When it comes to personalised number plates, motorists use them to show off their name or a particular interest, with some being pretty clever (and probably expensive), and others are to disguise the true age of the vehicle.
However the DVLA (Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency) has revealed its list of 2022 registration plates that are banned from ever driving on the roads.
Twice a year before new registrations are issued in March and September, the DVLA goes through the thousands of letter combinations and blacklist any that could be seen as rude, or offensive, or could cause embarrassment, or are just in poor taste. This March saw the blacklisting of 343 combinations.
Some are x-rated, others are crude, and some are just plain offensive and could be deemed as racist or sexist. A selection of those banned include: A22 HLE, BA22 TRD, BE22 END, DR22 NK, *F22 KER, *m22 FKR, and TU22 URD. Any Covid related number plates have also been banned, including CO22 RNA, CO22 ONA, and CO22 VD*.
Occasionally a dodgy number plate registration will slip through the net and get issued to a driver (unsuspecting or not). If a private number plate is reported to the DVLA as offensive then it can be withdrawn even if the the driver had bought the registration legitimately. so if drivers are thinking of creating a cheeky number plate should be careful as to make sure the registration will not cause offense to other road users, unless you are wanting to find yourself without plates as as earlier this year a Scottish woman was stopped by police who found her personalised plate of FK02 AYE offensive and threatened that if she was ever caught with those plates again she would land herself a £200 fine.
As well as the banning of certain registrations, two toned plates which use different colours to make letters have a 3D effect are being banned as to allow ANPR (Automated Number Plate Recognition) cameras to read the letters better. The new rules are part of new standard of number plates. These plates are being made to be extra durable as to be more resistant to destructive materials on the road such as road salt and dirt.
The old standard uses BS AU 145d plates which have been in use since September 2001, with the new plates BS AU 145e being the new standard that will be rolled out soon.