Look closely, and you’ll see it! When I saw it, it gave me chills!

Ouadie Rhabbouron

But to be fair, not all vanity plates fall into the “obnoxious brag” category. In fact, many drivers use them creatively, and even generously, to bring a little humor to the road. Some of the best license plates out there are witty, clever, or delightfully self-deprecating. You’ve probably seen plates like TIREDAF on a minivan full of kids, or SLOPOKE on a tiny hatchback barely doing the speed limit. There’s IH8TRAFK stuck in bumper-to-bumper congestion, or NOTACOPon a suspicious-looking black SUV. These are the plates that make us chuckle, shake our heads in admiration, and sometimes even take a picture.

There’s something oddly comforting about seeing a stranger’s personality shine through a tiny metal rectangle bolted to their bumper. In an otherwise monotonous stretch of highway, these small bursts of humor or identity can make you smile and remind you that the world—even at 70 mph—is full of quirks and creativity. For those of us enduring long road trips or endless commutes, vanity plates can be a welcome distraction. They spark conversations. They break the monotony. Sometimes they even tell a story.