08.11.2026 23:10
A 70-year-old woman living in New York City, USA, experienced the shock of her life when she had a custom license plate reading "BLANK," which means "empty" in English, put on her car. Because the same word is used in the traffic system for vehicles without a specified license plate, other drivers' fines were also sent to the woman. The woman, who received more than 400 traffic and parking tickets from places she had never visited, had her debt exceed 40 thousand dollars. After weeks of objections, the elderly woman had to change her license plate.
A 70-year-old woman living in New York City, USA, got a custom license plate to give her car a different look. However, the word she chose caused unexpected confusion in the system where traffic fines are recorded.
MORE THAN 400 TICKETS CAME, TOTAL DEBT EXCEEDED 40 THOUSAND DOLLARS
The woman began using the word "BLANK", which means "empty" in English, on her car's license plate. This choice caused a serious problem in the systems where traffic and parking violations are recorded.
The expression "BLANK", used in the records of some violations where license plate information was not entered, matched the woman's actual license plate. Thus, fines belonging to other drivers also began to be sent in the woman's name.
Over time, the elderly woman began receiving traffic and parking fines from places she had never been to. The number of fines sent to her exceeded 400, while the total debt rose above 40 thousand dollars (approximately 2 million TL).
SHE STRUGGLED FOR WEEKS
It was learned that the woman, who objected to the fines, met with four different administrative judges within two days and struggled for weeks to have violations that were not hers deleted. It was stated that fines exceeding 10 thousand dollars were canceled in some meetings.
After what happened, the woman gave up her custom plate reading "BLANK" and put a new plate on her car.