jefmcg
Guru
Despite 17 years in the UK, I don't recognise personal number plates. Also, I just realised I've never noticed how they are called colloquially here. I think it's "number plates" but Safari suggest "vehicle registration plates" . Anyhooo .....
As I say, personal plates in the UK seem to be a mishmash of letters and numbers, undifferentiated from the standard plates everyone has. But some time in the 90s, in Melbourne you could get any unique combination of six numbers and letters (with lots of exclusions, of course, including nothing too suggestive), so people started having words on their cars. Something reminded me of this, so here a few of notables:
As I say, personal plates in the UK seem to be a mishmash of letters and numbers, undifferentiated from the standard plates everyone has. But some time in the 90s, in Melbourne you could get any unique combination of six numbers and letters (with lots of exclusions, of course, including nothing too suggestive), so people started having words on their cars. Something reminded me of this, so here a few of notables:
- Rumour had it, they nearly issued the plate 6UL DV8 until they eventually realised it breached their guidelines.
- There was a hit and run incident where a car hit the back of another car full of young women, and their petrol tank exploded. The guilty car fled, but as it had a vanity plate of the driver's nightclub ZANIES, witnesses found it easy to remember. (Weird I remember this from so long ago, but I am pretty sure that was the plate)
- My favourite FIZZIO
- My (lawyer) mum's favourite LITIG8
- I used to park at the university where there was often a red sports car with the plate FACILE. There was some deep self-knowledge, I thought. Turns out the owner was Italian, and in Italian facile (fa-chill-a) means easy/smooth/confident. Oops.
