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

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.