Brits still confused by ‘new’ car reg plates

Only 24% of UK adults understand car registration plates. Meaning 33 million people remain confused about the ‘new’ format, with many admitting they have no idea what they mean, according to research from Post Office Car Insurance.

The next new car registration plates, a combination of letters and numbers that identify where each vehicle is registered and when, will be introduced on 1st March 2006. The numbers zero and six will indicate the newly registered cars.

A quarter of people questioned believed that the two letters at the beginning of the number plate referred to the area in which the driver lived. A few people actually thought that they were the driver’s own initials or the make of the vehicle!

More men than women understood what the car registration plates meant with eight out of ten (81%) women confused by the new format.

Commenting on the research, Phil Ashkuri Head of Post Office® Car Insurance, 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!

"Fortunately Post Office® Car Insurance is straightforward and easy to understand so drivers won’t be mistaken by the value it offers."