HomeRegistrationsScottish people buy more Number plates Jayne Henry July 11, 2010 Registrations People who have personalised number plates on their cars are most likely to live in Scotland, a survey has found. Of the top 20 postcode districts where the plates are popular, eight are in Scotland, according to the insurance company elephant.co.uk. Topping the table are the villages of Fintry, Killearn and Strathblane in Stirlingshire, where 14.02% are said to have personalised plates. The Grimsby Docks in England is where drivers are least likely to have them. Personalised number plates have to be approved by the DVLA and cost upwards of £245. “Status symbol” The survey found owners of luxury cars, such as Ferraris, were more likely to splash out on the special registration numbers, with people who drive a Citroen BX the least likely to have them. Brian Martin, managing director of elephant.co.uk, said: “Some people see them as a status symbol and a way to express individuality. “We wanted to see who exactly owns them. “Our research threw up some surprising results. It’s not just people with high-powered occupations, living in swanky postcode areas, who own them. “Occupations at the top of the list include farriers, newsagents and construction machinery operators and many of the postcode areas with the highest percentage are in rural areas, lots of them in Scotland.” In second place are the villages of Anlaby and Kirk Ella near Hull where 11.98% of motorists have special plates, while third is Llangefni in Anglesey, Wales, with 11.88%. Other Scottish districts with a high percentage of drivers with personalised plates include Dundee city centre, Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway and Pencaitland in East Lothian. The survey said nursing home owners and local government chief executives were the occupations where motorists are most likely to have special plates. Newspaper photographers and croupiers were least likely to have them.
