‘Don’t hate on us’: Embarrassed couple driving a rental Mercedes with Victorian licence plates in Western Australia leave a hilarious note on their car
- The couple were concerned people would think they were from COVID-19 capital
- There have also been reports of people painting number plates to cross borders
- One TikTok user videoed himself turning his Victorian plates into NSW plates
- Victoria is in the midst of an outbreak and has reported 295 cases in 24 hours
A couple whose rental Mercedes from Western Australia had Victorian licence plates has left a hilarious note on the car.
An image posted to Facebook on Tuesday showed the note taped to the front of the luxury vehicle in Karijini, Western Australia.
WA has recorded one new case of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours and Victoria, which is in the midst of a widespread outbreak, has reported 295.
Concerns that locals would slam the couple when they saw the car led them to attach a note explaining the situation.
The couple attached the note to their rental because they were worried Western Australians would slam them for entering the state from coronavirus-ravaged Victoria
‘Don’t hate on us,’ the note read.
‘We are NOT Victorians. It’s a rental.
‘Keeping WA COVID-free since 2020.’
Social media users flocked to the comments sections to share their similar experiences.
‘Small world I was at Karijini on Sunday and met a couple of people who commented about their rental motor home having Victorian plates,’ one man wrote.
One woman tagged a friend and wrote: ‘Same as what happened to you guys in Tassie. It’s bulls**t it has to come to something like this. Feel for the poor buggers.’
Social media users flocked to the comments sections to share their similar experiences
There have also been reports of Victorian residents painting over their number plates to disguise them in an attempt to bypass coronavirus checkpoints.
A TikTok video on Monday showed a driver spray-painting his white licence plates yellow to imitate New South Wales plates.
The user called the operation ‘escape from Melbatraz’ and used the backing music, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place by The Animals.
While the video showed the vehicle driving towards and away from the checkpoint between Victoria and NSW, it did not show interactions with police.
A TikTok video on Monday showed a driver spray-painting his white licence plates yellow to imitate New South Wales plates
Victorian police told Daily Mail Australia that tampering with number plates carries heavy fines and up to two months’ jail.
‘It is an offence to fraudulently alter number plates or use number plates that are not correctly registered to the vehicle,’ a spokeswoman said.
‘Police take this very seriously and will investigate and hold offenders to account where appropriate.’
Police are using plate recognition technology at checkpoints, allowing officers to identify the addresses and identity of motorists.
The user called the operation ‘escape from Melbatraz’ and used the backing music, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place by The Animals
While the video showed the vehicle driving towards and away from the checkpoint between Victoria and NSW (pictured), it did not show interactions with police
‘Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology is being used at these sites, which allows police to verify car registration details and identify the residential addresses of those license holders,’ he said.
‘Anyone pulled over at these sites can also expect to have their licences checked by police and their residential address confirmed.’
Melbourne is three weeks into a six-week lockdown after a surge in positive test results.
Residents have been told to only leave the house for essential purposes, including to go to school or work, buy groceries or to exercise.
Checkpoints are along major roads to stop the virus from spreading to other states and communities.