New Zealand drivers put forward plenty of ideas for personalised licence plates last year, but not all of them made it past the censors.
Dozens were declined after being deemed offensive, inappropriate or too confusing to read.
Information released under the Official Information Act to 1News showed NZTA rejected 39 combinations submitted by drivers seeking to make their vehicle stand out.
Rejected plates included drug references, such as PCOOK and 2JMDMA, as well as sexual innuendos, like HORNI, 3SUMG, and RQQTER.
Despite clarification that LUVBJ stood for Ben & Jerry’s, the plate was rejected by transport agency staff for being offensive.
Plates referring to violence, including BASHED, W4RRIG, and 308W1N, referring to a Winchester firearm, were also declined.
Several licence plates were deemed confusing to read, including MVVVVV, WVVVVV, 666664, O33333, 00Q0, Q000, X1XXX, X1XXX1, 0A0008, ZIZ17, 77Z7, and 4I.
While many proposals were rejected, some borderline cases made it through, with one licence plate, B4DC0P, approved after not being deemed offensive.
"FTP was allowed as a general purpose sequence, which could be considered more offensive than 'bad cop'," NZTA staff said in their decision.
'Power to prohibit'
NZTA said it was responsible for administering the Motor Vehicle Register, "and therefore the issuing of registration plate numbers to vehicles, which includes personalised plates".
The agency noted that under the Land Transport Amendment Act, the Registrar has the power to prohibit certain combinations.
"Section 266 allows the Registrar to prohibit the use of certain numbers, letters, or combinations on personalised plates," a spokesperson said. "And section 265 allows the Registrar to order the surrender or seizure of plates if they are likely to cause offence or confusion."
KiwiPlates also had the ability to decline applications on NZTA’s behalf.
“Determining the offensiveness of each personalised plate can be difficult, which is why they are always assessed on a case‑by‑case basis,” the agency said.
It said it works to prevent inappropriate or confusing designs from being issued in the first place.
"NZTA and KiwiPlates have agreed guidelines with a view to avoiding the issue of offensive plates," the spokesperson said.
Plates can be declined if they contain objectionable or discriminatory material, breach legal standards, or use combinations of characters that could confuse an observer.
"This includes arrangements that can be inverted to make an entirely new combination," NZTA said.
SHARE ME