Car Insurance
76% confused by 'new' reg plates
Wed, 01 Mar 2006
More than three quarters of people have admitted that they are confused by the new format of number plates, as the 06 plates are introduced today.
The old system of denoting years by a letter of the alphabet had been in place since 1963, but it was replaced in 2001.
However, the Post Office has found that only 24 per cent of UK adults admit to understanding the new system, despite the fact the plates have been on the road for almost five years.
The confusion over what the numbers mean is quite wide and a very small minority thought that the letters were they were the driver's own initials or the make of the vehicle.
Women were also more likely to be confused by registration plates than men, with 81 per cent saying they were confused by the new format.
Phil Ashkuri, of the Post Office, said: "It's been four and a half years since the current number plate format was introduced and still only a quarter of people actually understand what the letters and numbers on registration plates mean.
"With so many of us confused, those driving round in new cars this week might not turn as many heads as they'd like!"
For the record, the first letter stands for a region where a vehicle is registered, for example Worcester-registered cars get a V and cars in East Anglia get A.
The second letter denotes which registration office in a certain region, so in East Anglia cars registered in Peterborough have the letters A through to N, in Norwich O to U and in Ipswich V to Y.
The two numbers represent the age of the car. A "0" means that car was registered in the first half of a given year, while "5" means the second half of the year, although for number plates the year starts in March.
The second number refers to the year, with "6" representing 2006, however, after 2010 things gets a little more complicated.
The final three letters are random. Simple!
© Adfero Ltd
