Number Plate - using a screw + cap to slightly alter?

[neilrr]

The best of luck with it. As other posters have said, DVLA do operate dual standards, by law you can't mess with plate layout, but they will happily take a premium for plates that do no read much at all unless artistic licence is applied. For example, they sold D12 WHO for several thousands of pounds (much more than similiar plates), which does not read much at all, unless the buyer should choose/risk to create an 'R' by doctoring the 1 & 2. I've seen it done.

By morons.

 

[ringway]

For instance, even without any jiggerypokery, both MOT 10N and MOT 110N could easily be read as MOTION, but the former will always be worth more.

I took a shine to a similar plate a few a few years ago which I saw on an identical car to my S210.

The plate was TEN510N and looked very good.

I checked the usual places to see if it was for sale, and it was... For £25,000! Needless to say I didn't buy it.

 

[rossyl]

I would (and I mean this) set up roadside crushers and make every moron who fiddles with their number plate watch as their car was crushed in front of them.

Thank god you didn't overreact, that was a close one.

 

[rossyl]

Thanks for the opinions guys, prob best to leave as is...

I am 99% sure that there are many members here with at least incorrectly spaced number plates, calling them a moron is rather extreme. I don't think there was much need for the rudeness. Especially when certain inidividuals who have incorrectly spaced plates are probably amongst the most helpful/useful.

 

[flango]

In the strict letter of the law the use of the screws and caps in this manner would be ilegal, that said

Swmbo's plate is done exactly like this which makes 11 look like an H from a distance and is mis spaced

My plate is just mis spaced

In 7 years we have both been stopped once and fined £30 although it has now risen to £60

The unoffical verdict of the boys in blue round here as long as it can be read by ANPR then not an issue but it is a reason to be stopped. Both ours are read correctly on anpr and it brings up the correct car details.

So it the end of the day you take your chance but £60 7 years for us is worth the risk.

 

[Smarties]

By morons.

Not the constructive contribution we were looking for, and probably offensive to many members of this forum

 

[martin_a]

In 7 years we have both been stopped once and fined £30 although it has now risen to £60

The unoffical verdict of the boys in blue round here as long as it can be read by ANPR then not an issue but it is a reason to be stopped. Both ours are read correctly on anpr and it brings up the correct car details.

The fact it is a reason to be stopped is why it shouldn't be done. Great excuse for a bored cop and with ANPR getting more and more prevalent combined with 'hit those targets' policing it means that you could easily have a marker on the car for the plate. You'll be told to change it, this will be recorded, if you don't, it makes it easy to pull you again. 3rd time, the plate goes back to the DVLA and your car gets its original plate back.

Plus, as others have said, most people are smart enough to mae the mental leap, anything more and it certainly seems like you are trying too hard.

m.

 

[flango]

The fact it is a reason to be stopped is why it shouldn't be done. Great excuse for a bored cop and with ANPR getting more and more prevalent combined with 'hit those targets' policing it means that you could easily have a marker on the car for the plate. You'll be told to change it, this will be recorded, if you don't, it makes it easy to pull you again. 3rd time, the plate goes back to the DVLA and your car gets its original plate back.

Plus, as others have said, most people are smart enough to mae the mental leap, anything more and it certainly seems like you are trying too hard.

m.

I agree but its the risk you take, but to set the record straight

You can't have a marker on the car on PNC for a mis spaced number plate

It is recorded with the DVLA and they send you a snotty letter

You will never get the plate taken off you, there has never been a single instance of this happening or anyone even going to court for it. The reason the double standards the DVLA operate CPS would drop it straight away ( ask SWMBO)

You would never make the mental leap to what SWMBO plate says unless you knew her nickname

Everyone to their own but this works for us

 

[MOCAŠ]

You will never get the plate taken off you, there has never been a single instance of this happening or anyone even going to court for it. The reason the double standards the DVLA operate CPS would drop it straight away ( ask SWMBO)

Grrr. What double standards? They sell the right to display a number plate in accordance with clearly defined regulations. You might as well say that nobody would ever be convicted of murder because the government allows the sale of knives, shovels and other potentially lethal implements.

You're right about the police often turning a blind eye to illegal number plates; I was sitting in traffic the other day, and there was a car alongside me with the both front and rear plates in an illegal font and spaced to read M 700 UFC. Behind him in the queue was a police Transit, clearly not in a hurry to get anywhere, but they didn't see fit to have a word with the driver.

However, all it will take is a change in policy for there to be a crackdown. The legislation is already in place to support enforcement, and anyone trying a defence that the DVLA secretly approves of people making their plates look like something other than what's on the V5C will be on a very sticky wicket.

 

[dinoy]

Leave the front number plate totally legal and alter the rear. When plod is looking, it is usually from the front not rear. I have my plates illegally spaced on the rear only where most motorists see it, but at road checks etc, plod is at the front

that is totally wrong play with the front NEVER ALTER THE BACK AS IF CAMERA DO NOT RECOGNISE YR NO U WILL BE FLAGGED TO BE STOPPED

 

[neilrr]

that is totally wrong play with the front NEVER ALTER THE BACK AS IF CAMERA DO NOT RECOGNISE YR NO U WILL BE FLAGGED TO BE STOPPED

What?

 

[flango]

Grrr. What double standards? They sell the right to display a number plate in accordance with clearly defined regulations. You might as well say that nobody would ever be convicted of murder because the government allows the sale of knives, shovels and other potentially lethal implements.

You're right about the police often turning a blind eye to illegal number plates; I was sitting in traffic the other day, and there was a car alongside me with the both front and rear plates in an illegal font and spaced to read M 700 UFC. Behind him in the queue was a police Transit, clearly not in a hurry to get anywhere, but they didn't see fit to have a word with the driver.

However, all it will take is a change in policy for there to be a crackdown. The legislation is already in place to support enforcement, and anyone trying a defence that the DVLA secretly approves of people making their plates look like something other than what's on the V5C will be on a very sticky wicket.

Here's where you use the law to your advantage, The DVLA do not sell a right for a plate to be used with clear defined regulations.The DVLA simply sell a plate and administer the national vehicle licensing and registration scheme on behalf of the Government.

The legal owner of your number plate is never you, you license the plate " hence the term" from the secretary of state for transport.

The DVLA cannot prosecute you for number plate offences they can write threating letters but they have no actual powers of prosecution so they trade on fear and the publics ignorance of the system

To be prosecuted for number plate offences or withdrawal of the plate the prosecution would have to come from the office of the secretary of state for transport, becuase of the current laws this would mean the case could not be heard in a magistrates court and thats the reason it would never go to court, the CPS have strict guidelines what to do in these instances

If you are an habitual offender then the police usually keep pulling you and find something else to nick you for (thats an easy one for them) but until the offence for number plates, changes from a non endorsable offence to an endorsable offence non of the authorities other than the secretary of state have the balls to prosecute.

 

[Benzowner]

that is totally wrong play with the front NEVER ALTER THE BACK AS IF CAMERA DO NOT RECOGNISE YR NO U WILL BE FLAGGED TO BE STOPPED

That is so incorrect, my number plate has been recognised by both Kens cameras in London and the cameras on the Severn Bridge both when I had illegally spaced plates front and rear. I got pulled on the plates in Truro and that was purely front recognition by a roadside group

 

[MOCAŠ]

the CPS have strict guidelines what to do in these instances

If you are an habitual offender then the police usually keep pulling you and find something else to nick you for (thats an easy one for them) but until the offence for number plates, changes from a non endorsable offence to an endorsable offence non of the authorities other than the secretary of state have the balls to prosecute.

I think that's essentially the point I was making: the currently lax approach could be tightened by a change in policy, and thus a change in the guidance given to the CPS. Not sure I see the relevance of whether or not the offence is endorsable, as that decision is normally related solely to whether the offence impacts driving standards or vehicle safety. Don't think anyone would argue that someone should lose their licence for number plate offences - but losing the right to the number plate after, say, three warnings would seem a fair penalty.

The previous government went to considerable lengths to strengthen the display regulations and set the maximum penalty at £1000. I accept that prosecutions and withdrawal of registrations have not yet materialised, but that's not to say they never will. There have certainly been prosecutions in the past, some of them quite celebrated. Not all have been successful, but those that have failed have usually done so due to ambiguity in the display regulations that applied at the time, hence why the current regulations are very clearly defined. The way is being paved...

However, leaving aside all of the above, there remains the question: why would anyone want to treat the sole means by which their car can be identified at a distance as their plaything, to be modified at will? The police need to realise that the most obvious motive for doing this is to avoid detection, and those who claim they're just doing it 'for fun' are probably being disingenuous. They also need to think about the amount of police time that must be consumed in pulling drivers over following an ANPR alert, only to find that the everything else is in order; this is tantamount to wasting police time, an offence in itself.

Can you imagine any other country allowing their citizens to have a bit of fun with such an important means of identification? Am I to assume you've also drawn a moustache and glasses on your passport photograph?

 

[flango]

Can you imagine any other country allowing their citizens to have a bit of fun with such an important means of identification? Am I to assume you've also drawn a moustache and glasses on your passport photograph?

I don't need to I have 2 current passports one issued in 2004 where I have full beard and moustache and one issued 2 years ago where I am totally clean shaven

But the main reason I have not drawn on my passport is that it actually has my correct name now unlike the USA our Government will not have a scheme where you can have your initials, nickname or whatever you want on your plate so it is left to the creativity of the individual.

The best one I have ever seen was in Atlanta which simply read B*llocks which is not a word used in the US so it must have been an English guy

Horses for courses and everyone is entitled to there own opinion

 

[Smarties]

Can you imagine any other country allowing their citizens to have a bit of fun with such an important means of identification?

Yes, The U.S.A

 

[MOCAŠ]

Yes, I think we should agree to differ on this one.

FWIW, I think the DVLA* will eventually come round to the idea of allowing drivers to specify their own number plates, but the point is that it wouldn't be a free-for-all. The system would still be subject to restrictions on what words could be used, whether a plate is already in use and the total number of characters allowed, so they would still need a strict policy to deal people who abuse the system.

Let's say you want "FLANAIA" on your plate but it's already taken (unlikely, I know) or was out of your price range (perhaps equally unlikely). You'd still be in trouble if you bought "FIANAIA" instead and placed a crafty screw cap after the first I.

EDIT: * I appreciate the DVLA can't just decide this by themselves, and that it would require revised legislation.

 

[MOCAŠ]

Yes, The U.S.A

I think you've misunderstood me. I was using the term "a bit of fun" in the context of the excuse someone might give for having altered their number plate.

The USA will not let you mess about with your number plate with impunity. It has to be displayed exactly as issued.

 

[neilrr]

They do provide some fun. I point at them & laugh, muttering "****er" when I see a particularly egregious example.

Pretty much sums up altered plates IMO.
YouTube - Best Of The Chaser's WOE: ****er number plates, S1 E20

It's the same as driving around on a false plate & as an earlier poster said, the car should be impounded. A big fine to help pay off the deficit & weekend Motoring Taste course should be mandatory.

You try altering your State issued number plate in the USA & I guarantee your car will be impounded on the spot, you will arrested & you will be in deep doodoo when you see the judge.

 

[NormanC]

The USA will not let you mess about with your number plate with impunity. It has to be displayed exactly as issued.

If I remember correctly it is the state/county/town that manufactures the plates (? in prisons? ) and issues them for fitting.

In a lot of cases the plate is our equivalent of a tax disc and they will confiscate them at the roadside if there is anything wrong with them. You then have to get the vehicle recovered until you can get new plates.

If our authorities were serious about stopping the "adjustment" of number plates this is all they need do, i.e. confiscate the plates at the roadside.

They may then start doing the same thing for using mobile phones whilst driving!