I thought I'm pretty savvy with unusual license plates, but I saw a very strange California one yesterday. It was A18R1, but with large and red "A", large and blue "18", small and red "R" and small and blue "1". There were no other distinguishing marks, nor a special background. So what is it? Oh, and the Prius connection? It was on a black Prius.
It is probably Assembly member Johan Klehs' car. Members of the Assembly have license plates with a red A and their district number. I don't know about the R1, though, perhaps it is a designation for an additional car.
I would place money on it NOT being Assembly Member Johan Klehs' car. Yes they are California Legislative License Plates. The “R†means Retired. And the “1†after the "R" indicates a second vehicle. For some unknown reason, we tend to see a bunch of these plates in Sacramento. :wink: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/plates/senator.htm
What a waste of taxpayer money! But gee, we in Cali have a budget surplus so we can waste it in this crap, right? Right?
It is definitely an inflated ego thing, but I am not sure about the money aspect. It costs no more to stamp these plates than any of the other ones available and, besides, prison labor is cheap.
P.S. I just looked up the applicable California Vehicle Code Section. Additional fees are charged to issue these plates:
