Spacing number plates? Legality?

[Engineer1]

Consider if you run the characters together it may be difficult to tell if it was 11 or U at at a distance or with a quick glance, besides why shouldn't there be a standardised format for the car's numberplate?

[Red Devil]

Engineer1 said:

Consider if you run the characters together it may be difficult to tell if it was 11 or U at at a distance or with a quick glance, besides why shouldn't there be a standardised format for the car's numberplate?

Unless someone has played silly with a strategically placed fixing screw/bolt, it shouldn't be that hard to differentiate. In any case, if you think about the possible combinations of numbers and letters, the example you mention will have a very restricted range of potential alternatives.

Indeed. Why shouldn't there be? Equally why should there? Provided the characters are legible what does it matter how they are spaced? V1CKY is just as easy to interpret as V1 CKY. The former is possibly even easier to recall as it is has an obvious logic to it.

[saaby93]

Red Devil said:

Indeed. Why shouldn't there be? Equally why should there? Provided the characters are legible what does it matter how they are spaced? V1CKY is just as easy to interpret as V1 CKY. The former is possibly even easier to recall as it is has an obvious logic to it.

Why cant you buy VICKY ?

[Red Devil]

saaby93 said:

Red Devil said:

Indeed. Why shouldn't there be? Equally why should there? Provided the characters are legible what does it matter how they are spaced? V1CKY is just as easy to interpret as V1 CKY. The former is possibly even easier to recall as it is has an obvious logic to it.

Why cant you buy VICKY ?

My credit card is maxed out. Besides she costs far too much for a poor little country boy like me.

If you meant for my car, I can. But only as a show plate which I have no use for because I
- Am not a female
- Do not have a wife, g/f, or daughter by that name who might possibly want such a plate.
- Live in the UK not the USA which is probably the only place I could use it on the public road.

[mybrainhurts]

If you get pulled twice (thrice?), DVLA can get all sulky and confiscate the reg...

[jjprice]

HowMuchLonger said:

Tiggsy said:

If your plate is V1cky then your car better be over £60k otherwise the ratio of plate cost to car cost makes you look like a tool. One also assumes you have you name stuck on your house in an equally dumb manner!

I don't think this plate makes the owner look like a tool. Seems to me that they don't need to impress the neighbours with the latest model of car.

I don't either. Why oh why must one conform to the general publics perception.

In a lot of the plate to car worth ratio cases they have been inherited in some form. I personally know people who for example are in between countries, have sold their UK car and wanted to just transfer their reg to a friend of families car until their return. One had an £80k plate which he gave to his brother to put on his mini cooper whislt he was abroad.

Whilst we're on the subject the funniest one I've seen to date is "H1" on a 2003 TOYOTA AVENSIS VERMONT VVT-I AUTO

Also T4 on a 1999 honda civic ( which is for sale btw for £200k)



Plenty more plate pics here

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.45185888...

[baftacat]

Possibly my most favourite mis spaced 'Chav plate'

Mr Blobby's car?!.....

[br d]

I have a chav plate, currently on retention. It is E8 RAD, I moved the 8 across to read (no prizes for guessing) E 8RAD.
A legal font, legal format plate and no feckng around with screws or anything. When I first fitted it, being mindful of stuff I had read on here, I went up to my local ANPR base where the two cars who do all the patrols in my area are based to ask their advice.

Both the drivers were there at the time and both were entirely happy with it. One of them took a lot of time and trouble to show me their cars and equipment and said the computers would have no problem with recognising the plate so he had no objection. He was a really decent guy, a petrol head through and through.
He even gave me his card and said that if any local plod pulled me for it to tell them to ring him and he would put them straight. I decided against this but never needed it anyway. I had it on a car for 5 years and didn't get a single pull.

Of course to JaguarSteve having this plate makes me an egocentric, criminal, mouth breathing Essex scum ball with an orange slag of a wife and no morals.

But the police didn't mind.

Edited by br d on Friday 7th June 00:08

[dingg]

br d said:

I have a chav plate, currently on retention. It is E8 RAD, I moved the 8 across to read (no prizes for guessing) E 8RAD.
A legal font, legal format plate and no feckng around with screws or anything. When I first fitted it, being mindful of stuff I had read on here, I went up to my local ANPR base where the two cars who do all the patrols in my area are based to ask their advice.

Both the drivers were there at the time and both were entirely happy with it. One of them took a lot of time and trouble to show me their cars and equipment and said the computers would have no problem with recognising the plate so he had no objection. He was a really decent guy, a petrol head through and through.
He even gave me his card and said that if any local plod pulled me for it to tell them to ring him and he would put them straight. I decided against this but never needed it anyway. I had it on a car for 5 years and didn't get a single pull.

Of course to JaguarSteve having this plate makes me an egocentric, criminal, mouth breathing Essex scum ball with an orange slag of a wife and no morals.




But the police didn't mind.

Edited by br d on Friday 7th June 00:08

The police were wrong to tell you that as one of them WILL sooner or later do you with a £60 fixed penalty for failure to display with correct spacing , once that happens it becomes a more regular occurrence until either
(a you get so pissed off with it you put the spacing correctly (all those fines soon mount up)
or (b the DVLA confiscate the plate and game over




maybe the police are lackadaisical in your case , BUT I am speaking from personnel experience too

[herewego]

br d said:

I have a chav plate, currently on retention. It is E8 RAD, I moved the 8 across to read (no prizes for guessing) E 8RAD.
A legal font, legal format plate and no feckng around with screws or anything. When I first fitted it, being mindful of stuff I had read on here, I went up to my local ANPR base where the two cars who do all the patrols in my area are based to ask their advice.

Both the drivers were there at the time and both were entirely happy with it. One of them took a lot of time and trouble to show me their cars and equipment and said the computers would have no problem with recognising the plate so he had no objection. He was a really decent guy, a petrol head through and through.
He even gave me his card and said that if any local plod pulled me for it to tell them to ring him and he would put them straight. I decided against this but never needed it anyway. I had it on a car for 5 years and didn't get a single pull.

Of course to JaguarSteve having this plate makes me an egocentric, criminal, mouth breathing Essex scum ball with an orange slag of a wife and no morals.

But the police didn't mind.

Edited by br d on Friday 7th June 00:08

I find the idea of one cop calling another to be put straight quite funny. "8RAD's OK let him go", "Oh OK"

[pitmansboots]

It's a registration number on a car FFS. Why not just put it on correctly.

X5, X6 and M5 of BMW's; the model is already on there.

The penalty should be £100.00 and compulsory head testing.

To the OP, moving it as suggested is unlawful.

[br d]

herewego said:

I find the idea of one cop calling another to be put straight quite funny. "8RAD's OK let him go", "Oh OK"

That's why I decided against doing it if I ever got tugged. Can't imagine anything that would wind a copper up more than some smug git pulling out a card and saying "Well, this bloke says I'm allowed!"

Instant nick I think!

[CAPP0]

Milky Joe said:

Your number plate should show the correct:

•space between characters - 11 millimetres
•space between groups - 33 millimetres

I have a ** *** personal plate, which represents a 5-letter word (to me). What I did was have the plate made up with the space between the groups at 17mm, ie half what the rules state, but more than the space between characters. It did fail the MOT the first time I took it in like that but I haven't attracted any other unwanted attention.

I realise that this makes me some sort of pox-ridden outcast in certain PH circles, but hey!

[Tiggsy]

Is it not cheaper to leave the plate alone and just right in marker pen on the boot. You could have a word of your choice, in any colour and font?

[KevinOctiScout]

baftacat said:

Possibly my most favourite mis spaced 'Chav plate'

Mr Blobby's car?!.....

That is not mis-spaced that is illegal, the letters do not conform to the legislation

[2stis]

pitmansboots said:

Why not just put it on correctly.

X5, X6 and M5 of BMW's; the model is already on there.

Whilst not saying that a cherished number on these is a good idea, these guys are not so likely to be guilty of mis-spacing though are they? A letter then a single number is supposed to have a space after before the next block of characters? So X6 WOW would be okay (well, legal!), unless you are talking about X5 00 YEH or something along those lines, where more than a single digit has been used?

[TOV!E]

Tiggsy said:

If your plate is V1cky then your car better be over £60k otherwise the ratio of plate cost to car cost makes you look like a tool. One also assumes you have you name stuck on your house in an equally dumb manner!

You jealous wker

[ED209]

Stoofa said:

The thing is - if you mis-space the plate you can be reported to the DVLA who in turn can take the plate off you.
So imagine you've got a "really great" plate that cost a fair amount and suddenly it is taken away from you.
In addition your car could then be issued with a Q plate - which can make it more difficult to insure.

This is all things that "could" happen - but is it really worth it?
You can be pulled at any time for a £60 fine.
There is rumour it might become endorseable.


The "best" plates don't need re-spacing.
I personally think a lot of the re-spaced plates just look very meh.

Wrong about the q plate, it would get put in a normal age related plates.

[CRA1G]

TOV!E said:

Tiggsy said:

If your plate is V1cky then your car better be over £60k otherwise the ratio of plate cost to car cost makes you look like a tool. One also assumes you have you name stuck on your house in an equally dumb manner!

You jealous wker

"V1 CKY" Sold in November 2000 at a DVLA Sale for £33500 +VAT etc so 40K plus 13 years ago so yea easy 60K today.