Andy Alderson/VanaramaDespite a number of peeved off complaints, the DVLA are refusing to ban a van’s rude number plate.
It’s a love affair that begins with your first calculator in school, using numbers to write out BOOBIES.
Dishing out the cash for a cheeky licence plate is the ultimate level-up – however, not everyone is impressed with a vehicle in Birmingham.
Andy Alderson/Vanarama Drivers turning up to Vanarama have been left with a red face when they one of the vehicle’s registrations, which starts with ‘BJ69’.
Customers have complained to the business that the plate is ‘too rude’ – it refers to two sexual acts, for the unaware (I’m not going to describe the intricacies of each one).
Drowning under the complaints, the bosses at Vanarama contacted the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency to say the number is ‘a bit much’.
Andy Alderson/Vanarama A spokesman from the company cited one incident, where a customer arrived at their showroom to pick up their new vehicle, a Nissan NV400, but ended up turning it down because of the plate.
As reported by the Daily Star, Vanarama boss Andy Alderson said:
While we’ve got a sense of humour about these things, one of the reasons our customers love Vanarama is because a brand new van is the best way of making a good impression with clients.
Given this, we can understand that some customers might have some concerns about a number plate that looks like a quote from the Kama Sutra.
However, it would appear the government has a dirty sense of humour (or, it just doesn’t break any rules). They told Vanarama that the plate is ‘suitable for release’.
Speaking to Metro, a spokesperson for the DVLA said:
The vast majority of registration numbers are made available for general issue and for sale. We consider the series in question to be suitable for release.
Andy Alderson/VanaramaIn response, Alderson said: ‘Every year the DVLA make a song and dance about censoring naughty number plates, but somehow they’ve decided ‘BJ69′ isn’t too much.’
To be fair, it’s not exactly like the DVLA are known for being too liberal – they have an extensive list of number plates that are banned each year, with any ending in ‘SEX’, ‘BUM’ and ‘ASS’ automatically added to the list.
In March this year, ‘BE19 END’ and ‘DO19 POO’ were deemed too inappropriate to be driven on the UK’s roads.
New Line CinemaOther banned plates include ‘ME69 LOL’, ‘ME69 GAG’, ‘ME69 PSE’, ‘LV69 JZZ’, ‘BG69 WLY’ and ‘SX69 DNG’.
According to motor group carwow, ‘ORG4SM’ is believed to be the most expensive naughty number plate with an estimated value of £150,000.
‘PEN I55S’ and ‘SHA66R’ also sell for thousands of pounds, with price tags of £7,990 and £4,490 respectively.
As reported by the Express, Mat Watson, motoring expert at carwow, said:
Considering there are strict guidelines around what number plate combinations are and aren’t approved, with swear words and saucy acts all previously banned by the DVLA, some of the plates you can get away with are quite surprising providing you’re willing to be creative, and the new numbers certainly give drivers something to work with.
Right, where’s that calculator?
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.