So,why no V?

[Motu]

As the old 2 letter car plates wound down towards their last days I noticed they went from UZ to WA with no V series letters.Oh well,maybe they all went to the South Island,but I have never seen V plates.Now with bikes it seems we have missed the V as well - we have just finished the 3 letter series starting with U,now the new bikes plates start with W.

OK,so it's obvious and you're all laughing at me,but I lead a sheltered life and don't watch the news on TV - so...why no V?

[Hitcher]

As the old 2 letter car plates wound down towards their last days I noticed they went from UZ to WA with no V series letters.Oh well,maybe they all went to the South Island,but I have never seen V plates.Now with bikes it seems we have missed the V as well - we have just finished the 3 letter series starting with U,now the new bikes plates start with W.

OK,so it's obvious and you're all laughing at me,but I lead a sheltered life and don't watch the news on TV - so...why no V?

The same reason they left out the Q -- both on car plates and bike plates. What I want to know is what happens to bike plates after they get to 99ZZZ. By my reckoning all of the 5-digit plate combos will have been used by then...

[curious george]

Well I don't know the official answer, but I always guessed the 'U' and 'V' could be easily mixed up when written down or when spotted on a criminals car.
Sometihng along those lines......

[Motu]

I never noticed Q Hitcher - and I spend my day writing down rego numbers,but Q and V are still use in other combinations,so the confusion thing can't be the reason.....?

[wkid_one]

The same reason they left out the Q -- both on car plates and bike plates. What I want to know is what happens to bike plates after they get to 99ZZZ. By my reckoning all of the 5-digit plate combos will have been used by then...

Either three numbers and two letters or 1 number and 4 letters.

[Posh Tourer :P]

I thought that was the reason. Are the Q and V only in personalised plates? I dont recall seeing any Qs or Vs in other cases... I'll have to look harder now :S

[FROSTY:Me]

As I understand it one of those is reserved for goverment vehicles -Not sure which.

[Motu]

Government vehicles used to have special plates,dunno about now - but reserving the whole three letter V series for bikes? It'd take them 100 yrs to use them up.As far as confusion goes - I don't any difference between VO and OV,or is the first letter the one that gives trouble.

I smell a conspiracy - Don Brash needs to hear about this,I bet Helen has them all under her house.

[Hitcher]

Either three numbers and two letters or 1 number and 4 letters.

One of those sequences has been used. Dad's two farm tractors were 630FQ and 819PK. One number and four letters gets you into personalised plate territory...

[Hitcher]

Government vehicles used to have special plates,dunno about now - but reserving the whole three letter V series for bikes? It'd take them 100 yrs to use them up.As far as confusion goes - I don't any difference between VO and OV,or is the first letter the one that gives trouble.

I smell a conspiracy - Don Brash needs to hear about this,I bet Helen has them all under her house.

It appears to be the first letter that gives officials grief! Both Q and V are used for the second and third letters in plates. Go figure...

[Hitcher]

Which brings me on to a favourite hobby horse -- personalised plates...

If the fundamental principal of rego plates is to "unambiguously identify a vehicle", then I struggle with things like 4B0D3 (for ABODE) and other shocking examples of numbers being used to substitute for letters. My favourite sequence plate is AGA551!! I also hate the use of kerning on personalised plates to create spaces so that people can get two "words" on a plate, or put one or more Is (as brackets) at both ends of their initials or whatever...

*Raw nerve slowly stops spasming*

[bungbung]

Plates (excepting personalised) following the old AA9999 scheme omitted the series beginning with Q and V to avoid confusion with O and U. Seems strange that Q and V are apparently not confusing when used as the second letter...

NZ Government cars start with CR (Crown) and other gov's use DC (Diplomatic corp) and FC (Foreign Corp, but without dip. status). DC plates are also numbered by country, e.g. DC1 - DC100 is UK, DC101-150 is Aus. etc.

[bungbung]

..put one or more Is (as brackets) at both ends of their initials or whatever...

I believe this practice is to get a personalised plate already in use. e.g. "DOG" is already taken? then "I DOG I" is available, as well as well as the other substitutions zero for O and so forth.

[merv]

One of those sequences has been used. Dad's two farm tractors were 630FQ and 819PK. One number and four letters gets you into personalised plate territory...

Guys our age had bikes with 3 numbers followed by 2 letters (my 1970 bike ended in PN) and it was 1973 I bought my first bike with 2 numbers followed by 3 letters and it ended in AFZ so without remembering exactly when, the A series must have started about then, so that pattern has lived on in bikes for 30+ years.

So what's left, 1 number and 4 letters as Wkid said and some lots of 4 numbers and 1 letter, though they are used by trailers these days I think as well, or there is 5 numbers or 5 letters (provided they aren't used by a personalised plate already).

[Motu]

Even earlier it was just numbers - when I lost the plate on my Rickman and asked for a replacement they told me my original plate was fake as there were no number only plates - when I showed them the ownership papers they had to accept it.I was annoyed when I rebuilt my A10 and had to take the all number plate in - then they confiscated it and I got a silly one number 3 letter plate.

OK,I'll accept it that the powers to be can get confused with a Q or V when used as the first letter...but they are no problem as 2nd or 3rd letters.Makes so much sense now.