SACRAMENTO -
Trying to decode the combination of letters and numbers on personalized license plates can be challenging, even downright perplexing. But before these "creative expressions" make it out onto the road, they need to pass by the keen eye of one Department of Motor Vehicles employee.
Meet Barbara Watkins. She's in charge of making sure nothing offensive gets stamped onto a California license plate, and as you can probably guess, nothing much gets past her keen eye.
"They'll try to put a bad word backwards so you won't catch it," Watkins says. "Or, they try and do it phonetically."
Watkins has seen it all -- from blatant obscenities to nasty words disguised in foreign languages. But she's armed with specialized dictionaries, online databases and international translators.
Oftentimes, the phrase is clear cut, but sometimes an application needs more review. Take, for instance, the vanity plate application "CTUOUT," which reads "cut you out."
"It could mean someone trying to kill someone, which you wouldn't want on a license plate," Watkins said. "But, it's also a firefighter plate. That's what he does for a living, he 'cuts you out' with the jaws of life."
Some other license plates that didn't make the cut? "CUNHE11," which looks like it reads "see you in hell." However, the applicant of that plate said he merely wanted his initials, C.U.N., followed by his football jersey.
Another one reads "INEED TP." We all know that "TP" stands for toilet paper, but in this particular instance, the applicant was referring to a sexual position.
Finally, try "PRP HEYZ," which phonetically spells out "purple haze," a code name for marijuana. The applicant for this license plate says "Purple Haze" is actually the name of his Harley.
"Ten percent of [applications] are usually questionable, and most of those are canned," said Tina Ward, who explains the DMV gets around 500 vanity plate requests per day.
But Ward says some applicants can be sneaky. "Sometimes, a few vulgar ones slip by," she explains. For those that do slip through the cracks, there's a special filing cabinet at the DMV filled with vanity plate requests that need more view, usually after enough motorists have complained.
"One thing we always need to watch out for is the mirror images," Ward explains. "If something is spelled backwards or if you look in the rear-view mirror, it might say something different than when you look head-on."
One plate up for review was so vulgar, we couldn't put it on-the-air, but we can say it alludes to a very sexual act. Some people can really put the "personal" into the personal license plate.
Meet Barbara Watkins. She's in charge of making sure nothing offensive gets stamped onto a California license plate, and as you can probably guess, nothing much gets past her keen eye.
"They'll try to put a bad word backwards so you won't catch it," Watkins says. "Or, they try and do it phonetically."
Watkins has seen it all -- from blatant obscenities to nasty words disguised in foreign languages. But she's armed with specialized dictionaries, online databases and international translators.
Oftentimes, the phrase is clear cut, but sometimes an application needs more review. Take, for instance, the vanity plate application "CTUOUT," which reads "cut you out."
"It could mean someone trying to kill someone, which you wouldn't want on a license plate," Watkins said. "But, it's also a firefighter plate. That's what he does for a living, he 'cuts you out' with the jaws of life."
Some other license plates that didn't make the cut? "CUNHE11," which looks like it reads "see you in hell." However, the applicant of that plate said he merely wanted his initials, C.U.N., followed by his football jersey.
Another one reads "INEED TP." We all know that "TP" stands for toilet paper, but in this particular instance, the applicant was referring to a sexual position.
Finally, try "PRP HEYZ," which phonetically spells out "purple haze," a code name for marijuana. The applicant for this license plate says "Purple Haze" is actually the name of his Harley.
"Ten percent of [applications] are usually questionable, and most of those are canned," said Tina Ward, who explains the DMV gets around 500 vanity plate requests per day.
But Ward says some applicants can be sneaky. "Sometimes, a few vulgar ones slip by," she explains. For those that do slip through the cracks, there's a special filing cabinet at the DMV filled with vanity plate requests that need more view, usually after enough motorists have complained.
"One thing we always need to watch out for is the mirror images," Ward explains. "If something is spelled backwards or if you look in the rear-view mirror, it might say something different than when you look head-on."
One plate up for review was so vulgar, we couldn't put it on-the-air, but we can say it alludes to a very sexual act. Some people can really put the "personal" into the personal license plate.
