Having “papa” written on your car’s number plate may seem like a sweet gesture but it can land you in trouble it may seem like a fitting honour for dads but it is a violation of law related to motor vehicles.
Recently, a driver in Uttarakhand, with “papa” written on their license plate, was summoned by the police, fined and made to change the lettering.
The Uttarakhand Police used popular Bollywood song “papa kehte hain” to warn people against repeating what the driver in question did.
The Motor Vehicles Act has strict rules for how the number plates of vehicles should look.
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An unregistered vehicle, fancy number plates falls in direct violation of the act which can attract penalty in India.
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A license plate is a combination of alphabets and digits that form a registration number. The license plate is issued by the district RTO (Regional Transport Office) and should be placed in the front and the back of the vehicle with provision for illumination. The international registration code for India is IND.
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For two-wheelers and light motor vehicles like cars and jeeps, registration letters and numbers have to be written in black on white background. Commercial vehicles should have yellow background on their license plates.
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Fancy lettering, pictures and art are not allowed on number plates.
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The Motor Vehicles Act also specifies the size of license plates — 200*100 mm for two-wheelers and three-wheelers, 340*200 mm or 500*120 mm for light motor vehicles/passenger cars and 340*200 mm for medium/ heavy commercial vehicles.
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The first two letters on a number plate (DL, KL, HR, MH etc) denote the region or the state which the vehicle is registered with. A vehicle registered with Chhattisgarh RTO will bear the letters CG. The following digits indicate the district in which the vehicle is registered. The third part of the license plate is a set of numbers (typically four) which is unique to the vehicle. Vanity numbers, like 0001, 0786, and 1111 are regarded as VIP numbers and can be bought at RTO auctions for a premium price. The last part of the license plate displays the international registration code for India IND.
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The letter used in the number plate must be English and the figure must be aerobic numerals. There is also a law regarding the size of number plates in India.
From 1st April 2019 when we apply for the registration of our new vehicle, we get an HSRP (High-Security Registration Plate) from RTO which we just have to install in our vehicle. Fines can be imposed from ₹2000-₹5000. With addition of section 39/192 of the Motor Vehicles Act fine increased to 2000 Rs for first offence and Rs. 5000 or imprisonment or both for a year for a subsequent event.
In US the law says you can use personalized plates but not fancy plates on passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, motorcycles and trailers. There are dedicated plates by way of which you can support your favorite cause by ordering dedicated, i.e., special interest, license plates. If you are a member of a qualified non-profit service, community, or alumni organization in New Jersey, you can commemorate your group’s civic contributions and achievements with special organizational plates. There are also strict rules governing the size and shape of the letters on a number plate in UK. These must be printed in Charles Wright font, with characters 79mm in height, 50mm in width and with a space between them of 11mm. The personalised registration numbers can only be used on a vehicle registered (or about to be registered), taxed and used in the UK. All car plates in Singapore look pretty much the same due to six obsessive-compulsive rules.
