I don’t know about other countries, but here in the U.S. states allow people to buy “vanity plates”. Instead of a combination of letters/numbers issued by the state the buyer can choose his own…as long as it uses only about 6 or 7 letters or numbers, isn’t obscene, and hasn’t been already chosen.
Obviously people sometimes have to be ingenious to fit the restrictions, e.g., having to leave out letters while still conveying the meaning:
One clever person took advantage of a special Virginia plate ($25 a year extra, plus $10 a year more for your choice of lettering) which allowed the buyer to support the state program against domestic violence.
His choice poked fun at the license plate, probably not quite what Virginia had in mind:
Given the ingenuity of the human race and the law of unintended consequences, I wonder about an idea California is exploring. The state is looking into digital license plates. The license plate number would be displayed when the car is moving, but when it stopped for a stop sign, red light, or because of traffic gridlock, a miniature billboard would appear. The scheme would make more money for the up-to-its-ears-in-debt state and allow the buyers more creative flexibility. But I wonder how they would regulate the results. What do you think? Given the creativity and perversity of some human beings, do you think the scheme is a good idea or more trouble than it would be worth?
Cool!
bikehikebabe,
Thanks for catching the typo!
I think it would be an unnecessary and possibly dangerous distraction unless it’s made completely foolproof. How does it know when the car is moving? What if that component malfunctions.
Mike,
That possibility doesn’t worry me as much as some of the computer controls the cars already have. And the Economist article pointed out so many people already talk on their phones or text while driving that at least California’s scheme would get the drivers to look at the cars around them for a change. We live in a different world than the one I was brought up in.
it’s big business here – here is probably the main sale site:
http://www.plates.co.nz/service/faqs/
http://www.numberplates.co.nz/1.html
they are called personalised plates here…
this last a hoo-ha over a few plates purchased for the Rugby World Cup to make a few bucks like in thousands but I can’t find the link to it
Cathy,
Here the states sell the plates and make the extra money. A brief look at the links you gave makes me think in NZ they’re sold by private businesses. Is that right? Do you know how that works?
http://www.plates.co.nz/service/faqs/
this seems to say that if it is approved your ‘plate lettering’ then it manufactured by a Government Plate Manufacturing with the intention you will use immediately on your vehicle…I guess also there is some sort of registering i.e. we have a couple of things you have to do when you own a car
quote about registering your vehicle – I note a sentence at the bottom about personalised plates…
Before a vehicle can be registered for use on New Zealand roads, it must undergo entry certification to verify it meets New Zealand‘s required standards. Your vehicle must successfully complete entry certification before you can apply to register it, a process that provides you with a certificate of registration and registration (number) plates (which you can later replace with personalised plates).
Here, you can find out about the registration process and getting plates, plus the limited cases where your vehicle may not have to be registered.
Also your vehicle has to checked for road fitness…called a Warrant of Fitness when lots of things are checked. Usually every 6mths.
“I don’t have a car” – but when I did there was so many extra costs plus maintenance, I finally ‘drove it into the ground’ http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/ – if you are interested in more facts 🙂
Let’s not forget there is also vehicle insurance of which there are probably just as many insurance companies all with different deals. I remember I had the house/contents and the car linked together in some of deal
I now get around on public transport, shanks pony and great friends who get me to/from all manner of places 🙂 I am currently buying the bulk of food consumption from an online grocery/supermarket shop which has made it easier +++
Cathy,
Thank you!
It is all academic to me Jean. I blissfully travel out of my immediate neighbourhood in autorickshaws or taxi cabs, or in someone else’s car.
Rummuser,
Yes, I don’t drive much either. I have my own chauffeur. 🙂
The reason I’m aware of vanity plates is because he enjoys deciphering the more complicated ones.