Tax disc - pragmatic reality?

[C8PPO]

The "pragmatic reality" is that since everything is now recorded and checked electronically, the tax disc is an anachronism which should be ditched for all vehicles!

[sjtscott]

Mine just lives on the bike. I did have one get either stolen or more likely the holder rusted through and fell off on one bike. Meant a lovely trip to the London DVLA office in Wimbledon to get a replacement, not the most pleasant of experiences but hey it worked.
I figure that with ANPR that you're more likely to get pinged off your plate not being taxed on the system than via a physical check anymore - however I wouldn't want the disc not to be on while parked on a public street just in case.

[Rocket Pepper]

C8PPO said:

The "pragmatic reality" is that since everything is now recorded and checked electronically, the tax disc is an anachronism which should be ditched for all vehicles!

Agreed. Let the bdios work for their electronic competency I say.

[jon-]

Never bothered showing one, kept it under the seat. Tax disc holder just look ugly anyway.

[toxgobbler]

cyberface said:

When I bought my CBR600 from Budget Bikes in Shoreditch, the sales geezer gave me the bike, which had a two year-old tax disc on it, when I'd been told it had a new MOT and a month's tax left. True to form, the MOT was there, and the tax disc (which expired yesterday) was unopened in with the full service history.

I asked why the current disc wasn't on the bike and he said that 'they always get stolen, so most people don't bother putting the discs on their bikes'.

OK, so I've just bought another year's tax for my bike, and I'm not sure what to do. On my scooters, two of them were stolen before the tax ran out, whereas the other one I didn't bother taxing at all after the first year and never had a problem (and I rode that thing like a tt as well...)

Is it the 'pragmatic' thing to leave an old disc on the bike, and keep the tax up to date with your documents so ANPR won't flag anything (as it's taxed and insured correctly)??? Or is it just asking for serious trouble? I park the bike in the local car park (no offroad parking for me, unfortunately) and the traffic Nazis are *very* quick at ticketing cars with no tax (I had to argue with the council when I turned up in the morning with a new disc to find I'd already been ticketed, at 7:45 am - they rescinded the ticket but with a 'just this once' schoolmistress attitude, morons) - but my bike has been sitting in the car park for more than a month now with expired tax and no tickets.

I assume that if the police stop me, and I'm not riding like a moron, then 'discretion' will likely get me a producer (in which case I have the correct dated tax disc), or will the police automatically go mental if I claim that I haven't displayed the disc because I don't want it stolen?

Do people really nick tax discs off bikes anyway? Was the sales geezer just leading me up the garden path?

I scan the tax disk and have the colour copy on the bike, the code is correct for plod and if some swine has it I have the original and can rescan.

[Zead]

I had one stolen once and didn't notice til I re-taxed it. Lucky I reported it as I got a parking ticket from the cloned bike. I was advised at the time by plod to put a good colour copy in the holder for wardens to see. If plod do an ANPR then it automatically comes up anyway. I keep original and a spare copy in my wallet. My holder glass is old and gnarly and as the copy weathers, it all looks fine.

[Conian]

Aye the law says that a valid tax disk must be displayed, you just need that 1 snidey copper to tug you and you get points whether the disk is in your wallet or not.

Wouldn't like to think about the legality of using copies! Any BiB wanna shed some light on that one?

[Hyperion]

Conian said:

Aye the law says that a valid tax disk must be displayed, you just need that 1 snidey copper to tug you and you get points whether the disk is in your wallet or not.

Wouldn't like to think about the legality of using copies! Any BiB wanna shed some light on that one?

I would have thought the act of photocopying a tax disk is illegal in itself - let alone displaying it?

[mi1ne]

even if they check you do have vaid tax from your reg number, they will do you for failure to display. (depends if its a jobsworth copper or not)

[Mr Gear]

Hyperion said:

I would have thought the act of photocopying a tax disk is illegal in itself - let alone displaying it?

According to the copper that stopped me, it counts as fraud, but interestingly, the copper who asked me to do a producer way back in 1997 when I was pottering around on my RXS100 recommended I do just that!

But how could I ever prove this advice was verbally given to me over 10 years ago?

[Glade]

Highway Code said:

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED)

All motor vehicles used or kept on public roads MUST display a valid Vehicle Excise Duty disc (tax disc) displayed at all times. Even motor vehicles exempt from duty MUST display a tax disc at all times.

[Law VERA sects 29 and 33]
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Hig...

Not sure if it is an endorsable offence (e.g. wether you get points for it). £80 fine IIRC.

I forgot to put my new disk on, and didn't realise until the next year when the new disk came through. Never had one stolen, never had it checked - even when I had my accident & tug for speeding - they did it all via computer.

Edited by Glade on Wednesday 3rd September 12:30

[Conian]

Sales rep where I work checked with cops because the company had posted his new tax disk to the wrong address, would take 2 days to sort out, cops told him if he drives without the disk in the car he'd get points.

[Orb the Impaler]

In the past I've stuck a colour photocopy of the disc on the bike - by the time they've got a bit faded and wet a few times nobody can tell - especially since I 'laminate' them in sticky back plastic. These days I just use the original, laminate it and stick it to the left hand fork leg - it's not something a casual thief can get off all that easily.