A supercar owner who invested in a license plate reading ‘370H55V’ found it revoked because it was deemed obscene.
Initially, you might wonder how this seemingly harmless plate could be considered offensive, but the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) thought otherwise.
In 2019, Safer Hassan had been using the license plate on his Lamborghini for several months when he received a letter stating: “It has been determined that the personalization is offensive.”
He was instructed to replace it within 30 days to avoid invalidation.
After a news segment about the incident was uploaded to YouTube, viewers expressed disbelief, agreeing that the plate was not offensive.
“If you have to tell us it’s offensive, it’s not offensive,” one commented.
Another viewer remarked, “That DMV must be run by a bunch of former ‘hall monitors’.”
A third added, “I wouldn’t have even thought it was personalized let alone offensive.”
Opinions continued, with one person noting, “99.99999% of people would never have seen it. What stupid bull**** to waste time and resources on.”
Adding to the sentiment, another wrote: “I’m not offended, I’m actually impressed.”
Curious about what vulgarity was hidden in the license plate, which Hassan himself claimed to have missed?
When viewed upside down, the plate spells ‘a**hole’.
A commenter on the platform questioned, “Who in the world spends their time reading plates upside down? Sounds like a karen.”
In an interview with KPRC2, Hassan explained in an April 2019 video on YouTube: “I had it for more than three years without any problem.”
“People have no idea what that plate means. My closest friends don’t even know.”
“I definitely think the state has over-reached its boundaries.”
A representative for the Texas DMV mentioned that bans are enforced if a plate triggers a reaction from other drivers.
The regulations disallow references to sex acts, profanity, and excretory functions on specialty plates. Once identified, these are barred in the state.
In a similar story, a woman from New York was swamped with parking fines because ‘Trekkies’ duplicated her plate on their vehicles.
Fans of Star Trek will recognize ‘NCC-1701’ as the iconic number on the USS Enterprise.
Breda Koorey had the plate as a homage to the series and found herself receiving fines intended for other drivers.