For Ala. man, XXXXXXX marks spot for ticket-magnet

[October 17, 2009]  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- "Racer X's" vanity plate just does not compute in city computers - and it's helped him rack up about $19,000 in tickets in Birmingham, Ala.

Scottie Roberson bought a vanity plate with seven X's to pay homage to his racer nickname. But that causes a bit of a snafu when parking patrols put the plate into the system. Officials usually put seven X's in place of the number for cars without license plates.

Roberson said the mix-up has led him to get as many as 10 tickets in a day.

Birmingham Traffic Engineer Gregory Dawkins said the city may change the system to keep Roberson from receiving more tickets. He says "maybe we just need to leave that part blank altogether."

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Information from: The Birmingham News, http://www.al.com/birminghamnews

[Associated Press]

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