Vanity Plates That Never Reach the Assembly Line

WARNING: This story contains terms that are extremely offensive.

WASHINGTON - Most vanity plates you see on the road are cute, or at least harmless. But have you ever wondered about the plates you don't see?

WTOP Radio looked into some of the thousands of rejected applications for vanity plates and found many messages of hate, violence and just plain vulgar.

Virginia, for example, has rejected tags that would have said "COP KILLER" and "ZYKLON B," the chemical used by the Nazis. The state also said no to "KILL EM."

In Maryland, drivers have applied for tags that read "RAPE" and "ARYAN."

And in D.C., officials refused to issue a tag that would have said, "GO POSTAL."

Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, a clinical psychologist, says people who request these tags could fantasize about committing hate crimes and may be trying to draw attention to themselves.

"Hate crimes and hate language really are never acceptable, and I think these people have always been there. But in the past, in a much more restricted society, they would not have applied for such license plates."

Here is a list of some other vanity plates in Virginia, Maryland and the District that car owners have requested:

Washington, D.C.