On the rude number plate ban?

The DVLA say they ban rude number plates ?
(But sometimes they just mark them up; http://bit.ly/dakBpm )


R3G

Noah Today! (Nothing to do with 'plates. It just made me laugh)

NOAH TODAY

In the year 2010, the Lord came unto Noah,who was now living in Scotland and said:
"Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans."
He gave Noah the blueprints, saying:
"You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights."

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah
weeping in his yard - but no Ark.
"Noah!," He roared, "I'm about to start the rain!
Where is the Ark?"
"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah, "but things have changed."

"I needed a Building Permit."

"I've been arguing with the Boat Inspector
about the need for a sprinkler system."

"My neighbours claim that I've violated the
Neighbourhood Bye-Laws by building the Ark in my
back garden and exceeding the height limitations. We had to
go to the Local Planning Committee for a decision."

"Then the Local Council and the Electricity Company demanded a shed load of money for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it."

"Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the Greater Spotted Barn Owl."
"I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go!"

"When I started gathering the animals the RSPCA took me to court. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They
argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space."
"Then the Scottish Environmental Agency ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood."

"I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building gang."
"Immigration are checking the Visa status of most of the people who want to work."

"The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience."

"To make matters worse, the Inland Revenue seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species."

"So, forgive me, Lord, but it will take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark."

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky.



Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "You mean you're not going to destroy the world?"
"No," said the Lord.
The Labour Government beat me to it."



R3G

US State bans GAY plate

Keith Kimmel passed away before he could challenge the Oklahoma Tax Commission in federal court over its 2009 rejection of his "IM GAY" license plate. They have now disclosed the reason why he couldn't have the personalized number plate about his sexuality: It was considered too offensive.

For the same reason "SEXYBRD," "V8BALL," and "NOFTCHX" were denied to drivers wishing to make their vehicles more distinctive, "IM GAY" was among the "curse words, sexual connotations, racial and ethnic slurs, and drug or alcohol references" Tax Commission staffers watch out for. What about BIGUYS or BEARLVR?




R3G

Hong Kong Plates For Big Money

Driving a Rolls-Royce just isn't enough for the super rich of Hong Kong so having vanity license plates is a must. They are sold at the regular government auctions and can fetch some big prices. Last year, a registration plate bearing the lucky number of 2318 went for HK$1.7 million, a bargain compared to the high-flying days of 2007, when a mainland businessman purchased the number 18 for HK$16.5 million.

Only the biggest of big-shots have single digit number plates, including Run Run Shaw at number 6, Albert Yeung at number 8 and the Commissioner of Police at number 1.



Reg

La R'eunion or Martinique? (By Tom Cupples)

Be prepared to be bored.. Sorry!

The French car number plate system was always quite straightforward. The notation was along the lines of XXX ABC XXX, where the first X's were numbers (obviously in the range of 001-999), the ABC was anything from A-Z, and the final X's were based on where the car was registered. In my case the final two X's were 06 representing the department of Alpes Maritimes.

Then one year ago they changed the system. They allowed people registering or re-registering their cars, or even just buying new number plates, to choose whichever region they wanted and the numbers representing that region would be put in the blue box you can see in the picture.

And what do you think happened? The Parisians, who even the French dislike intensely, have all changed their number plates so nobody on the roads can tell they are from the capital. Since the new plates began, two thirds of capital dwellers getting new number plates have given up their entitlement to the '75' at the end that denotes the city of Paris. Instead, they are choosing numbers from the departements of their holiday homes, family roots or even exotic destinations, such as Martinique.

The simple explanation for the disappearing '75' is that many Parisians have origins elsewhere. But it also stems from the desire to avoid the stigma of being seen as an arrogant Parisian when they drive out of town. In the provinces, a '75' plate advertises you as a city slicker and road hog and can 'encourage' car vandalism, car burglary or even arson. The new system is all very simple. If you're a Parisian and you spend your holidays in the Marseille area, you simply register your car with a '13' at the end to denote that you're from the Bouches-du-Rhone region where Marseille is the main city.

Similarly, the Times reports that also out of favour are the departements of the inner suburban sprawl around the capital, especially the '93' that denotes Seine-Saint-Denis, home to the immigrant-heavy towns that are occasionally prone to riots. Ninety-three, pronounced police style as "Le neuf-trois", has become code for urban jungle. Even Parisians give "93" cars a wide birth.

The favourite departement for changed regional numbers is Le Nord (59), the old industrial region around Lille. Next in favour are the Bouches-du-Rhone (Marseille) region and the Rhone (69), the department centred on Lyon. Then follow the Gironde (33)- the Bordeaux area and Seine-Maritime (76) around Rouen.

The number plate-makers are reporting a new, but lucrative wheeze. Parisians often buy two sets of plates, one with '75' (for Paris) and the other with the province of their choice for their trips out of town, which is legal.
I actually fancied getting my scooters 'registered' to La Reunion (number 974), those exotic French islands in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of Madagascar but I wasn't quick enough and ended up with the rather boring '06'. C'est la vie as they say in '75' (Paris).




By Tom Cupples of Riviera Blog

Liverpool fan buys Everton plate

Liverpool fan Christopher Almond shows it's not all about supporting your team when it comes to choosing investment number plates.

The registration EVE 370N was snapped up by Mr Almond as an investment after it came under the hammer at Old Trafford for just 1,100 pounds.

"I initially came to the auction for another plate," said Mr Almond. "I missed out on that, but when I saw EVE 370N going for less than I expected, as a Liverpool fan I couldn't resist going for it. Either way, it's a great investment."

More than 1,500 number plates went under the hammer at the first DVLA Personalised Registrations auction to be held at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United.



R3G

Didcot Number Plate

The race is on to become Didcots proudest resident in an online auction for the number plate D10COT.

The official DVLA number plate was bought seven years ago as an investment by Marc Joines, 36, of Swinburne Road, Oxford, and has been held on retainer ever since.

He drives a Vauxhall Astra, with personalised number plate C1STRA to read like the model of his car.

When he bought his own number in 2003 from the DVLAs online catalogue, he took a chance on Didcots future growth to buy D10COT for 650 pounds.

"I've never lived in Didcot, and just know it's a town about 10 miles away." Said Mr Joines. "But when I bought the number plates, I knew Didcot was an up and coming town.
It was around the time that they were talking about building the Orchard Centre. Now it's a much bigger place than it was, I think the time is right to sell it."

The number plate is up for sale on his eBay website, with a starting price of 1K.

"I think a business may buy it or someone who drives a van or a bus and wants the number plate for promotional reasons. But it could be a very special investment for someone."

He has been tempted to buy other number plates over the years, including ones linked to Oxford United, but didn't want to part with the cash.

Mayor of Didcot Margaret Turner said: "I'm sure somebody out there will buy it. It will be interesting to look out to see who is our number one resident and fits it to their car."

Since first selling personalised number plates in 1989, the DVLA has raised over £1.5bn for the Treasury. Most plates can be bought online, but a set of highly prized combinations will usually be put in one of the DVLA auctions, held six times a year.

The most expensive plate sold by the DVLA was 1D, which was bought by Nabil Bishara for 352,411.25 pounds as a birthday present for his wife in March 2009.



R3G