The proposal is the brainchild of Gary Richard, a Bay State businessman and inventor. After reading about several high-profile kidnappings, Richard dedicated himself to using his time and skills to prevent future abductions. What does that have to do with license number plates?

“I set about trying to analyze the dynamics of an abduction,” he said. “The common denominator is a private vehicle, and how do you identify a vehicle? The license plate.”

Unfortunately, young children and anyone with limited literacy often cannot recognize some letters and numbers, especially if they go by in a flash. Hell — most adults can barely remember their own plate numbers. Armed with studies that show symbols can ingrain themselves in the minds of toddlers for more than a week, Richard set to work.

“If such license plates are indeed easier to memorize or recognize, this could help, for example, a victim relay a license plate to law enforcement after an incident,” said Cynthia Lum, a professor of criminology and director of George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy. “Memorizing a plate is difficult in a stressful situation.”

No one’s empirically tested the effectiveness of the new plates, but the math shows that fewer numbers on a license plate makes even a partially remembered registration more valuable. According to Richard, just the style and color of the car with a symbol alone would narrow it down to one of 360 cars, and more information would further focus the search.

“If you said it was a blue SUV and ‘Diamond 5,’ it’s one of about 12 cars,” he said.

The ability to quickly narrow a list of suspected vehicles helps law enforcement track down the owner of a vehicle. Although the owner of the vehicle may have had nothing whatsoever to do with the crime, it is still an important lead.

“By connecting with the owner, the police can determine who had the vehicle at a given time, or whether the car or license plate had been stolen,” Lum said.

Because there’s no easy way to input a star or diamond on a computer keyboard (unless you’re using a Commodore 64), EZ-ID uses a small two-digit code to indicate its symbol and where it’s located in the character stream. For instance, a diamond in the second position would be entered as “D2.” Vanity and affinity plates would stay the same, so Bostonians could keep their coveted low-number or Red Sox plates, and the addition of symbols would open up a slew of personalized plates people may be willing to pay for.

The auction held at Stratford Upon Avon will see 1500 lots offered.

As usual the Regplates team will be on hand to bid, buy and offer advice on all apsects of the auction and any other number plate related queries you may have.

Contact us now on 01482 627 628 or visit www.regplates.com for a full auction listing.

The RTA already auctions off a range of distinctive numbers, such as ‘K111’ or ‘K20’, raising millions of dirhams a year.

However, Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan, CEO of the Licensing Agency at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), told 7DAYS they are now considering a system where people could choose the letters and numbers they want. He said interest in personalised number plates has grown in recent years and the agency was now looking at various options to satisfy that demand. “We are studying the possibility of introd­ucing some form of personalisation for plates that will conform with the existing licensing system,” Bahrozyan said.

“We want to give our clients various options as the demand for special­ised number plates continues to grow.” His comments come as the RTA yesterday began auctioning off a series of registrations for M-coded plates.

Such sales, which take place several times a year, raise about Dhs70 million annually. Bahrozyan said originally it was mainly Emiratis who favoured the plates but interest from the expat community is on the rise. He added that many of them are now looking for a greater form of personal­isation similar to systems in other countries.

Dubai-based businessman Aqela Sayed bought the E-15 number plate for Dhs3.12 million a few months ago.  He welcomed the idea of ordering personalised plates and said owning special plates was popular within the Emirati community. “It is a good idea to allow people to choose what they wish to print on their number plates,” said Sayed.

“This will open up more options for number plate buyers and also people who want their cars to be unique.” Bahrozyan said the logistics of introducing new registrations were still being worked out but it would likely be done in phases and the text on the registrations would be restricted, taking into consideration cultural and religious sensitivities.

Dispensing with fancy graphics and multiple layers of color, Washington State University unveiled a simple red number plate with white lettering and the WSU Cougar logo on the right side.

The personalised number plate went on sale Monday.

“We wanted to be distinctive, to really stand out,” said WSU spokesman Darin Watkins.

The University of Washington is the bigger, older school, but WSU sells more than double the number of plates of its cross-state rival. Last year, Cougs bought 14,309 WSU specialty plates, generating about $350,000 in college scholarship money.

“They are by far the most popular specialty plate in the state,” said Department of Licensing spokesman Brad Benfield.

The UW isn’t even the second-most popular plate. No. 2 in popularity is the Law Enforcement Memorial, which raises money for the Olympia memorial to law-enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. Last year, 9,866 of those plates were sold, Benfield said.

The UW comes in third, with 7,047 plates sold last year. Its design includes a purple W over a gold field, and a gray graphic of the UW’s seal.

It took nearly two years for WSU to win approval for the all-crimson license plate. The Licensing Department scrutinized the solid color carefully because license plates are the most reflective part of an automobile, and on a dark road they can be an essential piece of safety equipment, Benfield said.

In 2010, nearly 2,331 cases of vehicle theft were registered in the city, while the number rose to 2,595 the following year (till December 10).

In October 2011, the Supreme Court had imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the Haryana government for “disobeying” its directions regarding implementation of HSRP for motor vehicles. Though three months have passed, nothing has been done in this regard.

“We are working in this direction. We issued a letter of intent to the company (allotted the tender for the number plates) in November last year. However, the company did not even turn up to complete the formalities,” said Sant Kumar Joshi, state transport commissioner, Haryana.

“We have a high-power committee meeting on January 24 where we will finalise things in the direction,” he added.

Discussing the fine imposed by the Supreme Court, he said, “We were ahead of other states in floating tenders. But after the company backed out, we were left in a fix. Things will be finalised soon.”

Jugaads are tricycles, usually fitted with scooter engines and cost about Rs 20,000.

They can handle up to 400 kg of weight and are used by the unorganised sector.

The Road Transport and Highways Ministry is considering such a move to improve safety for implementation during the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

Registration

There are many vehicles – including tractors for agricultural use – that ply on roads and are outside the ambit of registration.

Transport experts question the idea, though. “Prima facie, this could mean legalising something that is illegal,” says Mr S.P. Singh, Senior Fellow, at transport research body Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT).

There is no official data on the population of such vehicles in the country.

No action can be taken on such vehicles (jugaads) when they are involved in accidents as they do not have any number plates.

So, these vehicles could be brought under the registration regime and driving licences be issued to the drivers.

You can click on the link below or simply search for “Regplates” in the app store.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/regplates/id493970918?mt=8

The number plate app allows you to search for your ideal plate, view the latest news and see some of our many satisfied customers cars in our number plate gallery.

Tips on drilling and fixing without damaging the delicate reflective backing and how to use your old number plates as a guide.

Regplates trained team can advise you on what to buy depending on your budget and provide you specific examples of previous clients who have invested and the returns they have made.
There are a large number of factors influencing the prices of private number plates including the populatiry of the initials, how rare the plate is and of course if the number plate refers to a car make or model. Ferrari and Porsche numbers in particular attract a premium price.
Name personalised number plates are also very popular. They have a wide appeal and can increase in value hugely.
If you are looking to invest or simply would like a personalised plate for yourself or your partner, why nit give the experts at Regplates.com a call or visit their website at http://www.image-reg.com.

“This is a project that has been in the works for a while and I am excited that the new plate is available to our fans and alumni,” stated Director of Athletics Rick Hart.  “It is important for us to incorporate our updated marks in all of our branding initiatives and this will certainly help give us more visibility.”

The blue and gold plate includes the Mocs’ Power “C” logo and the “Chattanooga” wordmark.  It replaces the former plate that featured the now-retired Scrappy logo.

This plate is available to Tennessee residents who are registering a private passenger motor vehicle. The total annual fee for the new Mocs plate is $56.50.  The included specialty plate fee of $35 is divided between the Tennessee Arts Commission (80%) and the Highway Fund (20%).  The plate can also be personalized with five characters available for an additional $35.