Personalised Number Plate Information

NUMBER PLATES:

When you key in the vehicle number there is an immediate response which shows its make, model, age, colour, insurance status and owner. Databases know all that for every vehicle, instantly.

It’s amazing how law-abiding everyone becomes when the whole lot is known, and joined up. Without exception. In a blink. And with very little time cost or inconvenience.

So why can’t your PIN be like your number plate, holding an interconnected record of everything anyone has a right to know about you. No more forms and questionnaires and endless administrative complication and time cost-for a bank account, a mobile phone, a car log book, a licence, a permit, a title deed, service utilities, passport renewal or whatever.

Just key in your PIN and a password that gives your permission, and any supplier will have instant and complete access to the (selective) information the law entitles them to.

Computers do all the crunching and privacy categorising, and keep a permanent digital record to guarantee an audit trail that will keep everybody honest-including the administrators.

And if things can be joined up per person, they can also be joined up for all the people and provide a treasure chest of national statistics for planners and the general public.

As a non-contentious example, we could know the total number of vehicles, their class proportions, age - and anything else about them of use, interest or importance at the push of a button.

There are lots of reasons why we need to know more about our national fleet of vehicles with four wheels or more. But robust data is somewhere between scant, inconsistent and non-existent.

We have to resort to extrapolation, a bit like this: In the past decade, all Kenya’s main motor companies have sold about 140,000 new vehicles of every shape and size from town runabouts to prime mover trucks.

That figure represents about 10 per cent (maybe) of today’s total national road-going fleet of things with four wheels or more. The average age of that portion is about 5 years.

Over the same period, there have been about 860,000 used imports mostly aged about 8 years on arrival.

The average age of that contingent today is therefore around 13 years. Put both groups together and you have a million vehicles with an average age of about 12 years.

The rest of the fleet about 400,000 - was already here 10 years ago, having arrived in much the same new-used proportions. So that segment’s average age was also around 12, and is therefore now around 22.

With some slightly trickier arithmetic, we can therefore estimate that the overall average age of all the vehicles in Kenya today is about 15 years. That’s not a precise fact, but it is a strongly indicative probability.

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If you are buying the plates separately then you'll need to go to a registered number plate supplier to get new number plates for your vehicle. The registered supplier will need proof of your identity, as well as proof that the registration number belongs to you. The number plate supplier will need to see at least one document from each of the lists below. This will allow the number plate supplier to confirm your name, address and entitlement to the registration number. All documents must be original, not copies.

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A Kiwi with an obsession for the Devil's number is selling his satanic number plate. The price? $66,666 obviously.

But it doesn't stop there.

Wellington's David Blackmore has been amassing things sporting the numbers "666" for 30 years, is now selling the whole collection.

A phone number, website name and a PO Box number, all featuring the number of the beast, are also up for grabs.

The satanic number plate is sure to raise eyebrows

"I've even looked under the cupboard the stairs, he wasn't under there either," Blackmore quipped.

The multimillionaire property developer is leaving New Zealand for good, in favour of Australia's sunny Gold Coast.

"I'm going to spend the rest of my life sitting back and enjoying it rather than participating in the rat-race any longer – I'll leave that to the rats."

Blackmore says number plates are a waste of space if they don't mean something to someone.

"Numbers are just numbers, in China, triple six is actually a very lucky number, second only to 888 of course."

He said it all started when he couldn't get his favourite race number in a car race he was entering.

"Believe it or not, my favourite number is 13. I was borne on the 13th, and turned 13 years old on Friday the 13th."

"They said 13 was taken 'but that's an unlucky number, the next unlucky number we have is 666', so I took it – and that's how Team Satan racing came to be."

And from there, collecting assets bearing the satanic brand became something of a sport.

666 COLLECTION

He got the number plate 66666 in 1988, when personalised plates first came out, and is now asking $66,000 for it.

That year he brought 1000 personalised number plates for under $300 each – and has been selling them off ever since.

The highest price fetched for a plate was $75,000 for "WW".

He got the phone number 021 666 666 about 20 years ago, off a woman who wanted $10,000 for it: "So naturally I paid $6666for it."

He got the website domain name 666.co.nz about 10 years ago, for less than $100 per year for the registration.

A friend gave him the 666 Auckland postal box address, to complement his collection, about 10 years ago.

"I've also got the original New Zealand number plate 666, from back when number plates were just numerals, this was before the time when number plates had letters on them."

"You can't use it – it's just a bit of tin now, but I'll never part with that. I paid him $666 for it."

And to complete the collection, his email is 6@66.co.nz.

Blackmore hopes to get $66,666 for the combo but is open to selling them separately.

The self-professed collector of weird and wonderful things first started in number plates, then moved on to antiques, boats and even taxidermy.

He also has green a purple Lamborghini with the number plate JOKER and the Rolls-Royce had the number plate BROKE on it.

BAD LUCK?

Blackmore admits the inauspicious number did bring him bad luck once, when the Bentley turbo he was racing in the late 90s crashed – causing more than $40,000 damage.

"But it was all about having a bit of fun, were weren't trying to win," he said.

"We were the forerunners of drifting in New Zealand.

"Our objective was to go around as many corners as possible, sideways and in a cloud of smoke."

Needless to say, Blackmore hasn't raced the Bentley since.

WHAT'S BEHIND THE NUMBER?

666 has become one of the most widely recognised symbols for the Devil in modern popular culture.

It is called the "number of the beast" in the Bible's New Testament, Book of Revelation.

Some people take the Satanic associations of 666 so seriously that they actively avoid things related to 666. This is known as hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.

Aside from religious meanings, the number is also interesting mathematically.

666 is the sum of squares of the first seven prime numbers.

It's also the sum of the first 36 numbers, i.e. 1 + 2 + 3 + ... + 34 + 35 + 36 = 666.

And therefore it is the sum of all the numbers on a roulette wheel – 0 through 36.

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The first series of number plates were issued in 1903 and ran until 1932, using the series A 1 to YY 9999. The letter or pair of letters indicated the local authority in whose area the vehicle was registered, for example A - London, B - Lancashire, C - West Riding of Yorkshire. In England and Wales the letter codes were initially allocated in order of population size (by the 1901 census) whilst Scotland and Ireland had their own sequences incorporating the letters S" and "I" respectively, which were allocated alphabetically: IA = Antrim, IB = Armagh, etc. When a licensing authority reached 9999, it was allocated another two letter mark, but there was no pattern to these subsequent allocations as they were allocated on a first come first served basis. There are three interesting anomalies where a zero has been issued - The Lord Provost of Edinburgh has S 0 and his Glasgow counterpart has G 0 while the official car of the Lord Provost of Aberdeen has RG 0. In addition the Lord Mayor

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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.)

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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."

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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.

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