S172 - Registration mark fails to conform.

[Drawweight]

NMNeil said:

Magnum 475 said:

I'm not that old, but I really don't get this obsession with plates. It's a registration plate FFS. It's a yellow / white rectangle with some letters & numbers on it. It doesn't do anything. It's not 'special', it's not 'clever', it certainly doesn't say anything, it's just a unique identifier for a vehicle. Why waste time & money trying to make it something it's not, especially when doing so can attract undesirable attention from PC Plod?

So it's not just me who can't understand this 'cherished' number plate fascination.
Drivers pay a lot on money so they can drive down the road in the hope that someone will see the expensive number plate, and think that the driver is really something special because the plate say's "look at me everyone, my number plate spells our xxxxx".
I wonder what Freud would have made of it all

See I can’t see anything wrong with personal plates.

Is there any difference between driving down a road with a personal plate than with metallic paint or a set of alloy wheels?

Do you point at cars like that and call them out for wasting their money?

[InitialDave]

Drawweight said:

See I can’t see anything wrong with personal plates.

Is there any difference between driving down a road with a personal plate than with metallic paint or a set of alloy wheels?

Do you point at cars like that and call them out for wasting their money?

I believe where he lives you can have pretty much anything you want for £10-£20 anyway, so hardly a small fortune.

[Magnum 475]

Drawweight said:

NMNeil said:

Magnum 475 said:

I'm not that old, but I really don't get this obsession with plates. It's a registration plate FFS. It's a yellow / white rectangle with some letters & numbers on it. It doesn't do anything. It's not 'special', it's not 'clever', it certainly doesn't say anything, it's just a unique identifier for a vehicle. Why waste time & money trying to make it something it's not, especially when doing so can attract undesirable attention from PC Plod?

So it's not just me who can't understand this 'cherished' number plate fascination.
Drivers pay a lot on money so they can drive down the road in the hope that someone will see the expensive number plate, and think that the driver is really something special because the plate say's "look at me everyone, my number plate spells our xxxxx".
I wonder what Freud would have made of it all

See I can’t see anything wrong with personal plates.

Is there any difference between driving down a road with a personal plate than with metallic paint or a set of alloy wheels?

Do you point at cars like that and call them out for wasting their money?

I'll just wade back in...

I get that some people want a different number plate, although I will never understand why. It's a craze that makes no sense to me, but we're all different.

The big point I would make, that defies all logic, is why anyone would do this:

1. Spend a reasonably large amount of money buying the right to display a specific number plate

2. Persuade someone to make a thoroughly illegal, butchered up version of the plate - presumably by saying "It's a show plate, honest"

3. Drive around proudly displaying their illegal plate and waiting for Plod to nick them

At best, this is going to get them a small fine. At worst, Plod will ask DVLA to take their plate back - but they're not getting a refund of the money that they paid for it.

I fail to see why anyone would do this.

[Drawweight]

Magnum 475 said:

I'll just wade back in...

I get that some people want a different number plate, although I will never understand why. It's a craze that makes no sense to me, but we're all different.

The big point I would make, that defies all logic, is why anyone would do this:

1. Spend a reasonably large amount of money buying the right to display a specific number plate

2. Persuade someone to make a thoroughly illegal, butchered up version of the plate - presumably by saying "It's a show plate, honest"

3. Drive around proudly displaying their illegal plate and waiting for Plod to nick them

At best, this is going to get them a small fine. At worst, Plod will ask DVLA to take their plate back - but they're not getting a refund of the money that they paid for it.

I fail to see why anyone would do this.

We’re talking about related but different scenarios.

A ‘personal’ plate which may or may not have some relatively to the car or owner. Nothing wrong with that and each to their own….see my comment on alloys or metallic paint.

Then we have the scenario you present of butchered, altered plates which are illegal. People will always be stupid and that goes in the same class as stretched tyres, illegal exhausts and over tinted windows. I agree with you on that point. If you can’t find or afford the plate you want then don’t alter the one nearest to it.

[LordBretSinclair]

Gareth79 said:

Saleen836 said:

Gareth79 said:

Saleen836 said:

DodgyGeezer said:

Another thing to bear in mind is that the police don't always know the full rules/regs when it comes to number plates. Be 101% sure of your legality and if you are have your day (so to speak)

Agree with the above
I got pulled by a PC who gave the reason "your rear number plate is too small so illegal" I pointed out that my car was an import so was legally allowed to have smaller plates as it states on the DVLA website,PC gets on the radio to the traffic sergeant who insisted that as my car was on UK plates the plates had to conform to DVLA regs so were illegal, I drove home printed off the relevant section from DVLA site and took it to the police station with my rectification notice, officer on the desk looked at it and said " on your way sir"

It's not just being an import which matters though, it needs to be an import without type approval AND not have space to fit a standard plate. An interesting point is that if a standard plate can't be fitted and a smaller one is, then both plates MUST use the smaller characters. eg. if you can't fit a standard plate to the rear then the front must also use the small characters too, even if a normal one could be fitted.

Mine is imported from the USA so all the above criteria are met I do however run a standard size plate on the front

Here's the reg. and the wording which I was referring to: "(2) In relation to a vehicle to which this regulation applies— (a)each character in the registration mark must be 64 millimetres high;".

Obviously absolutely nobody would care that normal plates are used on the front, and the reality is that having a single-line plate with "motorcycle digits" on the front of a car would result in being pulled over by the police quite often (but two-line ones are obviously very common on US/Japanese imports).

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/561/regul...

Excuse my lack of knowledge (and this will give Oceanrower an opportunity to call me thick as well as deluded) but is this the reason that classic American cars on UK roads can display what appears to be a totally non-conforming registration plate ???

[Oceanrower]

LordBretSinclair said:

Gareth79 said:

Saleen836 said:

Gareth79 said:

Saleen836 said:

DodgyGeezer said:

Another thing to bear in mind is that the police don't always know the full rules/regs when it comes to number plates. Be 101% sure of your legality and if you are have your day (so to speak)

Agree with the above
I got pulled by a PC who gave the reason "your rear number plate is too small so illegal" I pointed out that my car was an import so was legally allowed to have smaller plates as it states on the DVLA website,PC gets on the radio to the traffic sergeant who insisted that as my car was on UK plates the plates had to conform to DVLA regs so were illegal, I drove home printed off the relevant section from DVLA site and took it to the police station with my rectification notice, officer on the desk looked at it and said " on your way sir"

It's not just being an import which matters though, it needs to be an import without type approval AND not have space to fit a standard plate. An interesting point is that if a standard plate can't be fitted and a smaller one is, then both plates MUST use the smaller characters. eg. if you can't fit a standard plate to the rear then the front must also use the small characters too, even if a normal one could be fitted.

Mine is imported from the USA so all the above criteria are met I do however run a standard size plate on the front

Here's the reg. and the wording which I was referring to: "(2) In relation to a vehicle to which this regulation applies— (a)each character in the registration mark must be 64 millimetres high;".

Obviously absolutely nobody would care that normal plates are used on the front, and the reality is that having a single-line plate with "motorcycle digits" on the front of a car would result in being pulled over by the police quite often (but two-line ones are obviously very common on US/Japanese imports).

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/561/regul...

Excuse my lack of knowledge (and this will give Oceanrower an opportunity to call me thick as well as deluded) but is this the reason that classic American cars on UK roads can display what appears to be a totally non-conforming registration plate ???

I’ll stick with deluded.

I don’t understand that either so obviously we’re both thick…

[BertBert]

Drawweight said:

We’re talking about related but different scenarios.

A ‘personal’ plate which may or may not have some relatively to the car or owner. Nothing wrong with that and each to their own….see my comment on alloys or metallic paint.

Then we have the scenario you present of butchered, altered plates which are illegal. People will always be stupid and that goes in the same class as stretched tyres, illegal exhausts and over tinted windows. I agree with you on that point. If you can’t find or afford the plate you want then don’t alter the one nearest to it.

Why does your argument need those emotive words? Does it not stand without "butchered"?

Why not stick with illegal? And who is to say that the law is the arbiter of good taste? In fact that doesn't feel very likely to me.

[Armchair_Expert]

Magnum 475 said:

I'm not that old, but I really don't get this obsession with plates. It's a registration plate FFS. It's a yellow / white rectangle with some letters & numbers on it. It doesn't do anything. It's not 'special', it's not 'clever', it certainly doesn't say anything, it's just a unique identifier for a vehicle. Why waste time & money trying to make it something it's not, especially when doing so can attract undesirable attention from PC Plod?

I really can't understand the obsession some people have with being so anti personal plates, or over thinking the actions of someone else's choice. I have a personal plate, and I really like it. It was cheap, but it displays the model of my car followed by my initials. I take extreme care of my car in terms of condition and take great pleasure in presenting it in immaculate, tip top condition. To me, the plate enhances my car, and also it removes the year in which it was created. It makes it more personal to me, and I love it. Why people choose to be so offended with my choice is beyond me.

When I see others with personal plates, it tells me first and foremost that they clearly love cars / their car and have made the effort to go one step beyond a day to day driver - it makes them stand out as interesting, something different, a passionate car drive or owner. I would even go as far to say that I therefore believe they may be a better driver, a more engaging and interesting person maybe?

Yes I agree those that butcher alter and mis represent plates look silly, and get the wrong attention. But that's entirely different to simply having a personal plate.

[blueg33]

Armchair_Expert said:

Magnum 475 said:

I'm not that old, but I really don't get this obsession with plates. It's a registration plate FFS. It's a yellow / white rectangle with some letters & numbers on it. It doesn't do anything. It's not 'special', it's not 'clever', it certainly doesn't say anything, it's just a unique identifier for a vehicle. Why waste time & money trying to make it something it's not, especially when doing so can attract undesirable attention from PC Plod?

I really can't understand the obsession some people have with being so anti personal plates, or over thinking the actions of someone else's choice. I have a personal plate, and I really like it. It was cheap, but it displays the model of my car followed by my initials. I take extreme care of my car in terms of condition and take great pleasure in presenting it in immaculate, tip top condition. To me, the plate enhances my car, and also it removes the year in which it was created. It makes it more personal to me, and I love it. Why people choose to be so offended with my choice is beyond me.

When I see others with personal plates, it tells me first and foremost that they clearly love cars / their car and have made the effort to go one step beyond a day to day driver - it makes them stand out as interesting, something different, a passionate car drive or owner. I would even go as far to say that I therefore believe they may be a better driver, a more engaging and interesting person maybe?

Yes I agree those that butcher alter and mis represent plates look silly, and get the wrong attention. But that's entirely different to simply having a personal plate.

Not sure people are offended. I think they don’t see the point to the extent they wouldn’t bother.

Your money, spend it how you like if it makes you happy.

The people who look a bit daft are the ones who make up contrived words and mess with the spacing. PH has an entire thread dedicated to those numpties.

[Riley Blue]

Armchair_Expert said:

When I see others with personal plates, it tells me first and foremost that they clearly love cars / their car and have made the effort to go one step beyond a day to day driver - it makes them stand out as interesting, something different, a passionate car driver or owner. I would even go as far to say that I therefore believe they may be a better driver, a more engaging and interesting person maybe?

This ^^^^ has made me smile more than anything else I've read on PH recently. Thanks, AE, you've cheered me up no end.

[outnumbered]

Riley Blue said:

Armchair_Expert said:

When I see others with personal plates, it tells me first and foremost that they clearly love cars / their car and have made the effort to go one step beyond a day to day driver - it makes them stand out as interesting, something different, a passionate car driver or owner. I would even go as far to say that I therefore believe they may be a better driver, a more engaging and interesting person maybe?

This ^^^^ has made me smile more than anything else I've read on PH recently. Thanks, AE, you've cheered me up no end.

It’s worthy of PH meme-hood. And I admit this as a personal plate owner

[Magnum 475]

Riley Blue said:

Armchair_Expert said:

When I see others with personal plates, it tells me first and foremost that they clearly love cars / their car and have made the effort to go one step beyond a day to day driver - it makes them stand out as interesting, something different, a passionate car driver or owner. I would even go as far to say that I therefore believe they may be a better driver, a more engaging and interesting person maybe?

This ^^^^ has made me smile more than anything else I've read on PH recently. Thanks, AE, you've cheered me up no end.

It's interesting. I don't "Hate" personal plates, but I certainly don't see them in this way. As an example, one of my son's friends mother has a bright purple 4x4 Nissan truck, with something meant to spell "Cassie". She's not a petrol head, and the plate is purely there as a 'showing off' / 'ego boost' device. I have other friends who are petrol heads, some have personal plates, some don't. I'm a passionate car owner / driver / occasional modifier, but my cars invariably look standard and don't have personal plates. I like to be inconspicuous but I also like to enjoy driving something fun.

To me, a sign of something interesting, something different, a passionate driver, would be a resto-mod 911, or a TR6, or classic Ferrari - regardless of the plate. Shoving a different plate on a car can be done for any number of reasons, many of which can be summed up as 'vanity' and 'ego'.

[bad company]

Drawweight said:

See I can’t see anything wrong with personal plates.

Is there any difference between driving down a road with a personal plate than with metallic paint or a set of alloy wheels?

Do you point at cars like that and call them out for wasting their money?

Similar argument for lots of stuff, why buy a Rolex when an ordinary watch will do the same job? You can make similar arguments for super brand clothes, jewellery and bags etc.

I have personal number plates, a Rolex and super brand clothes so I must be a complete Plonker.

[Volvolover]

Blanchimont said:

SP&L collective.

I had a S172 come through yesterday for a "registration mark fails to conform with regulations".

I've got short plates, but are marked accordingly, and are spaced correctly. (Whilst they may be a crime against taste for some, but from what I've found, not illegal)

From memory, it was a police bike parked up looking for speeders. As my plates are legal, is it worth appealing?

They arent

It isnt

[/thread]

What a strange post

[NMNeil]

Drawweight said:

See I can’t see anything wrong with personal plates.

Is there any difference between driving down a road with a personal plate than with metallic paint or a set of alloy wheels?

Do you point at cars like that and call them out for wasting their money?

The question was more of, why do people pay lots of money in the hope that someone will look at their car?
It's their money to waste, but some of us just find it very odd behaviour.

[Armchair_Expert]

NMNeil said:

The question was more of, why do people pay lots of money in the hope that someone will look at their car?
It's their money to waste, but some of us just find it very odd behaviour.

I paid £80 for my model number space initials. Total bargain if you ask me. Some people spend more on spoilers, internal trim, furry dice, car aerials, cleaning equipment. Why is it odd to spend a small amount on a plate which is a permanent feature, but not odd to spend hundreds on a detail, which only lasts a few days until it rains, or pollen settles on the paint?

What an odd post.

[SuperNads]

I can't help but laugh at the initial post suggesting the plate conforms to the regulations when it clearly does not although I have to say being pulled up on that specific plate is harsh.

[AlexRS2782]

Armchair_Expert said:

Yes I agree those that butcher alter and mis represent plates look silly, and get the wrong attention. But that's entirely different to simply having a personal plate.

Err, not sure that's how M24 OJD is meant to be spaced

Edited by AlexRS2782 on Tuesday 15th February 23:31

[Armchair_Expert]

On a private road, it matters not

[bad company]

NMNeil said:

The question was more of, why do people pay lots of money in the hope that someone will look at their car?
It's their money to waste, but some of us just find it very odd behaviour.

I’ve done rather well out of my plates, the values have increased well ahead of inflation. Also unlike many other assets they don’t need maintaining or insuring. They’ve been a good investment for me.

What do you waste money on?

Edited by bad company on Wednesday 16th February 09:35

Edited by bad company on Wednesday 16th February 10:04