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£60 !!!
#1
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.
....----////   Life is not a rehearsal   \\\\----....
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#2
Well they'll probably bee keeping an eye out for you now so I'd change it.
thou shalt not kick
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#3
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!!!




Easiest way to go fast........don't buy a blue bike
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#4
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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#5
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.
....----////   Life is not a rehearsal   \\\\----....
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#6
(14-02-13, 11:40 AM)bigbluebear link Wrote: 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.
....----////   Life is not a rehearsal   \\\\----....
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#7
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  Wink
Stop polishing it and ride the bloody thing!!
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#8
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.
I used to not give a foc, then I discovered Red Bull and now I don't give a flying foc !!!
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#9
(14-02-13, 12:44 PM)stevierst link Wrote: 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.
....----////   Life is not a rehearsal   \\\\----....
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#10
(14-02-13, 01:01 PM)DILLIGAFF link Wrote: 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?
....----////   Life is not a rehearsal   \\\\----....
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#11


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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#12
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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#13
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.
Stop polishing it and ride the bloody thing!!
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#14
(14-02-13, 02:00 PM)stevierst link Wrote: 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
Red Heads - Slowly taking over the world!!!
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#15
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
Greybeard now 
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#16
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.
....----////   Life is not a rehearsal   \\\\----....
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#17
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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#18
(14-02-13, 02:36 PM)dolau link Wrote: 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.
Stop polishing it and ride the bloody thing!!
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#19
(14-02-13, 03:15 PM)Tori link Wrote: 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 . . . .
....----////   Life is not a rehearsal   \\\\----....
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#20
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.
thou shalt not kick
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