Driver Scores a Viral Hit with Playful Number Plate

A seemingly unremarkable Kia Sportage cruising the streets of Perth has become an online sensation thanks to its driver's cheeky use of a personalised license plate. At first glance, the plate, reading "37OHSSV," appears standard-issue, easily blending in with the throngs of vehicles. But a closer look, or perhaps a glance in the rear view mirror of the following car, reveals the plate's true brilliance.

The magic lies in its versatility. When viewed in the upright position, the plate reads "37OHSSV" – seemingly a random combination of letters and numbers. However, the internet, never one to miss a hidden message, quickly discovered the plate's secret. When flipped upside down, the letters transform into a playful and slightly naughty message: "A**HOLE."

The plate's owner has managed to achieve the near-impossible: sneaking a cheeky barb past the watchful eyes of Western Australia's Department of Transport (DoT). According to regplates.com, a website dedicated to personalised number plates, applications for personalized plates go through a rigorous vetting process. In the last financial year alone, the DoT rejected over 1,000 submissions deemed offensive or inappropriate for public display. Rejected plates included "GEN3CID," "SAUC3D," and "RAMP4GE," all attempting to push the boundaries of good taste. One particularly mischievous application, "F4K3 T4X1," was a sly reference to an adult website, while "BUYAGRAM" raised eyebrows with its potential drug connotations. Apparently, the DoT has a keen eye for hidden meanings and isn't afraid to wield its rejection stamp.

So, how did "37OHSSV" slip through the cracks? There are a few possibilities. The DoT's automated screening system might have simply missed the upside-down message. Alternatively, the application reviewer might not have considered a seemingly nonsensical combination of letters and numbers to be potentially offensive. Perhaps the reviewer even chuckled at the cleverness of the plate, deciding to let a little bit of cheeky humour pass through.

Whatever the reason for its approval, the plate has certainly captured the public's imagination. A photo of the car, presumably taken by a fellow driver who spotted the hidden message, was uploaded to the popular Facebook group Bell Tower Times 2.0. The image quickly went viral, garnering thousands of shares and comments. Social media users lauded the plate owner's wit, with many commending their ability to outsmart the system and get away with a playful and slightly rebellious message. Of course, there were also those who found the plate to be in poor taste, but the overwhelming response was one of amusement and admiration.

The story of the Perth driver's cheeky number plate serves as a reminder of the human desire for a bit of light hearted fun, even amidst the seriousness of everyday life. It also highlights the ingenuity of some and the occasional blind spot of bureaucracy. Whether the DoT will take action upon discovering the plate's hidden message remains to be seen. One thing is certain, though: the "A**HOLE" Kia Sportage has become a permanent fixture in Perth's online lore, a testament to the power of a clever wordplay and a well-timed photo.

How close a series of letters or numbers are to a real name of word: if the match quality is high (and the numbers and letters are very convincing in making a popular word), the value of the registration plate will be higher. This means that a match like 5IMON, for the name Simon, will be worth a lot more than a more obscure set of letters and numbers that are not as convincing a match, such as S17 MMM for the name Sam.

The style of the plate: this means establishing if it is a new-style plate, an older-style format or if it is dateless or Irish, for instance. Other options are that it is a prefix-style plate or a suffix-style plate. New-style number plates, which have been produced since 2001, tend to be the least valuable because they are a bit less appealing to some collectors, plus the rule about not having plates that are newer than your car can also come into play, putting people off from buying a newer-style plate for their older car. Prefix-style number plates, which were in production between 1983 and 2001 can be more popular as more vehicles are entitled to have those licence numbers, and they may have fewer characters in total. Suffix-style plates, issued from 1963 to 1983 are relatively rare, which means they can attract higher prices than prefix-style plates and newer designs. Dateless number plates, also known as cherished number plates, were produced between 1903 and 1963 and are nearly always the most valuable number plate configurations; they have fewer digits and their dateless nature means that people can hide the age of their car. Irish number plates are similar to dateless number plates, especially because they don’t have a year identifier. They also tend to be cheaper than other types of vehicle registration plates.

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