In The Pink

The Australians seem to be taking some bold steps to distance themselves from stereotypes like Crocodile Dundee and, for those of an even earlier generation, Barry MacKenzie. No less than 4300 drivers in New South Wales have already purchased pink number plates in an initiative by the government, who intend to extend the scheme until June this year.

The special plates are available for those wishing to support the McGrath Foundation, which provides support and nursing care for breast cancer sufferers. The government donate $15 [about £9] for every pink plate sold and $50 [£28] for each 'prestige' version. Similar schemes operate in other parts of the country, for example, in Western Australia , you can choose any available numbers with an NBCF [National Breast Cancer Foundation] prefix for your pink plate.

The theme has been adopted in the UK, notably by the ASDA supermarket chain, which offers a range of 'Tickled Pink' products, a proportion of the profits from which go to breast cancer care. So, given the Australian initiative, it would seem a good idea to do the same with number plates.

The problem here would be the rigid guidelines laid down by the registration authorities. Since 1973, front plates have been white and rear plates yellow. No argument. Australian front and back plates are identical but have backgrounds specific to the region of issue. Most authorities favour white plates with blue lettering, although the Northern Territory uses red on white and South Australia black on white. New South Wales already has some yellow plates, which were issued for their bicentennial in 1988, and now, of course, they are more than happy to allow the pink ones.

So why do we have to have white front/yellow back? Well, we don't, it's no more than a convention. In daylight, most people have little difficulty telling the front of a car from the back and at night-time there is a clue in the red or white lights. It is almost certain that any attempted justification would revolve around the efficiency of Automatic Number Plate Recognition [ANPC] cameras, but this is unlikely to have any reasonable basis.

Certainly the requirement for reflective material in the construction is a sensible idea, and it is suggested that yellow rear plates may be less reduce dazzle from a following vehicle's headlights. However, the same is likely to be true of any other pastel colour. In any event, there can be no imperative issue when 'vintage' [pre 1973] vehicles can quite legitimately display white, silver or grey letters on [non-reflective] black metal or plastic plates, front and back, on any UK highway.

The popularity of personal registrations is growing each year, yet the only customisations we are allowed on the plates themselves are coloured borders and national emblems. There clearly seems to be a yawning gap in the market here, which the government could fill to raise both tax and charity incomes.

 

Back to News Index