Dirty number plates

[The Moan Ranger]

This has been bugging me for a while.

I've noticed an inordinate number of cars whose rear number plate is illegible due to road crud. Often, the car itself is fairly clean. Are these people doing it on purpose, possibly to aviod being Gatso'd? Does the aerodynamic design of new cars contribute?

I'm sure plod will pull you if you have no number plate, but do they also pull these people?

[Snoopy]

Yes, no and ...er............Yes.

It is an offence to have an unreadable number plate and Plod will pull you for it, if they have nothing better to do, if it's not raining and if they are not too busy eating donuts.

[The Moan Ranger]

I know of no-one who has been pulled for a dirty plate, although Man Whore has failed MOTs because of it. But not if they are good looking :-)

Come to think of it, I wasn't ever pulled for riding without a number plate...

[Snoopy]

Most rozzers can't be bothered as it is only a fixed penalty ticket ~ unless they're short of figures for that week's stats.

[The Moan Ranger]

Which - dirty plate or none at all, or both?

If they really can't be bothered, then why don't we all drive/ride around without any - that'd give them something to think about. King Newt would go apoplectic. Sounds like a plan...

[Snoopy]

Yes Both I suspect.
It seems that most can't be arsed as they know that the majority of drivers will say "Oh sorry officer, I'll wipe it off with a rag and stick the car through a carwash just as soon as I can" There is an offence of driving with a dirty windscreen that they don't bother with either. Too much paperwork for little kudos back at the nick to push such "charges".

It would be the North Wales Taleban led by the Mad Mullah AKA Richard Brunstrom but this says it all really:

Pilot project introduced to clean up dirty number plates

Warning over dirty number plates

The use of new police cameras to read car number plates means drivers and enforcement agencies must tighten up their act, a motoring body claims.

The AA Motoring Trust said automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras cannot read plates obscured by dirt or with incorrect character spacing.

It said a man with a customised plate was stopped in north Wales because officers did not think it was genuine.

A police spokesman said number plate defects could trigger a spot check.

Police forces across the UK are making increasing use of ANPR cameras, which scan a number plate and then search a database of more than 35 million registrations in just four seconds.

If the registration matches one of the estimated one million "wanted" vehicles on the system, an alert is sounded to the roadside police patrol.

A pilot project by 23 police forces in England and Wales between June 2003 and June 2004 saw more than 180,000 vehicles stopped and more than 3,300 arrests for driving offences.

Also, 13,499 people quizzed at the roadside were later arrested for non-driving offences such as drugs and burglary.

The AA Motoring Trust has claimed the cameras could also see law-abiding motorists mistaken for criminals.

It said innocent motorists could be pulled over if the camera system cannot read a number plate due to it being dirty or having an incorrect spacing of its letters or numbers.

The trust said a driver in north Wales who had customised a plate he had bought in Northern Ireland was recently pulled over by an ANPR team who at first refused to accept the registration, which spelt the man's name, was genuine.

The trust claims vehicle owners may also find themselves being stopped because their registration had been cloned by criminals and used to evade prosecution for speeding, illegal parking, insurance and other offences.

Paul Watters, head of roads and transport policy for the trust, said drivers needed to be aware that prosecution was now more likely if they failed to keep their number plates street legal.

'False record'

He said: "Whereas, in the past, police officers may have unofficially turned a blind eye to number plates covered in mud or customised registrations unless they needed to stop a car, ANPR may mean that the days of the fancy or dirty plate are numbered."

Mr Watters said the accuracy and up-keep of data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (Government) in Swansea would be "critical" to ensure enforcement based on ANPR.

North Wales Police Inspector Alan Brown said officers using an ANPR system could not know what defect in a registration place had prompted an alert until the vehicle had been stopped.

He said: "If the size, type and spacing of the lettering on the vehicle number plate are not in accordance with traffic legislation, then our ANPR computer will be triggered and officers will stop the vehicle.

"Obviously, once officers have stopped the vehicle, they have a range of options, from a verbal warning through to reporting for summons."

 

[Snoopy]

And as a PS a direct quote lifted from the Highway Code

Vehicle maintenance, safety and security
Vehicle maintenance

Take special care that lights, brakes, steering, exhaust system, seat belts, demisters, wipers and washers are all working. Also

    * lights, indicators, reflectors, and number plates MUST be kept clean and clear
    * windscreens and windows MUST be kept clean and free from obstructions to vision
    * lights MUST be properly adjusted to prevent dazzling other road users. Extra attention needs to be paid to this if the vehicle is heavily loaded
    * exhaust emissions MUST NOT exceed prescribed levels
    * ensure your seat, seat belt, head restraint and mirrors are adjusted correctly before you drive
    * ensure that items of luggage are securely stowed

[Laws RVLR 1989 regs 23 & 27 & CUR 1986, regs 30 & 61]

So ~ lazy coppers seems to be the answer to your questions.

[The Moan Ranger]

A fullsome response. Ta. Still don't know why they didn't try to pull me when I lapped the M25 in 55 minutes without a plate...

[grumpyoldsoldier]

Was the thread craftily orchestrated in order to do some cock waving

[Darwins Selection]

I lapped the M25 without a plate...

 

[Berek]

number plates can be cleaned here at the Bulgarian car washing service on Roose Road, prices start at £4:99

[Barman]

I think you can get dirty number plate spray can’t you? Specifically designed so that scameras can’t read them… some kind of techno-mud that reflects light… prolly…. 

[Uncle Mort]

A fullsome response. Ta. Still don't know why they didn't try to pull me when I lapped the M25 in 55 minutes without a plate...

An average speed of 128mph?

 

[TG]

...eating donuts...

The preffered copper fodder round here is kebabs. I went in our local kebab house on friday and there were FOUR coppers loading up on suspicious meat products.

Fat bastards. 

[The Moan Ranger]

A fullsome response. Ta. Still don't know why they didn't try to pull me when I lapped the M25 in 55 minutes without a plate...

An average speed of 128mph?

 

  It was about 2.30AM and there were two of us on different bikes - starting and finishing at Clackett Lane services. We thought it would be a "giggle" after reading about it. In truth, it scared the purple piss out of me.