Drivers baffled by number plate classification

Half of British drivers can’t tell the age of a car by its number plate while one in five don’t even recognise the current style of car number plate, according to new research from AA Personal Loans.

This comes at a time when the police have announced a crackdown on drivers who interfere with their number plates. It is an offence to alter the lettering and spacing and many drivers may fail to recognise when a number plate has been altered.

Seven years since the introduction of the new style number plates in 2001 and with the first March ‘08’ registered cars about to be released, AA Personal Loans asked over 1,500 UK driving licence holders to identify a number plate which would depict a car registered in September 2008 – just 50% answered correctly, 19% saying that they had absolutely no idea what the new number plates even look like.

Drivers who passed their driving test since the introduction of the new number plates were the most likely to know that the number plate ‘RO58 PFL’ will be found on a car to be registered from September 2008. However, 44% of these drivers, aged 18 to 24, still did not know the correct answer. Older drivers were the most clueless; 64% of over 55s could not identify the September ’08 plate.

Misleading plates: The number plates most likely to confuse drivers into believing that their car was registered in September ’08 were SE08 FLG (11%), SP08 GDH (11%), RO88 UHL (2%) and SP85 JGH (2%).

Londoners most clueless: Driving licence holders in London were the least adept at telling how old a car is from its number plate – 31% were unable to recognise the new-style plate, a further 31% identifying the wrong answer. Just 38% of Londoners chose the right plate.

Lancashire drivers in the know: Driving license holders in Lancashire were most clued up on license plate knowledge – 63% correctly identified the correct number plate, just 8% not attempting an answer.

Mark Huggins, Head of AA Personal Loans says: “With one in five drivers planning to buy a car in 2008, it’s concerning that so many people might be misled on the age of a car by misunderstanding the digits on the number plate. Worse, they might not recognise if a plate has been interfered with and risk a heavy fine if they buy the car. Unfortunately, many people can be misled when it comes to financing their car as well and don’t shop around for the best deal.

“Potential car buyers should do their homework first: by brushing up on car terminology as well as budgeting for such an important investment.”

Mark Huggins adds: “With so few understanding this year’s number plate system, it will be interesting to see how many get confused in two years time when we reach 2010...”