Number Plates

[gray22]

Hi All, just a word of caution, if anyone has a plate that is not using the current regulations, then get it changed.

My wife has just been stopped and fined 30 quid on the spot, no excuses allowed, even tho i had the original plate from when i bought the car, didnt matter.

7 years the plate had been on the car, i had it made up at Brands hatch, right next door to the police recruitment van, hehe, but some newby in the hampshire police force obviously had to make his name eh. :censor:

Check out my rav4 vx pics, and tell me is it that illegal, i mean, you can read it, not like some i have seen.

Anyways, gripe over, just thought it would be an idea to post it in here as a warning.

cheers all

Gray

[chatman]

Hi All, just a word of caution, if anyone has a plate that is not using the current regulations, then get it changed.

My wife has just been stopped and fined 30 quid on the spot, no excuses allowed, even tho i had the original plate from when i bought the car, didnt matter.

7 years the plate had been on the car, i had it made up at Brands hatch, right next door to the police recruitment van, hehe, but some newby in the hampshire police force obviously had to make his name eh. :censor:

Check out my rav4 vx pics, and tell me is it that illegal, i mean, you can read it, not like some i have seen.

Anyways, gripe over, just thought it would be an idea to post it in here as a warning.

cheers all

Gray

I best not drive through Hampshire Area then..... :unsure:

Have a meeting in Newbury Friday So I will be extra careful B) B)

[Red Yaris 54]

Sadly the plate shown in your pictures is illegal as the police ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) machines do not read them so well.

Consider yourself lucky that you managed to have the plates on for 7 years before being pulled up...................where I live you would be lucky to have them on for 7 days before getting done for it.

At least she did not get an endorsement for it

[T600]

Sorry to say it, but if you mean this:-

and this:-

Then yes, they are illegal.

If they're just fining you, and not taking away the reg. number which presumably you paid for, then count yourself lucky.

[Red Yaris 54]

Sorry to say it, but if you mean this:-

and this:-

Then yes, they are illegal.

If they're just fining you, and not taking away the reg. number which presumably you paid for, then count yourself lucky.

If I am not mistaken, I think that they are entitled to impound the vehicle and crush it........................You may have escaped very lightly ;)

[druand]

The police also have the power to confiscate cherished plates for repeated offence. They then go back to DVLA to be resold of if really worth a bit they go to auction.

Also registered number plate sellers can have licence to sell plates (legally) withdrawn for making up incorrect plates.

[gray22]

Sorry to say it, but if you mean this:-

and this:-

Then yes, they are illegal.

If they're just fining you, and not taking away the reg. number which presumably you paid for, then count yourself lucky.

musta been lucky for all that time then, thing is, want the script, it didnt have dealers mark on it or bs number, still, legal one back on car so all ok now.

[T600]

If I am not mistaken, I think that they are entitled to impound the vehicle and crush it........................You may have escaped very lightly ;)

That would be very harsh; is that perhaps the penalty for cloning i.e. deliberately displaying a completely different plate in order to avoid speeding fines, congestion charges etc.

On illegal fonts / spacing etc the DVLA say

It is an offence to alter, rearrange or misrepresent letters or numbers in order to form names or words or in such a way that makes it difficult to read the registration number. Characters must not be moved from one block to the other e.g. AB51 DVL must not be displayed as AB5 1DVL or AB 51DVL. Vehicles with illegally displayed number plates may FAIL the MoT test. The police can also issue fixed penalty fines for illegally displayed number plates. Offenders are liable to a MAXIMUM FINE of £1,000 and in some cases the mark may be withdrawn.

That's still a pretty hefty Maximum fine though, and I'd imagine that only gets handed out to repeat offenders.

[Robert6920]

Blimey, it's even more of a police state than when I left it seven years ago (looks like that was when the decline set in!)

[sywy]

What gets me about all this, is that the DVLA themselves sell these kind of plates, at a premium to other (standard) cherished plates, or reserve them for auction, knowing full well that you need to space things differently to get what they are meant to say. :censor:

I have a cherished plate on my RAV (and previous cars), but I have the advantage of having a 3 letter surname. So my plate has my initial and my surname on, without any need to alter it :) Unfortunately I could not get S1 xxx, as it had already be sold, which would have been absolutely fantastic for me.

[bothwell_buyer]

OK

where do I get illegal plates made up that cannae be read by the speed cameras??? Answers on a postcard or PM me.

I'm working on getting my Sudanese driving licence too. :lol:

[JollyG]

Nobody is forcing anyone to buy them...

Someone else on here said that they all spell "W*nker" as far as he was concerned... ;)

I'm not inclined to be so harsh...personalised numberplates serve a useful purpose, in that they do tend to indicate the mindset of the driver of the vehicle...

[duncerduncs]

I best not drive through Hampshire Area then..... :unsure:

Have a meeting in Newbury Friday So I will be extra careful B) B)

You have nothing to worry about Chatman, as Newbury is in Berkshire.....

[bothwell_buyer]

I best not drive through Hampshire Area then..... :unsure:

Have a meeting in Newbury Friday So I will be extra careful B) B)

You have nothing to worry about Chatman, as Newbury is in Berkshire.....

Naw - not on his satnav! Its in Hampshire along wi hills and Edinburgh!!

[Robert6920]

This thread made me read up on the Irish rules, which are similar to UK (ie €1250 fine for non compliance with the rules for number plates). You can't have personal plates in Ireland but I have discovered that you can reserve a vehicle registration number plate on or after the 1st November of the year before you intend to bring the vehicle into use. In other words, you can only apply to reserve a vehicle registration number plate on or after 1 November 2006 to use this plate in 2007. The number you reserve must be in the normal format and must correspond with the licensing authority area where you normally reside and the year in which the vehicle is to be first brought into use, i.e., 07-D-77 may only be reserved by someone living in Dublin for a vehicle intended to be brought into use in the year 2007.

The registered owner of the vehicle on which the plates are to be displayed must be the person in whose name the number was reserved. You cannot transfer a reserved number.

Interestingly, (well, I thought so) all registration numbers are available for reservation "with the exception of the first number of each year issued in the following cities - Cork, Dublin, Limerick and Waterford. These registration plates are then 08-C-1, 08-D-1, 08-L-1 and 08-W-1. These plates are reserved for the Mayor/Lord Mayor of each of these cities and are not available for reservation by anyone else". Looks like the Mayor gets a new car every year....

A reserved registration number can only be assigned to a vehicle when it has been reached in the normal sequence (so no waiting if you're the Mayor!).

Having said all of that, my local Halfords will still print a plate that doesn't quite meet the rules.....

[chatman]

I best not drive through Hampshire Area then..... :unsure:

Have a meeting in Newbury Friday So I will be extra careful B) B)

You have nothing to worry about Chatman, as Newbury is in Berkshire.....

Naw - not on his satnav! Its in Hampshire along wi hills and Edinburgh!!

Yea but they may drive up to use the M4.....

[local hero]

Nobody is forcing anyone to buy them...

Someone else on here said that they all spell "W*nker" as far as he was concerned... ;)

I'm not inclined to be so harsh...personalised numberplates serve a useful purpose, in that they do tend to indicate the mindset of the driver of the vehicle...

Just takes away the age of the vehicle I like them so long as people dont make daft letters ie adding 13 to make a B.. just my opinion..

[chatman]

adding 13 to make a B..

;) ;)

Nice having a Reg that denotes the car (X5 seems to be the favourite around Essex) but then you can only use that on that make of vehicle....

[T600]

Nice having a Reg that denotes the car (X5 seems to be the favourite around Essex) but then you can only use that on that make of vehicle....

That is the law. I can't remember the last time I saw an X5 that didn't have an X5... plate on it. Or an M3 without an M3... plate.

On the original issue, theres a lot in the press about the 5-O having a clampdown on illegal fonts, spacings etc. I think the same happened last February. It must be the thing they do every year just after the the Christmas rush is out of the way, or perhaps they do it twice a year now just before the new plates come out to warn new buyers not to mess with the plates on their new cars perhaps.

If that's the case then maybe fitting standard plates for Feb/March and then again in August/September, and using the dodgy ones for the other 8 months of the year is the way to go.

[D Winter]

Can anyone recommend a good and reliable private plate supplier. If it wasn't too expensive I'd consider it for the Rav4. Mainly to take the age off it more than any other reason.

[sywy]

Try the DVLA direct first.

www.dvla-som.co.uk

[T600]

Can anyone recommend a good and reliable private plate supplier. If it wasn't too expensive I'd consider it for the Rav4. Mainly to take the age off it more than any other reason.

Start with the DVLA.

Almost all other suppliers just advertise the ones the DVLA have then charge a premium for them. Yes, they may have a few on their books that the DVLA don't have, but if you can find something suitable via the DVLA then it will probably be cheaper.

[D Winter]

Thanks guys.

[Kev Mc]

Seems to be a nationwide thing this, I've heard of a few people who've been done recently for having a picture instead of GB/EU even though the font & spacing is perfectly legal. I had a plate that was illegal on pretty much every front but which my registration was clear on, it was on my Yaris for well over a year & didn't have 1 problem with it, despite having driven infront of police cars on numerous occasions

I'd started thinking about getting a new version made up so I could get it drilled for the Golf but I can't be bothered now because it seems to be the new way of getting fines out of otherwise law-abiding people

[Parts-King]

The number plate rules were tightened up a few years ago now, when they changed the font style. The plates have to conform to size, font, makers name and postcode, BS number etc, The makers of plates are now licensed by the DVLA and any breaches can lead to you being suspended from making plates, a bit tricky if you sell 1000 cars per year! The changes were mainly brought in so that ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) equipment could be used for traffic offences and for tracking criminals. Some recent cases highlight how ANPR has caught criminals and terrorists, remember the Police woman shot dead in yorkshire at a robbery? The gang were caught in London after their vehicle was spotted using ANPR. These cases are rare, but there are thousands of cars spotted by ANPR daily, who have tried to evade congestion charges and vehicle excise duty, be aware, the invoice is in the post :D: The day wont be far away where your car will be tracked everywhere, and you might get a daily fine in the post if you have the wrong type of plate fitted, you have been warned ;)

Kingo