California Is About To Run Out of License Plate Numbers
California Is About To Run Out of License Plate Numbers
The seven-character pattern California has used for 45 years will finally run out of combinations in 2025, two years earlier than expected. But America's largest car market has a plan.
Just changing to a new numbering system when they run out.
I wonder what the practical reason is for not just allowing full alphanumeric number plates. Each digit would then have 32 possibilities (I, O, Z, and S should be avoided to prevent confusion with 1, 0, 2, and 5). This gives 34.36 billion possible number plates which seems sufficient for at least the next couple years.
Harder to remember than if they group letters and numbers.
Right now remember 1 digit that’s usually 8 or 9, then 3 letters and 3 numbers So 8WTF420 is easier to remember than WT842F0.
I guess that's true but number plates are typically read by cameras anyway. They are primarily used by speed/red light cameras, toll collection systems, and law enforcement.
If you assign random numbers to cars, it's pretty likely that the last four or five digits plus the make and model of the car will uniquely identify a vehicle or at least narrow it down to just a few possibilities. If the assignment software is smart it could probably even guarantee this uniqueness.
The confusion can be avoided with the right font. It works fine in the EU afterall
In the US, number plates are in Highway Gothic which is designed to maximise legibility at a distance.
Perfectly mildly interesting
I remember seeing BTF2 in '89 when it came out. 2015 seemed so far in the future. Now it's 10 years ago. 🧓
No it isn’t shut up!
Imagine if they just stopped registering new cars and instead worked to bring back mass public transit to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.
I guess busses and trains are just too woke for CA.
I guess busses and trains are just too woke for CA.
it has some of the best transit available in the country, and the tightest environmental regs.
which tells you the sad state of our country.
Car companies like it that way just fine and lobby heavily to keep it that way
Ford should really start getting in the train business
Okay wait let me do the math here, 10x26x26x26x10x10x10 = 175,760,000. The article says that commercial trucks get a different pattern of plate. So you're telling me there's 175 million passenger cars on the road in California? For scale, there's approximately 350 million American citizens. For every two Americans, there's a car registered in California? Not counting vanity plates or commercial vehicles.
What the intern fuck is going on there bud?
I think I can shed some light on this. In California, you pretty much have to have a car. There are roughly 40 million residents in California. When you get a car, a license plate is issued. When you register a car, a license plate is issued. When you order a vanity plate, a license plate is issued. The same car can be registered to several license plates before any of them return to circulation. If a plate stays inactive for a number of years, then it returns to circulation to be reissued. I'm not sure about California, but some states it's 10 years, others have 20 years and I'm sure still others have other lengths of time for these numbers to expire. The reason for this is that you can let your registration lapse and still re-register your car once you can afford to do so. Or a car can sit in some legal dispute for a long period of time. Various reasons a car's registration may lapse but still want to be registered again some day. So let's say you buy a used car in California and then register new vanity plates on it. Let's also say you're the 3rd owner. It's not unreasonable that that particular car have 4 different license plate numbers associated with it that have not been reregistered or are currently in use. Also, many people own more than one car.
I’ve always thought it dumb that the nation’s most populous state only uses seven of the possible eight characters on a license plate. Most states only use seven, but a dash separating letters and numbers means there is actually room for eight characters and many states will allow you to use all eight for vanity plates.
The hyphen helps people remember partial plates, and you can look up a vehicle fairly easily with a partial plate, color, make, and/or model
T28-5U47 vs T285U47Y
Chances are you'll remember T28 or 5U47 more than T285U47Y.
It’ll be like Virginia where they just add on a character.
In a groundbreaking move that has left statisticians baffled and motorists excited, California announces the introduction of two entirely new numbers to be used on license plates: Zebra-Stripe 9.3 and Cosmic Ray 7.8. These unprecedented figures are set to join the traditional numeric lineup, promising to solve the impending crisis just in time for 2025.
The concept of Zebra-Stripe 9.3 was inspired by the natural beauty of California's diverse wildlife. The alternating pattern is said to mimic the striking stripes of local zebras found roaming the Golden State’s safari parks. Meanwhile, Cosmic Ray 7.8 pays homage to the state's storied aerospace history, symbolizing its connection with the stars and infinite possibilities.
California Department of Motor Vehicles officials have confirmed that these new numbers will seamlessly integrate into existing license plate formats while ensuring a fresh wave of combinations for years to come. They also hinted at potential future collaborations with local artists and scientists to explore more creative numerals.
Residents are buzzing with excitement, as plates featuring Zebra-Stripe 9.3 and Cosmic Ray 7.8 are expected to become instant collector's items. The DMV assures that these numbers will add a touch of whimsy and innovation to the state’s roads, reinforcing California’s reputation for breaking boundaries—both on land and beyond.
Add a 0 in front of every plate and it is fixed