A Texas man who thought his custom license plate was harmless was left shocked when the state revoked it, claiming it spelled something inappropriate when flipped.
A supercar owner who proudly displayed a personalized license plate reading ‘370H55V’ was taken aback when the state deemed it inappropriate and revoked it.
If you’re wondering how such a plate could be seen as offensive, you’re not alone. At first glance, it looks completely harmless. But according to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), it wasn’t.
Back in 2019, Safer Hassan had been driving around with the plate on his Lamborghini for months without any issues. Then one day, he received an unexpected letter from the DMV, stating: “It has been determined that the personalization is offensive.”
The letter informed him that he had 30 days to replace the plate before it became invalid.
The situation quickly sparked discussions online. In a YouTube video covering the story, many viewers shared their thoughts, with most agreeing that the plate wasn’t offensive at all.
“If you have to tell us it’s offensive, it’s not offensive,” one person commented.
Another viewer expressed their frustration, saying: “That DMV must be run by a bunch of former ‘hall monitors’.”
Someone else shared a similar sentiment: “I wouldn’t have even thought it was personalized let alone offensive.”
And the criticism didn’t stop there. Another comment read: “99.99999% of people would never have seen it. What stupid bull**** to waste time and resources on.”
Adding to the conversation, a fifth person wrote: “I’m not offended, I’m actually impressed.”
But what exactly made the plate so controversial? Hassan himself was puzzled, claiming he hadn’t even noticed anything unusual about it.
It turns out that when flipped upside down, the plate spells out a not-so-polite word—’a**hole’.
Safer Hassan was sporting the registration plate on his Lamborghini for months
YouTube/KPRC 2 Click2Houston
“Who in the world spends their time reading plates upside down? Sounds like a karen,” another person remarked in the online discussion.
In an interview with local TV station KPRC2, Hassan addressed the controversy, explaining in a YouTube video from April 2019: “I had it for more than three years without any problem.”
He further pointed out: “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 from the Texas DMV clarified that the agency only enforces bans on plates that might provoke reactions from other drivers.
According to state regulations, custom plates that reference explicit language, sexual acts, or bodily functions are strictly prohibited. If such a plate is discovered, it must be revoked immediately.
In an unrelated case, a woman from New York found herself buried under a mountain of parking fines—all because of a bunch of Star Trek fans.
Her personalized plate, which read ‘NCC-1701’, was a tribute to the USS Enterprise from the famous sci-fi series. However, it turned out that devoted ‘Trekkies’ had been replicating her plate and using it on their own vehicles, leading to thousands of dollars in fines wrongly issued in her name.
Breda Koorey, the plate’s owner, never expected her fandom to land her in such a frustrating situation.