please empty your brain below
"Also the 01s are already somewhat rare"

I might be wrong on this, but I thought this current reg plate style started with 51, and then moved to 02 etc etc; so 01 was never used?

On a related note, I'd be curious to know within the M25, for example, how many 'old' plates exist between A and Y.

BP | 02.09.20 - 9:11 a.m. | #

There aren't any 01s. The system started with 51

Ian | 02.09.20 - 9:12 a.m. | #

Do not look for the year code 01, it does not exist. The present registration system started with 51 in September 2001.

Alan S | 02.09.20 - 9:13 a.m. | #

These days it's usually on buses that I first notice new registrations.

Keith | 02.09.20 - 9:15 a.m. | #

Updated, thanks.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 02.09.20 - 9:19 a.m. | #

I too am wondering what S70OYY stands for.
I once saw A RABBIT on a jaguar and always play the word game on long trips

Ian J | 02.09.20 - 9:38 a.m. | #

The personalised plate on that black Audi is from the old system, August '98–February '99. The fact it has two digits and they're '70' makes it look a bit like it's from the current format, but current plates all begin with two letters, not just one.

Rich Thomas | 02.09.20 - 9:41 a.m. | #

I used to work with a guy who had NEATH as a reg, but he was stopped by the police and warned to change it!

Ian J | 02.09.20 - 9:45 a.m. | #

The nearest analogue of the old game is to focus on the last character. First look for a plate ending with A, then B etc.
I have one of the dwindling number of 02 cars. But it didn't get its number until recently imported from Japan

Malcolm | 02.09.20 - 9:47 a.m. | #

I get why there are no Is or Qs (though I think serifs on the "1" could make it pretty obvious), but what's wrong with Z?

dg writes: 2

Chz | 02.09.20 - 9:48 a.m. | #

I suppose I can see that now. Though being blessed by good vision, I can honestly say I've never got a 2 and Z mixed up. Thanks, DG.

Chz | 02.09.20 - 9:53 a.m. | #

I got confused when the ID method changed. I was brought up with number plates starting or ending with a letter and a group of three numbers and three letters.

A lot of vehicles in Great Yarmouth had EX as the last two letters in the group of 3 (SEX was never seen!) and I used to think that it was a local ID registration for Yarmouth only, but presumably each town wouldn't have its own code. A less common one seen in Yarmouth was AH, which I understood was Norwich.

Rogmi | 02.09.20 - 10:20 a.m. | #

The current font was designed with ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) in mind. B, D and 5 (and maybe others) were modified for that reason, and the new font was made mandatory.

Peter | 02.09.20 - 10:28 a.m. | #

Way back when, an uncle had a VW Beetle with the reg plate in the format
3
H X
This was before moulded plastic, when the individual digits were mounted onto a back plate. He reported that he was very often stopped by the constabulary who assumed that other letters/numbers must had fallen off.

Frank F | 02.09.20 - 10:39 a.m. | #

I’ve just seen a 70 on a big red truck in the Olympic Park, so I win.

Also, if anybody else has any thoughts about numberplate games, rather than just numberplates, that’d be lovely.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 02.09.20 - 10:42 a.m. | #

I'd wager a small amount of money that S70OYY = Stuey.

Graham | 02.09.20 - 10:43 a.m. | #

I grew up with the old series which ended with a letter, so like Malcolm we used to go through the alphabet. There was also a book which listed the county allocations (it MAY have been I-Spy) so it was fun to look out for those too. Usually P*, G* or L* growing up in Surrey but one from further afield often caused great excitement, especially a I* or a Z* which were used back then.

On a recent holiday in Germany I started trying to guess which city vehicles came from by the letter code, then I found a site listing them! I guess there's a "train spotting" gene in many of us!

Tim | 02.09.20 - 10:55 a.m. | #

I think someone's hinted at this game, and it's not exactly a spotting one, but the one I tend to play is trying to form a word out of the last three letters, that uses all the letters in that order: so with your example, LOYALTY would be a winning word. The shorter the word the better, and bonus "points" for using all three letters consecutively (which I don't think is possible with OYY). It works quite well with the modern plates because the letters at the end are essentially random on non-personalised ones.

If you want a strict spotting game, perhaps the best options use the letters at the end, again because they're fairly random, though I and Q are still missing.

Alex | Homepage | 02.09.20 - 11:15 a.m. | #

Never mind this number plate spotting game, how about seeing what the maximum number of personalised plates one can spot when walking to the door of your local Waitrose.

J. | 02.09.20 - 11:16 a.m. | #

One favourite number plate game of mine is spotting the latest highest combination. For London I guess that would be the plate closest to LY70YYY.
The other game is spotting plates from the most countries/states, etc.

gt | 02.09.20 - 11:17 a.m. | #

'Q' was (is?) used for cars of unknown origin, so a kit, a substantially rebuilt or an old imported vehicle, now an imported vehicle gets a retro plate for whatever year it was manufactured - but I think its locked to that vehicle.

Still Anon | 02.09.20 - 11:20 a.m. | #

How about "adding up" the number plates?
A=1, B=2, C=3 etc, and using the combination of letters & numbers to see the greatest value!

Cornish Cockney | 02.09.20 - 11:34 a.m. | #

Us 70s babies are waiting for this new set of plates to kick in :)

Will leave the complicated game suggestions to others, I'm a simple soul happy enough playing Yellow Car. But I would add my observation that it has become harder over time to play this particular game. I have been able to play only once on my evening strolls on an A road in the last month. Maybe all the yellow cars are in the suburbs...

E1W-er | 02.09.20 - 11:59 a.m. | #

We play a game where you have to use every letter in the numberplate, in order, to make a sentence.

So S70 OYY → SOYY → "Seven old yams? Yes!"

Played with grownups (or at least the sorts of "grownup" I usually find myself with) it usually ends towards the profane, but I'm sure it's fun with kids too.

Rob Miller | Homepage | 02.09.20 - 12:04 p.m. | #

The UK is I think fairly unique in Europe in having what I would describe as 'disposable' registration numbers. A new car is issued a number that stays with the car ('cherished'changes can be made), until it is finally scrapped, when the number is never used again. The number remains with the car on any change of driver or address.

Generally elsewhere the number is allocated to the registered owner. Change cars and 'your' number goes on this next vehicle. But move to a new administrative area and your car will get a new number. Yours will be reallocated; same when you eventually stop driving. This would appear to be a very logical arrangement.

Never quite knew why we used our method, as it always requires more new numbers. But this current format (and then reversible), is good for the next 70 odd years.

Dave | 02.09.20 - 12:16 p.m. | #

We normally play the game described by Alex, though our variation requires the word to start with the first of the three letters. There are also bonus points if the word is linked to either where you currently are, or your destination.

Being able to make Shakespeare from a number plate was a highlight of a trip through Warwickshire last year.

Friar Sven | 02.09.20 - 2:24 p.m. | #

Grange Travel had two 70 reg coaches on the aborted Honk for Hope demo in London yesterday. Falcon Buses have i believe 4 new single deckers out with 70 plates already

Paul | 02.09.20 - 2:46 p.m. | #

When I joined BOAC in 1969, among other learning experiences we were supposed to be familiar with the three letter codes of world airports. One way a fellow trainee and I tried to gain that knowledge was by trying to match car registration letters to airport codes.

Despite doing this in uniform while walking on public roads we had to stop after an officious PC on the beat (or just looking for someone to annoy) told us we were acting like potential car thieves. If we continued he would be forced to detain us. Not a 'game' a modern plate-watcher could carry out but it worked for its day!

Joel | 02.09.20 - 4:30 p.m. | #

To E1W-er - here in islington we have Yellow Cars (minicabs) on Holloway Road.

Toni | 02.09.20 - 5:30 p.m. | #

One of the best number plate games I heard about - to keep his kids entertained on a long journey - was of a fella whose spin on it was to get his children to look out for the required sequence... on the number plates of motorbikes

Smart guy. The awareness towards motorcyclists on the roads, by the average driver, isn't specially great. "Sorry, mate, didn't see you."

Maybe what this fella was doing when he created his game was looking forward to the day his kids would be grown and have cars of their own: they wouldn't just be better conscious of bikes, they'd actually be positively looking for them!

RogerW | 02.09.20 - 5:32 p.m. | #

...but motorbikes make up only 3.3% of all road vehicles, so those kids would probably have got very bored waiting for the next number to drive past.

The game of Consecutive Number Plate Spotting that took me four years, if restricted to motorcycles, would have taken well over a century.

Also, motorbike numberplates are generally only viewable from the rear, so make that two centuries.

Laudable ambition, rubbish game.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 02.09.20 - 6:21 p.m. | #

Try ftone clearing or self playing snooker instead.

Daniel Farnes | 02.09.20 - 7:08 p.m. | #

rogmi -EX was the original mark issued to Great Yarmouth County Borough in 1903, -AH was issued to Norfolk County Council (along with later issues PW, VF and NG). After registration was taken over by the DVLA from the local councils in 1974, both marks were allocated to the Norwich sub-office, along with Norwich City Council's CL and VG. From the new system in 2001, Norwich LVLO was issued with the marks AO-AU (except AQ)
-
dave -Several countries have "lifetime" registrations, with no regional identifiers - Italy (since 1994), Spain (2000), and France (2009)

timbo | 02.09.20 - 7:42 p.m. | #

timbo - Thanks for that, I didn't realise that the Gt Yarmouth ID went back that far :-)

Rogmi | 02.09.20 - 9:26 p.m. | #

Alex - when I bought my current car new, the dealer offered me a choice of a dozen or so final letter groups. I wanted a reasonably memorable one and there were only 2 of these: OOD and YAW. I wish now I had chosen OOD!

Ian | 03.09.20 - 9:03 a.m. | #

Thanks timbo. Having travelled extensively in Europe over the years I was certainly aware that many countries have changed the format of their number plates over the years including Belgium, Holland and the eastern bloc countries. But was unaware that when the Spanish, Italian and French formats changed they had become 'lifetime' plates.

Dave | 03.09.20 - 9:57 a.m. | #

Toni - thanks for that link, as Arthur Shappey would say, brilliant!

I did actually break my month long dry spell yesterday evening with a (pastel) yellow Clio, 20 reg, which is the first yellow 20 reg I've seen this year!

E1W-er | 03.09.20 - 12:45 p.m. | #

Number Plates Where All The Characters Have Vertical Line Symmetry is very easy if you limit your spotting to adverts for Ford cars.

martin | 04.09.20 - 8:23 a.m. | #











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