Fazer Owners Club - Unofficial
General => General => Topic started by: ZiggyCol on 14 February 2013, 09:52:44 am
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Yup - got stopped on the way to work this morning (very swish looking unmarked BMW 5 series touring) and fixed penalty received for "Vehicle registration mark not conforming to regulations".
Plate is smaller than regulation but it's a proper font and layout and perfectly legible. As we were stood at the roadside in rush hour traffic I wonder how many 'personal' plates with irregular spacing went by ?
It's first time I've ever been pulled up and been riding with a smaller plate for about 10 years - never been questioned at MOT in that time.
Have I been lucky or unlucky?
Any other experiences? Apart from tossing £60 I've now got to decide whether to continue risking it or putting a regulation plate on.
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Well they'll probably bee keeping an eye out for you now so I'd change it.
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Bollocks!!....& what did i just order last night but a smaller plate 8 x 6 inches
What size is your plate???
I also added the Yam logo on the side where the EU crap usually goes.
Again i went for standard lettering to conform as much as possible.
It is typical though, every day i see cars & 4x4's driving around with unreadable plates due to being covered in muck but no doubt ill get stopped on my first day out.
I wonder if you'd still get the fine if u had the original plate & a multi-tool under the seat...probably admitting guilt just a tad!!!
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You'll also probably find that a "mark" has been recorded against your bike and any ANPR activity will be triggered as perviously having an illegal number plate....that alone may warrant a stop check.
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My plate is about 18cm x 15.5cm (w x h) but it is more the character size that they picked up on.
Regulation requires characters to be 44mm x 64mm, mine are 27mm x 43mm (w x h)
As I said my plate is very normal looking just scaled down to better fit its location.
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You'll also probably find that a "mark" has been recorded against your bike and any ANPR activity will be triggered as previously having an illegal number plate....that alone may warrant a stop check.
The copper did warn me that the DVLA will be informed so you could be right.
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If you can clearly see the plate and read the VRM with ease at 57 feet, then challenge it. Its not in the publics interest to prosecute you if its lawfully legible.
As for ANPR, only a handful of cameras are rear facing and can't ping your reg. If they do, then its a defence that if the fixed cameras can see and read your plate, then its good enough.
I know that certain forces won't prosecute small plates if they're readable, but you didn't hear this from me ;)
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IMHO they may have stopped you hoping to find something else wrong, if you have a dodgy plate you may also have a dodgy exhaust, tax, insurance etc. etc.
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If you can clearly see the plate and read the VRM with ease at 57 feet, then challenge it. Its not in the publics interest to prosecute you if its lawfully legible.
An interesting perspective. But the point is - it may be legible but not lawfully so, as it doesn't conform to a clearly defined technical specification. I suppose electing for a court hearing instead of paying the fixed penalty might result in them opting to not prosecute, but if they do I couldn't see a "it's legible" sort of defence succeeding.
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IMHO they may have stopped you hoping to find something else wrong, if you have a dodgy plate you may also have a dodgy exhaust, tax, insurance etc. etc.
Possibly, they did a routine tax, insurance check etc, but if that was the reason, when everything else checked out, why not just let me off with a warning instead of pushing through with the fixed penalty?
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Possibly, they did a routine tax, insurance check etc, but if that was the reason, when everything else checked out, why not just let me off with a warning instead of pushing through with the fixed penalty?
MONEY! :pokefun
justy1000
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Most mobile units now have front and rear cameras fixed to the roof. Normal police cars don't and used either hand held or fixed pointing in one direction only.....but why take the chance of getting pulled over for them to try and find other faults
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Most beat Bobbys won't have a clue about your small plate, nor have the time to do anyythng about it. Only specialist departments such as traffic/motorway have ANPR cameras on the car, and if these manage to read your plate, it does insurance and tax at once. MOT normally requires a seperate check.
If the traffic bobby is down on his ticket count for that month, or they are particularily targeting bikes with small plates, then your getting one basically.
If you feel strongly about it, then there are hundreds of stated cases which have been won In court for small plates, it all depends If you want to take that risk. Personally I just have a huge standard plate so its one less thing that they can pull me for.
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Personally I just have a huge standard plate so its one less thing that they can pull me for.
Spoken like a true copper :lol
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Thats a sad condemnation Steve- the likelyhood of you getting pulled will depend on how well the bobby has done with his figures that month :rolleyes
I had a 51 plate FZS6 with a standard sized plate with standard lettering which did not have the BS AU number on it and my bike failed its MOT- had to find the cracked and broken one and stick it together with tape and take it back to the MOT station
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Funnily enough I mentioned to the copper that my bike had been through several MOTs no problem. His response was that most MOT testers are not really interested and would be unlikely to point it out - they focus on mechanical issues.
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Solution: Replace with legal size plate. Lesson learned.
It may seem petty, but it's the law. If it had been a van towing away your bike after stealing it, and someone said...I couldn't quite see the plate as it was so small....
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Thtargetsad condemnation Steve- the likelyhood of you getting pulled will depend on how well the bobby has done with his figures that month :rolleyes
I had a 51 plate FZS6 with a standard sized plate with standard lettering which did not have the BS AU number on it and my bike failed its MOT- had to find the cracked and broken one and stick it together with tape and take it back to the MOT station
It may be a sad condemnation, but its a factual one. Some forces do have tatgets to hit, and if the bobbys down on their mark for that month, well you know the rest.
As for your plate not having a BSAU Number, well I think your MOT inspector was quite literally crossing the i's and dotting the t's for that. If your bike was made after Sept 01 then it needs the BSAU number.
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Solution: Replace with legal size plate. Lesson learned.
It may seem petty, but it's the law. If it had been a van towing away your bike after stealing it, and someone said...I couldn't quite see the plate as it was so small....
I accept the plate is technically at fault and it's a fair cop - BUT it is perfectly legible, has a proper font, layout and spacing but is just scaled down slightly, not in an attempt to make it less readable, but admittedly to make it look better (full size plate looks pig ugly). The only thing that slightly annoys me is that there were in the same rush hour traffic no doubt several personal plate cars with dodgy letter spacing etc. but it's the bike that gets selected for a pull . . . .
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There's no technicality or grey area, it's not a legal plate and you have been caught, what other people are doing has no bearing on this.
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On the subject of quotas, it was described to me that if more people were given tickets in a successive month compared to previous then it could be shown that crime had been reduced... its terrible logic, but realistically is anyone surprised?
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why not just let me off with a warning instead of pushing through with the fixed penalty
Coz youre a dodgy looking character :rollin How do Col
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nice one Gassit....zig it only cost you sick squid a year nowt for a man of your means :lol :lol
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changed my plate to a smaller one after a drunken purchase on ebay and because I'm vain - and ever since have been not sure if to keep it on or not !
This thread has just reminded me that I am vain - but not sixty quid vain - I'm putting the old one back on!!
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are the legal plates a 'minimum' size? What I'm asking is if it would be possible to do a kind of Dom Jolly thing with a silly oversized plate, just to take the piss?
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There's no technicality or grey area, it's not a legal plate and you have been caught, what other people are doing has no bearing on this.
That ^^
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Possibly, they did a routine tax, insurance check etc, but if that was the reason, when everything else checked out, why not just let me off with a warning instead of pushing through with the fixed penalty?
MONEY! :pokefun
justy1000
and to up their nick rate :stop
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I wish the cops paid as much attention to my complaint and many others about the cnunt on a 450 quad who rides it across the pavements and grassed areas at full pelt pulling wheelies when old peeps are walking past and its loud as feck and on a Q-reg so probably listed as a tractor, but nah they rather nick you for your number plate and fine you because its easier ..
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I wish the cops paid as much attention to my complaint and many others about the cnunt on a 450 quad who rides it across the pavements and grassed areas at full pelt pulling wheelies when old peeps are walking past and its loud as feck and on a Q-reg so probably listed as a tractor, but nah they rather nick you for your number plate and fine you because its easier ..
If the twat has a pretty regular time/route its amazing what some long felt nails can do. Boiler suit on, hand full of nails (hidden), hand in open pocket, oops they have fallen down my trouser leg would you believe it :evil
I was stopped on Saturday night on leaving a pub that I was in having food, albeit for 4hrs. Their reason for stopping me was I pulled away with no lights on, bollocks, lights come on automatic with ignition in the dark. But we will do a breath test as well because of where you came from, ok, no prob (my first ever) says me in a cocky voice. It's a pass so you are ok but we will have a look round your vehicle, have you proof of id, yes, license. They look round vehicle, brand new hilux, for whatever they find and see my gun case in the front and ask whats in it. I say shotgun and then give them my gun license, brill. Ok Mr C you can go now thank you, cheers and I hope your night gets better was my reply. Thank feck I like IRN BRU but it's a great feeling to drive away having beaten them :)
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why not just let me off with a warning instead of pushing through with the fixed penalty
Coz youre a dodgy looking character :rollin How do Col
Thanks for that Mark - makes it all seem perfectly reasonable ;)
Long time no see - hope you are keeping well.
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There is no "minimum" size for the plate itself IIRC; character size and spacing dimensions are regulated, and the other stipulation is the plate must be square on a bike, but there's nothing specifically to state it *has* to be 7x9 or 8x6 or anything else (unless the rules have changed recently).
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Number plates fitted to motorcycles after 1 September 2001 must meet the following requirements:
Character height - 64mm
Character width (except 1 or I) - 44mm
Character stroke - 10mm
Space between characters - 10mm
Space between groups - 30mm
Top, bottom and side margins (minimum) - 11mm
Vertical space between groups - 13 mm
Conforming to these rules does imply a minimum size for a plate, but no maximum, although an oversize plate would be mainly yellow as the character sizes and spacings are fixed.