Personalised number plates rejected for being inflammatory

Number plates with criminal and sexual connotations were among those rejected for being too "inflammatory".

The South Australian Transport Department has refused 25 personalised plate requests this year including motorists wishing to badge their cars with B1POLAR, FINK01, CL1MAX, and MURD3R.

Personalised number plates, which have an annual registration fee of up to $255, are a big money spinner for the SA Government with more than 7200 issued so far this year.

A department spokesman said plates are rejected if they contain "inflammatory or defamatory references in any language which could be considered by a reasonable person to be inappropriate for public display."

"This includes words that refer to racial groups, have a sexual reference, a religious profanity, offensive text speak or refer to gang names. It can be a challenge to balance between satisfying what clients want and the department's policy to not issue combinations that may offend other members of the community." 

As a general rule, the department allows words that can be used openly in the community or in the media

The spokesman said people's perception of what words are considered offensive can conflict with the department's judgement.

"As a general rule, the department allows words that can be used openly in the community or in the media," he said.

"This approach rules out combinations that are obviously objectionable, contain inflammatory or defamatory references but it may still allow combinations that some consider in poor taste, cheeky or attention seeking".

In Victoria, motorists' application for the plates FUHRER and KKKMAN were thrown out on the grounds of racial intolerance.

The variation of colour combinations also make the plates attractive to drivers and motorcyclists who want to stand out among the traffic.

Vehicle owners can use the department's Ezyreg website to see if a combination of letters and numbers is available. 

For example, MOBSTER and ONCOMPO are already taken. However, even if the computer says yes to the request the final approval is subject to a department review.