Number Plate Stories

The rise of the new style numbers

By Ruby Speechley

After 38 years, it was inevitable that the old car registration system in Britain would soon come to an end and a whole new scheme needed to be devised.

Most of us remember the year letter suffix arrangement (i.e. ABC 123A) which began back in 1963. When the end of the alphabet was reached on 31 July 1983, it was decided to reverse the format so that the year letter became a prefix instead, for example A123 ABC. The demise of the old system was accelerated in 1999, in an attempt to slow down the rush of cars purchased every August. New letters were issued twice yearly (March and September) instead. The last letter ‘Y’, ended the sequence on 31 August 2001.

By this time, a new system had been put together after extensive consultations in 1997 and again in 1999, with the police, across the motor industry and the general public. The new scheme was designed to build on the benefits of the old format, whilst adding fresh elements.

The standardising of the typeface became a vital factor in this. Too many number plates were misleading because of hard to read fonts. An important consideration in coming up with the new system was to enable people to accurately recall the number plates of vehicles used in crime or involved in an accident.

Mr Meredydd Hughes, spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) added his support to this:

“The Police Service welcomes any changes which will lead to a reduction in road casualties and increased detection of criminals. The new style number plates will prove an effective tool in both these critical areas of public safety.”

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