Number Plates That Sum Us Up

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday July 3, 1999

Jane Freeman

IT'S NOT that I'm superstitious. It's just that it takes only seconds to throw a pinch of salt over your shoulder or walk around the ladder. Why tempt fate if you don't have to?

But one thing I am superstitious about is number plates. I like positive, upbeat number plates. I think they're a good omen. And likewise I'd never drive a car whose plate had the letters D I E. But then, that might be wise, because the car could be showing its age - "D" plates were handed out mostly in the '60s.

I don't think I'm alone in this; number plates matter. Hence all those people who pay money to get personalised plates or plates that read something embarrassingly bad like SEXY or MERC. I even have a friend who decided if he could not afford personalised number plates, he would change his name to match the plate he already had. That this would involve calling himself NOE did not faze him.

I bought my car because it had the same number plates as my sister's initials. This had to be a lucky sign. But sadly, last week the time came when I was forced both to change the plates and to get a new driving licence. You can just imagine the nervous tension.

What number plates would I get in the RTA roulette? And would they convert my car from jolly little runaround into a mobile piece of bad luck?

The day certainly did not start auspiciously. When my number came up, I had to go to window 13.

Then, just as I was trying to execute the virtually impossible feat of signing my signature in the tiny space provided on the back of the licence, the woman behind the counter leaned forward and said: "Excuse me, my best friend just died. That's why my eyes are red."

I was still murmuring condolences when she told me to have my photograph taken for the licence. But it is hard to look your best when you've just heard some bad news.

Finally, the moment of truth - the new number plates. And I can tell you, I was delighted. They were cheerful, they were entertaining, they were positively cosy. And I'm now thinking of changing my name to VCR.

© 1999 Sydney Morning Herald

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