Wots the laws on number plates???
 

Does anyone know the law and what you can get away with, i made my own relocator with a 10 inch gap between the indys, and idealy i want a 10X3 plate, with legal font lettering, will i get away with just a warning if they can be arsed to stop me? Or do they issue points

i was told by a northampton police officer that you won't get done just for having a illegal plate as long as it's not taking the p*ss e.g that it is readable at a distance.he did also say that if you comited a majour offence things like number plates and pipes would then be used

thats northampton though

I ride sometimes with a guy from the ministry and he was saying that they wont just do you if it is the number plate alone, he also said that they wont bother with the cans aslong as it isnt stamped with not for road use because some cars have bigger and noisier pipes than some bikes.

On the other hand my mate just got done for his plate for not using the right font and dark visor.

For the law...go here DVLA FAQ
As for practicality...
As Glyn says,that's Northampton though...pretty much the same here in Notts, however go into, say, Lincs and it would be Goodnight Vienna, a colleague at work got done in that fine County for digits 4mm too small ( height ) but the slightly better news is it does not carry points.
If your bike is a 51 reg or newer then the single line plate on a bike is illegal anyway, from 1.9.01 all bike plates must be two lines.
Getting stopped for a plate just allows closer inspection of various bits.... pipes & visors spring to mind!
Have fun anyway...
Andy

A single line plate is ilegal no matter when the vehicle was first registered

" Motorcycles registered on or after 1 September 2001 must display a two-line number plate number plate. Motorcycles registered prior to the 1 September 2001 may display a three-line plate, but one-line plates are illegal, irrespective of the date of registration of the motorcycle. "

No points but a maximum of a £1000 fine. If they repeatedly stop you they can withdraw the number which means you have to get a Q plate.

Why give them a reason to stop you and find something more serious wrong?

[Edited on 2-1-2005 by rockhopper]

Sorry Andy, i overlapped with you.

The last update I had was that the Q plate idea has been challenged and the DVLA can't actually do it.
Q plates are solely for vehicles whose year of manufacture / first use in the UK are not verifiable.
You know the year of registration otherwise it would have a Q plate already, wouldn't it?.
They can take a cherished number from you or remove your current number & issue you with another one but it would still be the same year as the original.

quote "why give them a reason to stop you and find something more serious wrong?"

What serious faults are you riding around with then?:o
Or is this just another misconception?

Thats what i thought as well. Maybe the Q plate idea was an attempt at punishment becasue it effects the resale value of the vehicle and makes insurance difficult.

The DVLA web site dosent actually mention a Q plate, just that the original number may be withdrawn.

Personally? Non that i know of but i wouldn't want my time wasted at the side of the road while they attempt to find something.



[Edited on 2-1-2005 by rockhopper]

Do they do that then?:D

A lot of people are riding arround with termi's so that's the possibility of two fines plus an inspection, which is a lot of hassle.

Here's the Answer



http://www.olavsplates.com/great_britain_slow.html

I have B4 ULC (Now on retention) when it was on my car i had it Configured B4UL C but had 2 Screws in the bottom of the B to make look like P4UL C and to be fair it looked pretty good actually. Got stopped by some Jobs worth Traffic :pig: who gave me a £30 Fixed Penalty. I also got a letter off the DVLA saying it was in breach of the Rules etc and they will revoke it if i carry on.

The Dvla say you cant alter or space numbers etc to make a name!!!


so go on www.dvla-som.com
and see the plates up for auction (**** takers )) they make thousands out of it;)

secondly the truth be hind small number plates is that in an accident people cant see the plate ie (witneses)


and they say the camera wont pick up the numbers!!!

why do they lie?

it's a fact that the reason you have the POST CODE AND dealers name on the bottom of the plate
is so the camera can detect it and issue the fine/ fixed penalty !!

so why lie ?

small plates are just another excuse to earn revenue!!

..mav

But Surely a witness would Remember a Number Plate like the one i have, Rather than say usual random Numbers like H863 JYF

Sorry Mav, but have you ever looked at the pictures created by either static or mobile cameras?
Thats just not true about the post code etc. That was introduced in an attempt to stop just anyone making up a numberplate for any number!
If you are talking speed cameras then, Its true a camera will take a picture when activated, It will however take whats on or not on the vehicle. I could show you hundreds of unreadable plates. I do know they will use whatevers available to identify the vehicle/user though in this case.

If you are talking ANPR then the cameras do struggle with small or Italic stuff, or on the plates where someone has stuck a rake load of screws in it in an attempt to make it read something else gives a similar result.

Incidentally my personal view on the ones that are over spaced or need a load of screws to attempt to make something, is that they look appauling most of the time, and tend to ruin the quality of the vehicle! :barfy:

I wouldnt want to give the game away ( well no more than the numerous tv cop shows do), but when you see the sort of criminals/ crimal activity that can be frustrated using a camera reading a number plate, its a viable action which unfortunately needs enforcement on the standard of number plates.

No worries Andy my mistake mate! :D

But i do have a way of flushing things out ;)


Hope mine is not too bad !!:cool:


Kind regards mav

Same as Mr C.

I have a private plate that the wife got me.

M3DYC.......(I work as a medic, but reckon the plate reads more like ME DICK.....haven't got the heart to tell her she thought she was being original)

I have a rediculously small plate on the back of mine and got the £30 fixed penalty pull in the summer.

Asked the copper if he wanted to save himself the hasssle of all the paperwork and just stick the 30 quid in his pocket.............talk about a total sense of humour failure:lol:

Got the letter from DVLA as well, gently reminding me that the plate officially still belongs to them and they can retain it at anytime and put the bike on an 04 plate should i get stopped again.

My reason for the small plate?

I think the back end looks hidious with that stupid big metal bracket hanging down off the exhaust so i had Berto whip it off and modify it.........no other reason, the plate is clearly visible, the bike is brand new they can rip it to bits all they want.

Regards

ScottyB

[Edited on 3-1-2005 by ScottyB]

i got done in essex for an illegal plate, all on on line and too small so fair enough. the guy said it was because camera's need to be able to read your plate. but that was a bit of a curve ball as a camera had read mine only a week earlier!

still i was in the wrong and he didnt bother with my termi's or dark visor.

to be fair i was asking for it with them all on one line and will be changing that for this year. incidentally another bike went past with a small plate but in standard format ie square and he said he probably wouldnt have pulled him.

My wife and I got stopped at a check point at Rye Sussex where several officers were checking nothing other than reg plates Sue's plate on her Hornet was found to be millimeters undersize when they used the template to check it. The officer said that normally he would not have even noticed that it was not the correct size. This however did not stop him giving her a fixed penalty. Thet completely ignored her race can.Two guys on sports bikes with really small plates were there when we were stopped and were still having their details checked and their plates photoed when we we left

'You won't get done just for having a illegal plate' well I’d have to argue with that I got done at 6:30am whilst filling up with petrol what else could I have done wrong

Maybe you should have waited until the petrol station was open :lol:

Interesting, I would have thought that a petrol station was private property, not the public highway, but I could be wrong

He was in the petrol station when I pulled in, he then went out on to the road and waited for me to pull out onto the road

That sucks,

I think that the "you won't get stopped for just a small plate" is always up to the individual officer. It will also reflect the policy of each counties force.

I have noticed that it more people seem to be stopped near well known biker haunts.

[Edited on 3-1-2005 by electricsheep]

I have a standard plate on the ST-mind you they are not the most attractive bike to start with so..............
I have also gone back to standard cans-I live by the A1 and when you hear the number of IL4's screaming up and down on a weekend it makes you think-I get fed up with them, so what do non bikers feel about it. The ST range always seem to be very LOUD on open pipes-much more so the 9** range, it was giving Jo a headache when she was pillion.
Now the only reason I have to get pulled is a dark visor or me riding like a tw4t.

John

Small number plates,

Why bother at all, the fine is only the same for no number plate at all!!

best not to get caught too often though as the PD take a very dim view of multiple offences.

Ray

well said ray

there was a guy who rode around my town on a cr4escent rep gsxr1000 like a tw*t who i never saw with a number plate on all summer, first time i thought it was funny as i ddint think he knew but 3 months later and he was still riding like it

i got stopped a while back and he let me off my plate, its square but is a inch smaller and has holograpghic lettering, luckily he liked it !!!