Quebec personalized licence plates: website up and running after crashing last week

File Photo: The opposition Parti Quebecois had complained that the board is allowing citizens to order English-language plates. (Photo by cylent/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

MONTREAL — Quebecers have ordered more than 8,500 personalized licence plates since they became available last week, a spokesman for Quebec’s automobile insurance board said Monday.

About 2,000 people took advantage of the new service Friday — the first day it was offered — before sections of the board’s website crashed in response to higher-than-normal traffic, said Mario Vaillancourt.

By the end of the day Monday, the board said another 6,500 orders had been received.

Transport Minister Andre Fortin said earlier this month the message on the plates — a combination of numbers and letters ranging between two and seven characters — must be respectful and tasteful.

The opposition Parti Quebecois had complained that the board is allowing citizens to order English-language plates.

They say English plates violate the province’s language charter.

The board and the Liberals, however, said vanity plates are private property and therefore can be in the language of the car owner’s choice.

Personalized plates sell for $250 and renewal will cost drivers $34.50, which falls within the range charged elsewhere in Canada.

The plates will be delivered within three to six weeks.