Personalised Number Plate Information

NUMBER PLATES:

A Swede with a passion for offensive number plates has failed in his cause yet again, after transport authorities denied two of his latest attempts to create 'offensive' personalised plate combinations.

The man, from Varberg in southern Sweden, gained some media attention last year when he attempted to register a personal licence plate reading "3JOH22A".

The Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) rejected the licence plate request on the grounds of it being offensive, the reason for which is made clear when the combination is reflected in a mirror.

The same man has now made two further attempts to change his plate to "8UTT5EX" and "X32TTU8" respectively, but they were also denied, as they too could be considered offensive.

If not immediately obvious, the explanation for rejecting the latter combination is once again made clear when a mirror is introduced to the equation.

"We get a lot of requests and some of them are very subtle. Many see it as a sport to try and get a word through. This one was quite easy to reject," Eva Isaksen from the Swedish Transport Agency told public broadcaster SVT.

The Transport Agency's rules state that a personalised number plate ”may not be designed if it causes offence or harm to anyone else," including allusions to alcohol, drugs, sex, swearwords, religion or criminality.

---

For the motorist who has everything, including a sense of humour! - Reg Plate Special Cherished number plate dealer Image Registrations are offering a unique opportunity for the savvy motorist to show they have the vehicle, the reg plate and a sense of humour! The East Yorkshire based company are marketing the ultimate reg plate to make a tongue in cheek statement.

car registration VUL 64R is offered for sale at £3395, a snip compared to the 'phantom' or 'hummer' it may well end up displayed on.

We think this registration plate will appeal to clients who have all the toys and appreciate the fun aspect of this unique reg number plate" said Bruno Morris at Image Registrations. He went on to say "the plate reads so well as it is almost a prefect spelling of vulgar!".

VUL 64R can be purchased now through Image Registrations, online at www.regplates.com or by telephone on 01482 627 628."

---

The original NSW licence plate No. 4 sold under the hammer on Monday night for $2.45 million, setting an Australian record.

Chinese-Australian wine collector and sex toy magnate Peter Tseng bought the rare collector’s item before a crowd of 300 people at the 2017 Shannons Sydney Winter Classic Auction, who applauded when the hammer fell on his purchase.

Mr Tseng, who arrived in his red Ferrari bearing the No. 2 licence plate, is a renowned number plate collector, owning the Hong Kong-registered No. 1 number plate and a personalised licence plate “ONE” registered to his 1969 Mercedes in Sydney.

Mr Tseng is understood to have bought the 1910-registered plate from entrepreneur Steve Shelley, co-founder of workforce management software company Deputy and owner of the Burraneer mansion “Nautilus”, which won Australian House of the Year last year.

The No. 4 plates were last seen on Shelley’s dual cab ute before it was registered at the Shannons auction with a guide of $1.2 million to $1.4 million.

After an opening bid of $1 million, bids quickly rose in $100,000 lots between two buyers until Mr Tseng raised his hand at the $1.35 million level. Mr Tseng did not put his hand down throughout the auction, leaving it raised for the next 22 bids until the mystery underbidder – known only as “Ray” – dropped out.

facebook
twitter
pinterest
The original NSW licence plate No. 4 sold under the hammer on Monday night for $2.45 million, setting an Australian record.

Chinese-Australian wine collector and sex toy magnate Peter Tseng bought the rare collector’s item before a crowd of 300 people at the 2017 Shannons Sydney Winter Classic Auction, who applauded when the hammer fell on his purchase.

Mr Tseng, who arrived in his red Ferrari bearing the No. 2 licence plate, is a renowned number plate collector, owning the Hong Kong-registered No. 1 number plate and a personalised licence plate “ONE” registered to his 1969 Mercedes in Sydney.

The crowd at the number plate auction applauded when Peter Tseng made his record purchase.
The crowd at the number plate auction applauded when Peter Tseng made his record purchase.

Mr Tseng is understood to have bought the 1910-registered plate from entrepreneur Steve Shelley, co-founder of workforce management software company Deputy and owner of the Burraneer mansion “Nautilus”, which won Australian House of the Year last year.

The No. 4 plates were last seen on Shelley’s dual cab ute before it was registered at the Shannons auction with a guide of $1.2 million to $1.4 million.

After an opening bid of $1 million, bids quickly rose in $100,000 lots between two buyers until Mr Tseng raised his hand at the $1.35 million level. Mr Tseng did not put his hand down throughout the auction, leaving it raised for the next 22 bids until the mystery underbidder – known only as “Ray” – dropped out.

Peter Tseng arrived at the auction in his red Ferrari, which bears the No. 2 licence plate.
Peter Tseng arrived at the auction in his red Ferrari, which bears the No. 2 licence plate.

The sale result – at more than $1 million above the highest guide expectations – was the most expensive item sold on the night, which included car memorabilia like the 1920s Michelin Compressor and a 1924 Rolls Royce Barker cabriolet that sold for $123,000. The second most expensive item sold on the night was a 1960 Mercedes Benz Roadster 190SL for $195,000.

The $2.45 million sale result is double Sydney’s median house price and matched the recent sales of a renovated three-bedroom, two-bathroom Victorian semi on Woollahra’s Roslyndale Avenue, and a Californian bungalow also with three bedrooms on almost 600 square metres on Macpherson Street in Cremorne.

Like most single-digit number plates, the No. 4 number plate is known for its ownership providence, most notably when it was registered to the Rolls Royce of Aussie John Symond, founder and executive chairman of Aussie Home Loans.

Sources have come forward to reveal Aussie John sold the plate in late 2015 to art collector and leading Brett Whiteley art dealer Steve Nasteski in late 2015 for about $850,000.​

Mr Nasteski is another well known number plate collector, having bought as many as eight rare two-digit number plates from the late stockbroker Rene Rivkin in 2004 through Nasser Elkordi, an associate of John Ibrahim and former flatmate of radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands.

Despite Nasteski’s penchant for number plates, he sold the No. 4 plate last year to Mr Shelley for between $800,000 and $900,000.

At that level, Mr Shelley would have made a windfall of more than $1.6 million on the number plate in the 18 months he owned it.

Mr Tseng featured in the 2013 Australian documentary film, Red Obsession, narrated by Russell Crowe, which tracked the dramatic rise and fall in the price of French wines between 2011 and 2012.

Monday night’s auction is expected to set a new benchmark in the cost of single-digit plates. Mr Tseng’s purchase of the No. 2 plate set a record at $750,000 that was topped in 2008 when the No. 6 number plate sold for $800,000.

The No. 1 plate is owned by the family of the late founding chairman of Australian National Airways, Sir Frederick Stewart, who had owned it since the 1930s.

In Victoria, single-digit number plates are also investment-grade assets. The No. 1 VIC plate is owned by former Foster’s Group chief Peter Bartels.

---

In 1963, numbers were running out once again, and an attempt was made to create a national scheme to alleviate the problem. The three letter, up to three number system was kept, but a letter suffix was added, which changed every year. In this scheme, numbers were drawn from the range AAA 1A to YYY 999A for the first year, then AAA 1B to YYY 999B for the second year, and so on. Some areas did not adopt the year letter for the first two years, sticking to their own schemes, but in 1965 adding the year letter was made compulsory. As well as yielding many more available numbers, it was a handy way for vehicle buyers to know the age of the vehicle immediately. At first the year letter changed on 1 January every year, but car retailers started to notice that buyers would tend to wait until the New Year for the new letter to be issued, so that they could get a newer" car. This led to major peaks and troughs in sales over the year, and to help flatten this out somewhat the industry lobbied

---

Halfords has commissioned a survey which asked whether the respondents were in favour of number plates for cyclists. A “convincing” 59 percent of respondents were in favour of such a measure, said Halfords, with the retailer claiming the suggestion would “encourage responsible riding.”

However, the survey has been criticised by motoring and cycling groups. AA president Edmund King told BikeBiz: “The AA believes that the introduction of number plates for cyclists would be impractical and unnecessary – police already have the powers to stop cyclists.”

Cycling UK’s head of campaigns and advocacy Duncan Dollimore said: “[The] government has consistently reached the conclusion that such proposals are disproportionate and unnecessary.” And British Cycling's policy advisor Chris Boardman said: "No country in the world requires bicycles to be registered because it does not serve the public interest – it would be hugely expensive and drastically cut the number of people who cycle."

The number plate proposal from one of the leading UK retailers of motor-vehicle number plates is included in a press release that has been teased out to the mainstream media over the last couple of days. (The embargo ended one minute ago.) It’s possible that the press release will result in some negative coverage for cycling, especially following the recent blanket media coverage given to Matthew Briggs’ campaign to incorporate death and serious injury cycling offences into the Road Traffic Act.

The online survey of 2,042 adults was carried out in August by YouGov and has led to the production of “Sharing the Road”, a 20-page infographic-heavy report produced for Halfords by its external PR company. The document has a foreword by the retailer’s chief customer officer Karen Bellairs, who said “we wanted to examine whether there was a genuine willingness among cyclists and motorists to share the road.”

The survey asked whether cyclists should have to take proficiency tests before being allowed to cycle on the public highway, and also asked whether motorists should be required to ride bicycles as part of the driving test. (The answers, respectively, were 50 percent and 18 percent in favour.) Respondents were also asked whether penalties should be increased for cyclists “who don’t abide by the Highway Code” and ditto for motorists who “drove aggressively near cyclists.” (86 percent and 80 percent respectively.)

Article continues below
While Halfords may claim that it is not itself advocating for cyclists to be forced to carry number plates, or for sanctions against cyclists to be increased, it’s clear that they were the questions put to respondents by YouGov, and provided to them by Z PR of London on behalf of Halfords.

“What our new research makes very clear is that the car is still the nation’s favourite means of getting around,” said Bellairs, adding that “there is massive support among motorists for better training, more cycle lanes and improved facilities for cyclists.” (45 percent of survey respondents said there ought to be “dedicated cycle lanes on all roads”.)

Bellairs also claimed that the survey showed, with no evidence provided other than the online questioning, that there was a “genuine willingness” from Britain’s motorists to “share the road.” She said that this is something that “Halfords, which champions motoring as well as cycling, is very keen to foster.”

The Sharing the Road report advises cyclists to “be a peacock” and to “always make sure you’re wearing bright clothing when cycling, whether it’s a high vis jacket or a high vis vest” but it does not contain similar advice for motorists (Halfords missed a trick here, it could have suggested motorists buy its spray-cans of yellow paint so they can make their cars more conspicuous).

The Halfords press release – which is headlined "Britons back tougher penalities for people who cycle aggressively but drivers and cyclists want to work better together" – states that “65% agree that cyclists should be required to wear reflective clothing, to give them the best chance of being seen.”

Required? As in forced? That won’t endear the company to many cycling customers.

There was no survey result – or, presumably, any question – about the compulsory wearing of helmets for everyday journeys, either for cyclists or motorists. However, there were questions and answers about cycle servicing. A perhaps surprising 48 percent of those asked said they could mend cycle punctures. And, in what will be news to independent bike shops, 43 percent of Brits can “tighten a loose chain”; 37 percent “know how to adjust their own brakes”; and 31 percent “can clean their gear mechanisms.” (Those answers should make one wary of all the others.)

The report goes on to claim that an “overwhelming 93% think it would be beneficial for all education on road safety to be aimed at cyclists and motorists,” as if it isn’t already.

Responding to the Halfords report, the AA president told BikeBiz:

“Most cyclists are drivers and many drivers are cyclists so we need to live in harmony with each other. Rather than harsher penalties all round, we believe it is preferable to promote better training, infrastructure and positive attitudes."

King said he didn’t believe there was a requirement for harsher penalties for law-breaking cyclists:

“There are already penalties in place for cyclists who don’t abide by the Highway Code and we believe that targeted enforcement alongside education courses are a more effective way of making our roads safer.”

The AA president added that existing laws need to be enforced first.

“We would prefer to see targeted police enforcement through schemes such as Operation Safe Pass whereby the police target dangerous drivers [who pass too closely to cyclists],” said King.

While careful not to criticise Halfords directly (the retailer and Cycling UK partnered for a project earlier this year) Dollimore was critical of the report’s timing: “Given the uneven tone of the current debate on cycling, it was perhaps optimistic to expect this survey would be a constructive addition to the discussion.”

He added: “We already knew some people instinctively think regulation and testing of cyclists is the answer. Those people frequently fail to appreciate the practicalities of imposing and enforcing regulations on children, the costs involved, or the public health and other implications of putting up further barriers to cycling. Fortunately government has consistently reached the conclusion that such proposals are disproportionate and unnecessary.

“Ultimately, there are opinions expressed in this survey which we agree with, and others we don't, but the truth is this is merely a summary of what people said in response to a series of questions. It's far better, when suggesting a need for change, to assess the arguments for and against, and this is precisely the point we will make to government as it considers its forthcoming cycle safety review."

Boardman said "compulsory proficiency tests and number plates, are quite obviously non-starters and cannot be regarded as a serious contribution to the public debate on road safety."

He added: "The reality is that [British Cycling], and other cycling organisations, already work with groups representing pedestrians and motorists to find ways to make our streets safer for everyone. Indeed Halfords themselves are part of our #ChooseCycling Network of British businesses that strongly believe more cycling is crucial to help business thrive, to encourage people to live healthier lives and to make Britain a greener, less congested and more pleasant place to live."

Boardman – who has an eponymously named brand stocked by Halfords – stressed that "laws should be developed using evidence, focusing proportionately on those with the ability to cause most harm. Around 1,800 people die on British roads annually and more than 99 percent involve collisions with motor vehicles."

---

It should be noted that there are no restrictions on using a vanity or cherished registration on a car that is newer than the original date of the registration plate, but it is prohibited to transfer a registration that is newer than the vehicle it is used on. This is to prevent the transfer of newer registrations to older vehicles as a measure to protect consumers.

---