As a jalopy junkie (I’ve owned at least four dozen get-our-and-push models), I’ve had my share of license plates, most of them expired and registered to dead people to cut down on parking tickets.
I’ve only owned two personalized plates, one intentionally.
The first was a tag that came with a Porsche Boxster that was incalculably more attractive than the owner, who probably had more fixit jobs than the car. She was convinced of her beauty, though, which meant I had to drive a car that read NTACHNC (Not A Chance) until I could get one with with simple digits.
The other came as a suggestion from an Associated Press reporter who had the perfect plate idea when I told him of my yellow and white Mini Cooper: 1BIGEGG.
But apparently, personalized plates — besides being a sign of douche-baggery in LA — is a headache for the DMV officials tasked with approving the plates.
The California agency that fields thousands of foulmouthed, often childish requests for personalized plates — think “PASZGAZ” — is turning down dozens of applications every month because they appear to embrace bigotry.
Plate requests rejected by the Department of Motor Vehicles in the second half of 2016 often included the letters “HH” and the numbers “88” and “18,” which can represent well-known codes for Adolf Hitler and Nazism.
One motorist was denied a bid for “1KTKKK8,” with the DMV noting the possible reference to the Ku Klux Klan.
Another wasn’t allowed to get “PEPE Y,” despite explaining in the application that it signified both a “peppy car” and a “dog’s name.” The state reviewers noted that the request probably referred to the cartoon character Pepe the Frog, an Internet meme and a symbol to many of white nationalism.
Here are some of the plate applications, and why the state rejected them:
But don’t worry if your plate gets rejected. I’ve got a long list of dead people willing to fill out an application.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jOFf_KB3lI
