Private plate number spacing

Supersonos

kevmm1991 said:

I know a lot of people who have illegally spaced plates and have never been pulled by the police. 

Me too.  And I assume they have to change the plates every time the car goes for an MOT which seems a lot of work.  And all for what?  To say their name.  Kind of.  I'll never understand.  But I also don't understand the problem.  Surely computers don't care about the spacing?

I'm seeing a lot of really dark plates, which I'm assuming don't reflect well when flashed so they can get away with speeding.  Those worry me more.

AdrianC

Supersonos said:

I'm seeing a lot of really dark plates, which I'm assuming don't reflect well when flashed so they can get away with speeding.  Those worry me more.

They are, of course, illegal. B'sides the fairly minor wrist-slap fines for having badly-spaced, too-dark, missing plates, the actual registration can be withdrawn. This is a far more serious sanction to those whose vanity requires them, but isn't used often enough.

If the dodgy plates can be shown to have been fitted with the intent of avoiding prosecution for speeding, then that would be prosecutable under Perverting the Course of Justice. And that's serious...
Prison sentence:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-47040912
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21737627
Suspended prison sentence:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7712009.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/8057870.stm
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-38883401

Supersonos

AdrianC said:

Supersonos said:

I'm seeing a lot of really dark plates, which I'm assuming don't reflect well when flashed so they can get away with speeding.  Those worry me more.

They are, of course, illegal.

I find it fascinating that it isn't the stereotypical teenager who has them, but fairly normal looking adults/parents etc.  I wouldn't even know where to buy them.

AdrianC

Supersonos said:

AdrianC said:

Supersonos said:

I'm seeing a lot of really dark plates, which I'm assuming don't reflect well when flashed so they can get away with speeding.  Those worry me more.

They are, of course, illegal.

I find it fascinating that it isn't the stereotypical teenager who has them, but fairly normal looking adults/parents etc.  I wouldn't even know where to buy them.

Where d'you think...?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=tinted+plate
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263784138948

I'm not at all surprised it's the ostensibly respectable. They often have the "Why aren't you going after real criminals?" mindset. Speeding, parking, seatbelt, drink-driving... They're usually the core demographic for that.

Mutton_Geoff

I changed my name by deed poll to KN08ROT. Was a lot cheaper than buying a personal number plate ;-)

EssexExile

I don't understand why we're not allowed to have just about anything as a registration. The government could make loads of money selling vanity plates to vain people.

AdrianC

EssexExile said:

I don't understand why we're not allowed to have just about anything as a registration.

Is any more reason needed than "Because"?

Remember, though, that every plate in the UK follows the same format, age-dependent. Most vanity plates are simply plates that were issued normally, and transferred car to car. The others are ones that DVLA took out of the normal pool specifically to cater for the lucrative vanity trade. Apart from that, they're issued to cars for the life of the vehicle, unlike in many other countries.

Where countries do issue for the vehicle's life, they don't normally allow random combos.

The government could make loads of money selling vanity plates to vain people.

Well, DVLA rather than the gov't. But they already do. They don't provide annual figures, but the sale of vanity plates direct from DVLA has raised heading for £3bn since it started, plus the fees to transfer privately-resold plates or on car changes.

bob_a_builder

Simple. Vanity.

There is no other reason. None. Not one.

I particularly like the cases, usually of higher end motors, where they have chosen to de-badge the car, and then go on to have a personal number plate which includes that same information - most noticeable on  BMW X5 s for some reason

facade

EssexExile said:

I don't understand why we're not allowed to have just about anything as a registration. The government could make loads of money selling vanity plates to vain people.

The standard format, font and layout helps OCR machines, and your brain to figure out what it is.

A car overtook me the other day with a vanity plate that I thought was brilliant.

I have no idea what it was supposed to say, but more importantly, I couldn't even begin to guess what the actual registration was.

I must get one like that

I think what happened is my visual processing centre was so busy trying to make it into a sensible word, that by the time I thought to override it and look for a group of letters it had gone.

A bit like if you watch a dodgy film with burnt in foreign subtitles, I have to cover them up otherwise I am expending most of my visual processing on trying to match the subtitle to English.  A foreign language film with English subs I can read the subs and watch the film without even noticing the subtitles.

master_blaster_44

With the exception of the spacing I really doesnt bother me one way or the other if someone wants to purchase a 'vanity plate. I dont think anyone with one drives around thinking they are better than everyone else, they just want to personalise their car. Personalising your property is human nature, has been for thousands of years. Its like people who buy a Rolex for £30k when a £10 Casio does the job, or £200 on a designer shirt, when you could get kitted out at Primark for £20, they just want something a bit more individual.
If its legal and they can afford it and it makes them happy so what? Does it make them sad individuals? Maybe, but I bet there are some sad individuals of here who dont have any of the above. In some cases they dont want them, fine. In some cases they simply cant afford them

Note, I dont own any of the above, (well maybe the clothes) and yes I am a sad individual replying to this thread on a Saturday afternoon