Wife stopped for illegal number plate...
Discussion
I'm not putting the picture up but she was stopped on the M56 Motorway for...
'Drive a vehicle when the registration mark fails to conform with regulations contrary to Contrary to section 59(1) of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 at M56 MANCHESTER on 04/01/2018 at 08.01 hrs' Sic
'Drive a vehicle when the registration mark fails to conform with regulations contrary to Contrary to section 59(1) of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 at M56 MANCHESTER on 04/01/2018 at 08.01 hrs' Sic
RA500 said:
I'm not putting the picture up but she was stopped on the M56 Motorway for...
'Drive a vehicle when the registration mark fails to conform with regulations contrary to Contrary to section 59(1) of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 at M56 MANCHESTER on 04/01/2018 at 08.01 hrs' Sic
Unfortunately that covers them for any illegality relating to the plate then - unlucky.'Drive a vehicle when the registration mark fails to conform with regulations contrary to Contrary to section 59(1) of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 at M56 MANCHESTER on 04/01/2018 at 08.01 hrs' Sic
You could try argue it's legal in court, hope they don't notice the stroke width and get hung up on plate size / margins if you are sure that is why they issued the FPN, but it's a massive risk and you are better off seeking compensation from the seller.
Reading the leaflet that leaflet they have omitted one small but very vital detail...
What are the tolerances on the measurements?
Give any engineer a drawing and one of the first things they'll look for are the the tolerances, It's all well and good saying the letters have to be a certain height/width etc but + or - how much?
How much can the letter be too big or too small before it becomes illegal?
What are the tolerances on the measurements?
Give any engineer a drawing and one of the first things they'll look for are the the tolerances, It's all well and good saying the letters have to be a certain height/width etc but + or - how much?
How much can the letter be too big or too small before it becomes illegal?
Breadvan72 said:
That plate looks dodgy. Pay up. Besides, having a personalised plate ought to be an imprisonable offence, so consider your wife lucky. I suppose it is an offence that carries its own punishment as a personalised plate is like a sign saying "I am a f
kwit".
Posts like yours point you out as a a fkwit". Edited by Breadvan72 on Saturday 13th January 15:50
kwit Caddyshack said:
Breadvan72 said:
That plate looks dodgy. Pay up. Besides, having a personalised plate ought to be an imprisonable offence, so consider your wife lucky. I suppose it is an offence that carries its own punishment as a personalised plate is like a sign saying "I am a fkwit".
Posts like yours point you out as a a fkwit". Edited by Breadvan72 on Saturday 13th January 15:50
kwit 
I was a bit more polite....BV probably just having a bad dayRA500 said:
I'm not putting the picture up but she was stopped on the M56 Motorway for...
langtounlad said:
Wow, the police choose to stop your car on a m'way for an illegal plate. If no other provocation by your wife then she has been v. unlucky. I'd probably fail the attitude test for that whilst watching all the MLM's driving past.
Are you sure that you have all the story OP?
Copper must be an idiot of have a death wish to stop on a Hard shoulder for that. Are you sure that you have all the story OP?
You shouldn't get that when all motorways are smart/ALR
with no HS.He needs to get another copy of the certificate from the manufacturer and take it to the Police Station with the car.
And address the situation from there. The copper has almost certainly started this off the back of the physical size of the plate. Deal with that and the chances of anyone even looking at stroke widths is negligible. They'll probably be too busy seeing if they can have you for bald tyres instead and then lose interest.
End of story
And address the situation from there. The copper has almost certainly started this off the back of the physical size of the plate. Deal with that and the chances of anyone even looking at stroke widths is negligible. They'll probably be too busy seeing if they can have you for bald tyres instead and then lose interest.
End of story
I'm going to assume the copper in question didn't have any calipers to hand and even if he did he'd already made the decision to pull OP's wife over which must've been based purely on the fact the plates are ""cut-down".
So despite the wording on the paperwork citing the relevant Act, if this went to court surely the copper would be asked exactly why he pulled the car over and following on from that which regs he believed the plate did not conform to?
The lettering may not be legal (by literally a mm or two), but there's no way OP would be found guilty on the basis of the plate size which is what the copper must've based his decision on.
I'd say take it to court and fight it. They'd likely only have a ruler available in court to measure them, so if OP takes the plates with him I can't see him being found guilty. Certainly not for the reason the copper would put forward.
So despite the wording on the paperwork citing the relevant Act, if this went to court surely the copper would be asked exactly why he pulled the car over and following on from that which regs he believed the plate did not conform to?
The lettering may not be legal (by literally a mm or two), but there's no way OP would be found guilty on the basis of the plate size which is what the copper must've based his decision on.
I'd say take it to court and fight it. They'd likely only have a ruler available in court to measure them, so if OP takes the plates with him I can't see him being found guilty. Certainly not for the reason the copper would put forward.
I ran a set of these plates and mine were fine legally speaking (i sold the car with them on among a spare set of full size ones). They met all the requires regulations for sizing so i would be highly surprised if the stroke set was wrong.
For your information having spoken with fourdot (Daniel Southern who i was dealing with) at length the whole range were reviewed by Herts police and the DVLA for compliance and type font.
I never got pulled with them though, i spoke with a few mot guys i know as well and they could see no issues either.
I suspect that he did not get measuring them up somehow though. I would remeasure the stroke and post it.
For your information having spoken with fourdot (Daniel Southern who i was dealing with) at length the whole range were reviewed by Herts police and the DVLA for compliance and type font.
I never got pulled with them though, i spoke with a few mot guys i know as well and they could see no issues either.
I suspect that he did not get measuring them up somehow though. I would remeasure the stroke and post it.
Edited by Ninja59 on Saturday 13th January 21:01
Red Devil said:
You were indeed the first to mention it. I followed up by asking the OP to confirm the precise wording on the FPN because that will be crucial if the matter were to be tested in court.
Any defence needs to be tailored to the actual specified charge* rather than some speculative PH alternative. If the former doesn't gel with the legislation it should be thrown out.
* A pic of the FPN (redacted where necessary) would remove all doubt. How about it OP?
Not quite as the wording on the fixed penalty is not ‘crucial’ if the matter is tested in court. If proceedings are instituted then a written charge will be issued to the defendant and it is that written charge which is subject of a trial. The prosecutor can amend the charge if there’s a perceived problem. Any defence needs to be tailored to the actual specified charge* rather than some speculative PH alternative. If the former doesn't gel with the legislation it should be thrown out.
* A pic of the FPN (redacted where necessary) would remove all doubt. How about it OP?
Court proceedings should be avoided if at all possible. Will the police agree to bin the case if shown relevant legislation, a certificate of conformity from the supplier and measurements (only if helpful)? It may assist to shelve the small plates and fit standard size plates with normal font. I agree with others that they look s
t.You can have your day in court (assuming they run it, which is doubtful) but forget about lost earnings. Despite what people have said or inferred, the court simply will not award you any lost income. If you instruct counsel or a solicitor (do not instruct a one-office ‘national’ solicitor) then the award of legal fees is capped at a low level. Court proceedings can mean that you are substantially out of pocket, even if you do win.
Ninja59 said:
I ran a set of these plates and mine were fine legally speaking (i sold the car with them on among a spare set of full size ones). They met all the requires regulations for sizing so i would be highly surprised if the stroke set was wrong.
For your information having spoken with fourdot (Daniel Southern who i was dealing with) at length the whole range were reviewed by Herts police and the DVLA for compliance and type font.
I never got pulled with them though, i spoke with a few mot guys i know as well and they could see no issues either.
I suspect that he did not get measuring them up somehow though. I would remeasure the stroke and post it.
Surely this closes the case ?For your information having spoken with fourdot (Daniel Southern who i was dealing with) at length the whole range were reviewed by Herts police and the DVLA for compliance and type font.
I never got pulled with them though, i spoke with a few mot guys i know as well and they could see no issues either.
I suspect that he did not get measuring them up somehow though. I would remeasure the stroke and post it.
Edited by Ninja59 on Saturday 13th January 21:01
speedyguy said:
Copper must be an idiot of have a death wish to stop on a Hard shoulder for that.
You shouldn't get that when all motorways are smart/ALR with no HS.
Also must have eyes better than a well-fed eagle on a good day to see less than 1mm difference on the stroke width from a moving car You shouldn't get that when all motorways are smart/ALR
with no HS.
As has been said, there is no tolerance on the requirements, so what exactly is the required stroke width? must be at least 14mm? If they increased to 25mm then maybe some characters wouldn't be clear? No character can be exactly 14mm wide - there will always be a tolerance. IANAL but even if they have issuing FPN on the stroke width (which is unlikely), the dimensions are within the 'spirit' of the requirements, the main requirement being that the plate is easily read - I can't see the prosecution having any merit.
REALIST123 said:
Take no notice. BV is one who can look a fkwit without any outside help.
‘Butthurt’ is a common phrase with him, presumably because having his oversized head up his own arse half the time is more than little painful.
He’s more to be pitied than scorned.
I used to think he made positive contributions on PH 'till I read this thread ...kwit without any outside help. ‘Butthurt’ is a common phrase with him, presumably because having his oversized head up his own arse half the time is more than little painful.
He’s more to be pitied than scorned.
When you see the number of utter t0ssers replying on this thread, it's inevitable that some of the police force have the same attitude problem. Personally I'd fight it out of principle, and expect plod to get a proper rebuking for wasting taxpayers money and trivial non-issues.
Escalation would be the way to go, the clown has a superior who I would suspect would rather not have his put in disrepute and get it quickly and silently dissolved. If not, at least if it gets that far you can demonstrate you tried to do the sensible thing despite complete plod muppetry.
I've seen enough to know winning out of principle is often a costly exercise and probably won't result in anything other than your own satisfaction, but it'll be one you can tell the grandkids as an experience to pass the mentality down the family line. Look at many replies on this thread - too many prison bhes to the system, someones gotta fight it!
Escalation would be the way to go, the clown has a superior who I would suspect would rather not have his put in disrepute and get it quickly and silently dissolved. If not, at least if it gets that far you can demonstrate you tried to do the sensible thing despite complete plod muppetry.
I've seen enough to know winning out of principle is often a costly exercise and probably won't result in anything other than your own satisfaction, but it'll be one you can tell the grandkids as an experience to pass the mentality down the family line. Look at many replies on this thread - too many prison b
hes to the system, someones gotta fight it!Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff