Why Avoid 0 as the Last Digit of License Plates?
4 Answers
There are several reasons why people avoid having 0 as the last digit of license plates: 1. Symbolism: Some choose not to have 0 as the tail number due to perceived negative connotations. For car owners, purchasing a vehicle is a significant event, and selecting a license plate is an important part of the process. Many regions emphasize avoiding unlucky tail numbers, fearing they may bring misfortune, hence people prefer auspicious numbers. 2. Mixed Interpretations: "0" is a highly controversial digit. While its rounded shape may symbolize completeness or perfection, others interpret it as "utter emptiness," "achieving nothing," or "empty love and career prospects." Different regions hold varying beliefs about 0. 3. Traffic Restrictions: Another drawback in cities with driving restrictions is that vehicles with license plates ending in "0" are typically banned on Fridays, which is often a busy day for outings.
I'm an experienced taxi driver, and I've heard from the older generation that there's some superstition about license plates ending with the number 0. The shape of 0 resembles an empty plate, and drivers in Guangdong and Hong Kong often believe it symbolizes leaking wealth—especially business owners who are particularly wary of it. Some in our fleet even say that 0 looks like skid marks from tires, which makes long-distance drivers uneasy when they hear about it. Although younger folks nowadays don’t believe in these things, you’ll notice in the used car market that plates with 8 or 6 sell a few hundred bucks easier than those with 0—a pretty interesting phenomenon. At the end of the day, driving safety comes first, but when choosing a plate number, people still lean toward auspicious psychology, much like hanging a safety charm in the car.
Having been in the license plate selection business for over a decade, I've noticed that northern customers rarely fuss over the number 0. The key lies in DMV regulations: some cities prohibit pure numeric plates from ending with 0, primarily to avoid confusion with the letter O. For instance, formats like 'Jing A·0X12' are prone to errors during computer entry, whereas 'Yue B·X012' poses no issues. I recommend checking the local DMV website before selecting a plate—some regions actually have scarce supply for plates starting with 0. Premium plates like 'Lu A·0001X' that I've handled have fetched over 20,000 yuan at auction. In reality, vehicle identification mainly relies on the first five alphanumeric characters, with the ending digits playing a minor role.
Post-95 car enthusiasts’ honest take: I deliberately chose a license plate ending with 0 for my Tesla! A code-style plate like ‘0010’ perfectly matches the tech vibe. The older generation says 0 represents emptiness, but I say it’s cutting-edge—Cyberpunk is all about creating everything from the void! Three years of zero violations in real-world driving proves it’s all about driving habits. The annoying part is our property management groups all plates ending with 0 into temporary parking zones, separate from fixed spots for plates ending 1-9. My advice to NEV owners: boldly choose 0—it pairs perfectly with sci-fi wraps for killer photos. Our car club’s been flexing ‘00’-suffix ‘fighter jet’ plates nonstop.
