# About personalized license plates **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 20, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914 "2010-06-20T22:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/61 "2010-06-21T22:51:57Z")
We got one for my wife’s car. They are only $20 in PA and I don’t think there is an additional annual fee so it’s not much dough. I considered on for myself. TALE G8. But I didn’t want an easily memorized plate. There are minor disagreements on the road every day to work and that could come back to haunt me. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/62 "2010-06-21T22:59:35Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I picked “I don’t have one for a reason you haven’t mentioned”. The reason being, they cost extra and I don’t want to pay extra. I see that’s a very popular response, and I bet their reason is the same as mine. That reminds me of a Yahoo! poll/ad for automated tax returns. “Do you use electronic filing?” – Yes! – No, I don’t trust it – No, I enjoy doing taxes myself They didn’t give the option – It costs more than hand-filling your return. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/63 "2010-06-22T13:16:01Z")
Too frugal and broke to spend the money. And just for the record? If I saw a plate that said BOBS 62, I’d first assume the driver was 62 years old. And I hate ones with acronyms that no one can easily figure out. RF? I’m supposed to know that mean rescue firefighter? It’s not that common ana abbreviation! I tend to get distracted while driving if I can’t figure out what the vanity plate ahead of me could possibly mean. Though, if I ever, ever own a Mini Cooper? It’ll be blue, and the vanity plate will read TARDIS. Because those cars are way bigger on the inside than you think! ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/64 "2010-06-22T14:02:38Z")
I had one when I lived in CA. It was _NFRGTBL_. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/65 "2010-06-22T15:19:22Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > It’ll be blue, and the vanity plate will read TARDIS. Because those cars are way bigger on the inside than you think! Best plate idea ever! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/66 "2010-06-22T15:20:51Z")
A girl _Dr. Who_ fan I knew in the '80s had the license plate CARDIS. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/67 "2010-06-22T15:31:02Z")
I put “planning to” but I’ll probably never actually do it. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/68 "2010-06-22T15:35:29Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I had one when I lived in CA. It was _NFRGTBL_. I had to leave and come back to reading your post twice before I got it. The first two times, I kept trying to make something out of “frog table.” ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/69 "2010-06-22T15:44:08Z")
My truck has my Amateur Radio call sign on it. They’re free in my state. One Ducati has “B-Bye” on it, referencing its acceleration capability. It’s an extra 25/year, so between the two, it’s a wash. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/70 "2010-06-22T16:02:10Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > And just for the record? If I saw a plate that said BOBS 62, I’d first assume the driver was 62 years old. Ouch! I guess I should see if BOBS 29 is available… FTR, I never had one before last year, for the reasons folk noted. Too cheap/broke, nothing I wanted to share, car was just trasportation… Only considered it when I bought what is in many respects a “hobby” car. Not a pricey car, but when I am regularly paying for things that are not entirely necessary - like a chrome tailpipe, tools, stainless fasteners, and membership in a couple of car clubs - whatever the extra cost of the vanity plate seemed less significant. Also, nearing 50 and with the kids finishing up school, I find it easier to occasionally “waste” $50-100 than in earlier years when times were tighter. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/71 "2010-06-22T16:44:09Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > (I don’t have a car right now, so it’s a non-issue),. PA has a sort of inactive status where you can keep your plate valid and reserved to you even without a car. I’ve used that several times personally and when my Dad passed away my brother and I were going to do that with his plate. But we missed a deadline (to transfer it and renew it at the same time) and lost it. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/72 "2010-06-22T19:50:06Z")
I don’t have one, but I’d like one. I think they are a fun, innocent way of showing some personality about yourself. However, I’ve never actually wanted one to the point of doing something about it, so the desire is tempered by laziness 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/73 "2010-06-22T20:09:35Z")
I voted other. I used to have one. I held it from 1986-1993. It was a combination of my name, last initial, and year of birth. The main motivation was because New York had started replacing its old orange and blue license plates with the liberty plates, which I thought looked cool at the time. The replacement program was initiated a month after my registration was up, meaning it would be a whole year before I got them. The only way to speed up the process was to get custom plates. I originally wanted something Doctor Who related but every combo I liked was taken. Hence the rather mundane second choice. I eventually bored of them, and also realized that such a plate number was easy to remember, which could play a factor in either a ticket or road rage. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/74 "2010-06-22T20:12:03Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Too frugal and broke to spend the money. > > And just for the record? If I saw a plate that said BOBS 62, I’d first assume the driver was 62 years old. > > … Or, Bob S was born in 1962. I used this pattern myself (without the space). ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/75 "2010-06-22T20:25:45Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Or, Bob S was born in 1962. I used this pattern myself (without the space). Just curious, would you think that even if the car bearing the plate were pretty obviously quite old such that even people caring little about cars should be able to guess it is from sometime between the 50s and the 70s? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/76 "2010-06-22T21:48:24Z")
Eh, I don’t have a problem with them, but I’m not interested in spending the extra money. If they were free I’d probably come up with one. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/77 "2010-06-22T22:21:29Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Just curious, would you think that even if the car bearing the plate were pretty obviously quite old such that even people caring little about cars should be able to guess it is from sometime between the 50s and the 70s? I’m not quite following you here. The year is the person’s birth year, not the car’s manufacture year (although I’ve seen plates with things like GTO 67). ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/78 "2010-06-22T23:24:41Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > I had to leave and come back to reading your post twice before I got it. The first two times, I kept trying to make something out of “frog table.” A CHP followed me home one afternoon, because he couldn’t figure it out! Scared me half to death. It was while the CHP was being tried for raping and killing women on I-15. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914/79 "2010-06-22T23:51:49Z")
I think they’re a bit tacky, but the ones that really annoy the shit out of me are the ones that are a descriptor of the car being driven: “RED BMW”, “MY PRSCH”, “MAZDA 3”, etc. Why do people do this? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-personalized-license-plates/543914.md?page=3)