More drivers opt for personalized plates in Sask. — and behind every one there's a story

You may have noticed a few more vanity plates on Saskatchewan roads in recent years, and every one of them comes with a personal story.

Viola Kay roams Saskatchewan in her Toyota with "PWRWLKR" emblazoned across her licence plate.

Kay spent years running long distance. Five kilometres, 10 kilometres and marathons were her specialty. A bout with cancer changed Kay’s exercise routine and forced her into shortening those distances.

When she could no longer run, she decided to take up power walking, and about six years ago she owned the personality trait by displaying it on her car.

"I'm able to power walk, and so that is the significance of that to me," she said.

"That's my personal story and why I wanted to get it personalized as such."

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Data from SGI shows an increase in personalized licence plates over the past 10 years. As of Nov. 20, there are just over 58,500 personalized licence plates registered with SGI, an increase of 4,000 since April.

In 2014, there were 6,351 new personalized licence plates from 1.1 million registered vehicles. The following year was the first noticeable bump after SGI launched collector and vintage Saskatchewan Roughrider plates, leading to 9,212 new personalized plates in the province.

Numbers steadily dipped over the following four years, but personalization has once again become a popular option since 2019 with a range between 7,674 and 9,893 new personalized vehicles in that time.

Personalized license plates in the province are on the rise, according to SGI.

For just $75 plus tax, a driver can put a combination of seven letters or numbers for a large plate, and five for a small plate. There are several rules and restrictions for what can be displayed. SGI won’t approve slogans which are offensive, suggestive or “not in good taste.”

SGI also won’t allow slogans that promote risky driving behaviour, or slogans hinting at sexual connotations, drug or alcohol connotations, derogatory slang or racial and political connotations.

Among the thousands of banned slogans, a few have become noteworthy over the years.

In 1996, Dick Assman, a Regina gas station attendant, caught the attention of Late Show with David Letterman, who would call Assman and eventually bring him on the show during a one-month period that brought international attention to Assman and the gas station he worked at.

Decades later, a distant relative of his, David Assman, twice applied to have the last name on a licence plate. It was once denied for profanity and later denied for being not in good taste.

When the application was denied, Assman took his efforts to a local body shop to have an image of a licence plate decaled to the tailgate of his pickup truck.

That same year, Rod Kletchko had his "MAGAUSA" vanity plate revoked roughly five months after it was issued.

According to SGI’s slogan guidelines, licence plates are the property of SGI and if a complaint is filed, SGI may recall the plate.

Dallen Erickson received his "R1CKY" licence plate as a graduation gift from an aunt and uncle about eight years ago. Now, he’s proud to show off his nickname to anyone he shares the road with.

"That's who I am. I can't go out and tell everybody that, so you're not going to know who I am, [but] you're going to see it on the back of me, if that makes sense," Erickson said.

"I got to wear that with pride."

While Erickson appreciates the attention, he was pulled over once because police were looking for a suspect with a "RICKY" licence plate.

"All in all, it’s pretty awesome,” he said. It kind of gives you a defined personality."

Whether you’re an Assman or an Erickson, more and more people aren’t shying away from showing a little personality with their licence plates.

-With files from Rory MacLean