 MON (1,000)
VE55 SPA (900)
W11 DOW (900)



Reg

DVLA number plate fraud

DVLA high level officers in the criminal investigation department continue to hold, in safe custody, the compelling criminal evidence dossiers concerning the forged and falsified 'Carroll Automobile Collection Cherished Number Plates Portfolio Log Books'.

Included in this portfolio are the rare 'A1, GJC1, and GJC11' personalised registration plates which were "stolen" in the longest running and largest white collar organised crime, tax evasion and money laundering case in modern economic history.

The Carroll Foundation Charitable Trust, one billion dollars, international case is bringing in the elite law enforcement officers from the FBI Washington DC field office and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in London.




Sources close to the DVLA at the Swansea headquarters have confirmed that "multiple forged log books" covering the Carroll Super Car Collection which contains ten Ferraris, seven Lamborghinis and a rare Automobilia Fine Art Collection was the fraudulent mechanism used by the FBI / SOCA task force, to target Goodman Derrick Crime Syndicate in this US HM Crown Carroll Trust National Security Public Interests Case.

A1, is thought to be the very first UK vehicle registration number. Originally issued in London in 1903 it is considered to be the UK's most famous registration plate, having had a continuous and well documented history since Earl Russell managed to secure it by getting his Butler to queue up all night outside the licencing authorities office in London.

Should 'A1' come onto the market today, the sales price will undoubtedly be in the millions.







Reg

The 6IXTH S3NS3

(If you're gonna be 'number plate negative', this is how you do it;)

"I've had enough of personalised number plates. After spending the best part of five months ogling them and not the beautiful Auckland surroundings, I've finally given up the ghost.
So, here's a round up of the plates I've seen so far;

The Geeky Ones
H1TMAN- This guy genuinely had a barcode above the plate and an Agency sticker on the dash.
X MAN- Though to be fair, this might not be a comic fan. It could be a transsexual.

The Honest Ones
DUMBER- Found on a humvee, which says it all really.
VODKA- Certainly goes a long way to explaining how this jeep was being driven.
B1GDOG- Having sighted the driver, I have to agree, though the plate MUNTER would have been more accurate.
V1AGRA- On a 1930's ford being driven by a very old man. With a huge smile on his face.
CHOLLO- On a car driven by a very large Hispanic gentleman.
MY WILI- On a Toyota Will VI. Again being driven by a smiling old man.

The Misleading Ones
SALADS- The advertising for this owner-operator company car was somewhat offset by the fat guy driving it.
RADBOD- It wasn't. Really.

The Ambiguous Ones
GAS IT- I couldn't figure out if this person had flatulence, was pro-electric or just being anti-Semitic.
BENDS- Either someone suffering from nitrogen in the blood, or declaring his sexual proclivities.
RIDEZY- Come to think of it, the driver did look a bit morally loose.
K8S L8- I wasn't sure where this was coming from. Is Kate tardy? Is she dead? Has she skipped her period?
WAXN IT- Is this person a surfer or merely fond of Brazillians?

The Zuh? Ones
HO COIL- I don't know what this is. My gut reaction is it is something a pimp ensures his ladies have to stop them getting preggers.
WHY 2K- Why indeed.
ASK GOD- Just begging for the underplate writing "why I am driving like a retarded orang utan".

The Gobshite One
BLING- On an SUV in the city centre. This thing had blacked out windows too, which juts proves the adage that the darker the windows on the SUV the likelier the possibility that the loser inside cries themselves to sleep every night.

The Regrettable Ones
BJS- I don't think the driver even noticed.
BUL177- On a Porsche than was just asking to be keyed.
MET WAT- On a company car. Think about it.

But the winner by a country mile is NOBASS.

I don't know what the driver was aiming for, but in the absence of number plates saying SLAVE1, BALL5 or FUKNUT then he gets the prize.

In future I'll just report by exception, though if I see any car with the word PLAYER/PLAYA or any alphanumeric combination thereof then there may be a short delay in my bloggage while I stand trial for murder."

(Cheers to "Jimbo" of Auckland :)




R3G

Another City Council urged to sell off personalised number plates

The Taxpayers Alliance is calling for the City Council of Aberdeen to auction the lord provosts registration plates, RG0, to help fund the national economic recovery.

The alliance is pushing for Scottish councils to sell off their private number plates, some of which are reputedly worth up to 500,000 pounds.

Aberdeens elected members have hit back, claiming this solution is shortsighted and would losing a piece of the city's heritage.

The convener of the council's finance and resources committee, Councillor Kevin Stewart said: "Once you have sold off an asset, that's it gone for ever. What we would actually be selling off is part of the history of the city, so I would have to be convinced we would get an amazing price for it, to even consider doing it."

Councillor Neil Cooney added: "It's a historical tradition in Aberdeen and we should hold on to as much of our heritage as we can. It is of great sentimental value to the citizens of Aberdeen. I would be opposed to selling it off."

As well as referring to the historical value of RG0, the council says the vehicle, which is used to transport the lord provost while he is performing civic duties, is worthy of the registration because of the prestigious role it plays.

The Taxpayers Alliance, however, remain unconvinced.

"There's no excuse for councils owning prestige number plates at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet. "This kind of indulgence reflects the attitude of politicians towards the hard-pressed taxpayer. "They should be auctioned off and the proceeds used to directly benefit the communities." Said Campaigns director Mark Wallace.

One of the largest number plate dealer in the country has predicted RG0 would fetch at least 50,000 pounds but, say the council, this would barely scratch the surface of the budget deficit.

Councillor Ian Yuill, a member of the finance and resources committee, concluded: "Frankly, anything we would see from a one off sale of RG0 would not even be a drop in the ocean."

Lord Provost Peter Stephen could not be contacted for comment.




Reg