Your video should be a public information film the government used to screen on the TV. There are so many altered plates that have been on vehicles for years around Birmingham that don't seem to get picked up by the police/ANPR. Are they turning a blind eye I wonder? A great video, thank you.
Thanks man, that's very nice to say. It seems lots it missed when it comes to education on the law. Motorway rules are another one that get me and rules with regards to filtering
@@CorpsMedia Yes I'm with you. It's such a shame that many drivers have no pride in their driving. They are generally rather ignorant of the rules of the road.
I ran a half size plate on my bikes since 1985, got stopped probably 3 times, one gave me an mot slip to have plate replaced and checked, one apologised for stopping me and he just wanted to run my details and couldn't read my plate , had no problem, the 3rd was a Welsh traffic copper who didn't get me for speeding but pulled me for my plate, said I'd get a warning but got a £100 fine, now I have a clip on full size plate for trips to Wales! On trial bikes I wonder if 3 line plates are legal, the police used them on their R100 BMW bikes for years. Great video.
I have been stopped for my personal plate, the police say it can't be read by the ANPR. However, if I go to the airport or certain car parks they have NO difficulty in reading my plate is the ANPR out of date?
I think they probably assume it can't be read if the font isn't the correct one. The point is, if it's not the specified font (which I believe since 2001 is now actually called the Mandatory font and is an update of the Charles Wright font mentioned in the video), then it's illegal because it doesn't meet the regulations.
Great analysis, I have a personal plate, but it is a geek reference that only a few people will recognise. (It was cheap). I did notice a while back that the DVLA advertise plates with incorrect spacing, making them more attractive to punters but illegal for road use. Sports bikes look so much better with small plates but people do push their luck, a mate has a plate that looks like it has been taken off a toy.
This is a subject that needs to be considered if your trying to make you vehicle more personal to you. It’s very easy to do ......Oh that will look cool ans it will be ok because I’ve seen that done by other people. When in reality your breaking the law Great video mate keep them coming 👍🏻
I have an imported vehicle built in 2004 and imported in 2017. The reg. plate backings are smaller than the UK plates and my plates have been manufactured to fit exactly. I have confirmation from the DVLA as to their legality for road use; even though the plates do not comply with UK standards. I have been stopped but production of the DVLA's letter has always resolved the situation.
Interesting facts there. I remember back in 1961 when the E type Jaguar was launched and there was a big row because owners stuck the "plates" near to the leading edge of the bonnet. This meant that the "plate" was pointing more upwards than forwards. The row was on aesthetic grounds as I recall. Conventional plates would have completely spoiled the looks of what many regard as the best looking car of all time. Sense eventually prevailed and the stuck on "plates" were allowed. All 60 years ago so apologies for any inaccuracies. Do you know what the current situation is regarding E type plates ? Are stuck on allowed ?
If you're sticking them on an E-Type then if it's the same place as the plate would have been originally then you're fine. People are not expected to have to alter the way their car looks just because the law has changed at a later date. For other cars they're technically legal but need to be as near the front as possible and visible, so on a relatively flat bonnet where they're pointing directly upwards you're probably asking for trouble.
I think that was very well covered mate. As someone that runs a personalized plate on both the car and the motorbike i always try and make sure i stay within the rules. So if i change the size of the plate or add anything, i always make sure it looks as standard as possible and runs the BSAU mark on it. I use my showplates for my plates and they are technically sold as “showplates” but can be made to look totally legit. This is always a massive bone of contention with people when i have chatted with them about their plate and what they have done to them. Some get very heated about it. I guess it is down to individual choice as to whether or not you want to be constantly stopped and prosecuted by the police. Personally i cant be arsed with that. Great vlog as always. Look forward to the next one.
TINTED REGISTRATION PLATES are not allowed due the the fact that the kite-mark must be clearly visible in the bottom left corner and the Post Code Dealer I.d in the centre and the registration plate provider can only supply a 100% yellow or white registration plate. NO STYLE OF TINTS are legal.
Now define 100% yellow and 100% white. There’s no such thing. Instead you have traditional colors for yellow and white, but they’re still not specified with technical specifications.
I have seen a few odd plates around my area see few 4D ones and even seen one with the letter on the back as carbon fiber color not black so defiantly illegal. But like you have said in the vid people drive around for years with no problem i think it depends on the copper pulling you over if you give them attuited they will look for a reason to annoy you or what kind of mood the officer is in if they pull you over or it down to most officers don't really know much law on the plates as long as it white and yellow in black and looks close to legal they wont bother unless they are in a mood that day when they are behind you or if you make them angry. And reading it up if it is a plate that is not to standard the MOT check is meant to pick that up as it can fail if not standard but by looks of it they even miss it as not something people really know about as long as the colors match up people don't notice it unless you are looking for it.
Tinted plates and plates in the windscreen just look so crap. I’ve seen some well dodgy alterations. Like F111CHY where the 2nd and 3rd 1’s were cut in the middle and skewed to make an N
Excellent video Just about to put a private on my car for the very first time and found the information in video very helpful and informative Follow the rules and keep the pigs of your back😂😂😂 Thanks and keep up the good work
My previous car, a Gen 3 Hyundai coupe got through 10 MoTs with 13mm letters on the front number plate. The last 5 MoTs it got through without even advisories, despite having 164k miles. Until some petty bureacrat at an MoT station actually had time enough on his hands to find a millimtre missing! My garage replaced the plate without asking or telling me, and charged me £22 plus VAT for it. A year later I had to replace that plate because it had discoloured and delaminated after only 3000 miles and 12 months! I've got 3D gel plates on my new(er) coupe now. Lovely.
If they did it without asking you then they have no legal right to charge you, unless you authorised them to do any repair work. Sounds like a scam to me,. I'd have told them to get stuffed and wouldn't have paid - they can't take it off again without your permission either.
I have a couple of questions about registration plates, albeit not about legislation. 1. I've visited countries where the plates and fonts are very similar to ours and they don't all exclude the letter I or the letter Q like we do. Our format nowadays is probably unique but some people have registration numbers issued before year identifiers. So what happens if an overseas car arrives in the UK which happens to have the same reg as a UK car or at least a similar one if its letters I or Q are read as a number 1 or O? I admit it's unlikely but it must be possible. 2. I had a neighbour decades ago who had a registration something like '10 BD'. Years later, I passed a car with '1 OBD', Obviously, it could have been the same registration number with "illegal' spacing but might the licensing authority back in the day have issued 10 BD AND 1 OBD and how would ANPR tell the difference if the plates existed today and were spaced identically?
But it would take ten seconds for ANPR to decipher what the plate should be 10 BD or 1 OBD so why don’t the Authorities allow the owners a bit of fun ?
That memory tag used to relate to the local office the paperwork was done. Now it’s all computerised and centralised so the tag relates to the location of the garage doing the registration or where you live if your have a new number assigned.
@@Cous1nJack You're missing the point. The way you described it was "the tag relates to the location of the garage". The "location of the garage" to me means the specific point where that garage is based, not the entire town or area. The tag relates to the area, it has nothing to do with any particular garage. Who cares, anyway?
As far as I can see there is no rule that says your reg must be centralised on the plate either. DVLA probably just assumes everyone would want it centralised. If you had a really short reg, say 3 characters, you could have all the characters to one side to be different if you wanted and be legal..... [ AB 1 ]
Hi, Thanks for the video. Very informative! I quite like the Welsh dragon on my plate. Usually, you if you have a flag, you see a border, too. Is this something that will be allowed, or are the borders gone, too?
I ordered my Private Plate when purchasing from a private plate website (Swift Reg) it's coming as 4D with a black border.... is that okay? I assumed it was considering its the actual website providing it
One thing worth considering but never seems to be mentioned anywhere is the number plate lights on the rear of the car. Most cars have two lights for the number plate now, but you'll often see a car with one of the lights out. If one isn't working you can be prosecuted for that, as petty as it may seem, even if the other light is bright enough for you to read the full plate. Sounds petty but people have been pulled over for it.
If it is out normally if you do get puller over the officer will give you a warning to get it fixed and make a note of the car on the system so you get seen 24 hours to change it after that if it still not fixed and copper sees that then will fine you for it never normally fine you first time as happened to my dad before coppers said you get 1 warning as you can say yea i noticed it just off now to get a new bulb. But one thing i noticed a lot more is people that put on super bright LEDS that make the plate hard to see as it making the reflector shine i guess that might get you puller over as it might not pick up on AMPR and might get a warning to change it or fine you for that.
Questions for next update...... Rules and regulations regarding rear number plate illumination. i.e. brightness/colour cast/light spread. And number plate angle i.e. degrees off vertical. I ask because I bought and fitted a tail-tidy for my motorbike, and the new plate hanger is raked a noticeably shallower angle than the stock hanger. Also the new plate illumination bulb led is a bluer colour cast than stock. Am I risking a pull/fine? Have I just been lucky so far?
Nope, the rear number plate just needs to be illuminated. There's no mention of the colour of the light or the angle, as long as it can be read from anyone following behind you. The two main rules for lights are a bit quirky. (1), you can display any colour of sidelight (but not headlight) on the front of the car, but not red, and (2) that all lights fitted must be working, even if it's illegal to use them! for the second one, what I mean is you can paint your car to look like an American police car and fit red and blue flashing lights to it - they must work (or it's an MOT fail), but you're not actually allowed to use them because then you would technically be impersonating a police vehicle.
@@severnsea3924 I had a 1965 Ford Mustang a few years ago which used the sidelight and indicator 'together'. I was on several occasions given a 'producer' to supply tax etc and eventually fitted a separate white lamp until the rules changed and I put it back to original. The tail lights were similar, but red and I was told ad nauseum that rear indicators should be orange, but I refused to change them
Well explained and to the point. Just one question that I haven't managed to find the answer to. I know there has to be 33 mm between the two groups, but iv seen so many that have 11 mm between the groups making all one word, iv seen more spacing, iv seen three groups (eg G H12 YFF). So is Ok to have 11 mm between all letters making one word? If not, why do so many plates exist like that?
No that's illegal, you have to follow the spacing for the type of place you have. If it comes with a space of 33mm you will always have a space of 33mm
Hello mate, I have a private reg, it reads as the same as a current reg for cars, for example i have AB15FGH, BUT i want to put a space after the first 3 letters, and then keep the last 4 together so it reads AB1 5FGH, I have seen so many cars like this so how is this illegal and surely a nan or grandad driving this car with these kinda plates doesnt intend anything bad, i cant seem to find a answer if i should do it or not
It's illegal, if you use a reputable plate supplier they will not make it like that for you. If nan and grandad choose to use a "show plate" provider off ebay, then they deserve the same treatment as everyone else. That being said, as long as you kept the font and size standard I wouldn't imaging you getting pulled with that spacing (personal opionion)
This is far better than the videos with the Devon and Cornwall black rat lying about the regs. Having bsau.. in the corner doesn’t mean it meets the standard. The bsau does state the colour and reflectivity of the white/yellow.
Why do the Brits make registration of a vehicle/plate application so complicated? I understand no tax disc anymore, just plate recognition cameras. Great way to raise revenue eh?
Because all they want to do is make money off us from any possible way. They don’t care if someone’s car or jacket is getting robbed. All just a money grabbing scheme.
It’s a brilliant way for them to raise revenue. Making millions out of basically nothing, just letters and numbers in a certain order. Crazy when you really stop and think about it. But defo worth it for the dvla to ‘make it so complicated’.
It's not really complicated, it's just that people often feel they can do their own thing. In some other countries they are much stricter than in the UK. For example, in Iceland, number plates are supplied via the police and cannot be knocked-up by anybody else.
@@CorpsMedia I don't think that's quite right. When the regs were updated in 2001 it stated that if the plate was slightly damaged it had to be flexible enough to retain it's shape. As metal plates are generally aluminium they don't retain their shape and therefore don't comply with the regs. The exception is classic vehicles, which I think are those that are 40 years old or more. I could be wrong of course.
Quick question as i cannot seem to find this anywhere - if you apply a private reg to your car, what do you do with the existing that is associated with it - is that a retention plate and if so, where do i report/record this so that when i come to sell it i can move my plate to another vehicle.. Thanks very informative vid.
Hi. The existing plate goes back into the system as available, but unless it is desirable and someone requests it, it just sits there. You will get it back when you purveyor private plate on retention. If the original plate is no longer available, you get a similar one of same year. If he's really worried, you could put original plate on retention but I've swapped private plates many times and always been allocated the original back. 😉
Could you please do a video on what is allowed in a bus lane . I had 3 year battle with various authorities with regards to this . I think you will be very surprised that more can use it than what you would think. I have been lied to deceived by omission, and argued with complete ignorants. It is very simple but complicated. I am sick of hearing “ it’s PSV only”NO it’s not . “ your a private hire not a bus”it doesn’t matter what job your doing . “ it’s for vehicles that stop at bus stops,and take individual fares”NO again . Below is list of people getting it wrong and should know better. Taxi licensing Traffic sergeant Driving instructor Driving test examiner Fleet traffic manager of bus company Bus lane enforcement officer ( later admitted he did know. Hoping I didn’t) Parking officers Man supervising driver awareness course CPS Many more individuals It’s solely the vehicle that’s allowed not the driver , I’ve caught many out who lied and when presented with law they back down with comments like “ how did you know that” “ your not supposed to know that”. Traffic sign regulations and general directions 2002 say in reg. 23 “ any vehicle constructed or adapted to carry more than 8 passengers ( excluding driver) and any ‘local bus’ not so constructed or adapted shall be bus construed accordingly”.so if you fulfill this reg. you are allowed in . Regardless of enforcement officers opinions . Most confuse constructed or adapted with carrying or licensed to carry or capacity. Was told secretly by VOSA inspector that authorities don’t like law change and try to keep it as it was in past , he admitted he has been instructed to lie about it untill court , then if other side quote law then withdraw.please help spread word
@@severnsea3924 law says “any vehicle constructed or adapted to carry more than 8….” . Note words “constructed or adapted “. And a mini bus regulation says same o therefore any vehicle described as mini bus on log book can , so can stretch limos and some” land rovers “ I see more vehicles not using it who can , than I see vehicles using it who shouldn’t be.
Looking on the gov site says it not allowed in the window has to be outside the vehicle. Guess it because of the readable from 20 meters as if in window it tilted up and if sunny can make the glass shine in places so not easy to read. From the gov sites rules: put them on both the front and back of the vehicle, or just the back for motorcycles make them visible and easily readable from a distance of 20 meters put them on the outside of the vehicle not cover the existing number plates, unless it’s a motorcycle
@@MCraigyboy7 I have no idea how they want you to place it as just says has to be outside the vehicle does not say were outside just front and back of car. But i see it in windows all the time i don't think it is a problem and getting fined for it is very low chance as traders places are not on for long. I don't think the police will mind as long as it is easy to read and not tucked in the corner of the window cutting parts off from view. Police wont really bother with it unless you give them a reason like driving bad or trying to annoy them if you are puller over for other things by talking to them in bad way then they will find a reason to annoy you. And if you do ever get pulled over for it just be polite and respectful to them say you seen many others that do it that way and even ask them what is the right way to do it they might know and show you or they might not know as long as you nice to them and not sticking phone camera in there face trying to annoy them they are nice back and wont fine you unless they really big pricks but it very rare it happens.
I was running a tinted rear plate on my T6, yes was darker.. but in my opinion still ok. I had police behind me plenty of times and was never stopped but it was always on my mind, and never wanted my partner to be stopped, so ultimately changed it back. I wanted to be stopped to know for sure, because I never was it makes me think it’s always going to up to the officer at the time .
@@tyyearwood9032 my take on this is as such.. front plate needs to be white and rear yellow. When you add tint, white becomes dark, grey even. Added to the rear and yellow becomes yellow, albeit a darker shade. As I said it will always be up to the officer at the time but to date I’ve never been stopped and had plenty of police directly behind me .
@@jamesallen5627 I've always thought they would care less about the front plate, seeing as lots of people drive without one and don't get pulled over, they aren't the main plate that cameras are reading (At least where I live, only carparks have front numberplate readers and those are private) and it would still be readable by the human eye or camera footage.
Really if you don't want to be stopped or risk a fine and waste time with the officer that pulls you over just don't bother with the tint or changing it as will just cause problems as some coppers might fine you even know it is legal while others wont bother just a headache if it happens fighting it in court not worth the trouble over a tint that you don't even see most of the time. And it does not make the car look cooler just makes it stand out and make other laugh at you on how silly it looks.
@@giggity4670 actually a tinted plate on a brown T6 swamper does look cool and as it happens, after posting that I swapped it back and never been stopped even with police behind me at lights .
my plates font is fine, spacing is fine, but i have a red outline on the letters, is this legal? the website i bought it off says it’s road legal. but i’m not sure.
@@slvmmed1686 That's not correct. There's nothing in the regs that says any other wording needs to be black. The actual font for the number plate does, but not the rest of it. My daughter's Ford has a Ford oval logo in blue and their main dealer address. I'm sure they wouldn't be churning their cars out with a blue Ford logo on the plates if it wasn't legal. You can have a union flag on them with the letters GB or UK in different colours too. UK is now the official abbreviation but you can still put GB on there if you prefer. As long as the background colour and spacing is correct you can put more or less anything else you want on there, borders, flags or anything as long as it's outside the specified spacing area, i.e more than 11mm to the left or right of the registration number.
4D plate are for ding dongs. Same goes for people altering the spacing to make it something it’s not. Usually because they can’t afford the proper plate. Spend your money on a lottery ticket.
I have seen a pattern here are the plates. AISHA X ISLAM X MOOMED, TA55EEN, YASIN X, they were so badly constructed some had the smoke tint, some had an Arabic font. some had a Palestine colour scheme The police daily drive past and I have seen cars with no front number plates, with plates on dashboard and the cops pull me over as a person who is under 30 driving a car with a dirty number plate, which was clearly legible but had just come off a motorway in snowy conditions!
It is believed in some circles that a certain demographic is pretty much 'untouchable', because the police are terrified of the race card or accusations of so-called 'Islamophobia'. I don't know the actual truth of that.
New changes in number plate laws coming later this year, get 3 tickets from anpr cameras and you win a Q plate. And see the price of your car halved. This comes from a traffic cop.
I was told years ago that if you are stopped 3 times for the same number plate offence that the dvla could revoke your plate and issue a Q plate. Not sure how true it was.
@@Cous1nJack No, take a look, repeated plate (poor spacing, font, tinting etc) offences will see the dvla withdraw a vehicles registration and issue a Q suffix plate. A Q plate is also issued to vehicles where the year of manufacture is unknown or a vehicle is made up of components where the age is unknown. Its on the dvla site if you take a look. Obviousley the trade value Q plated vehicles lower. Over 30 years I've run bikes with small plates, been stopped a few times, been warned, been issued a form for the mot station to check plate and been fined once in Wales for a slightly undersized plate.
Your video should be a public information film the government used to screen on the TV. There are so many altered plates that have been on vehicles for years around Birmingham that don't seem to get picked up by the police/ANPR. Are they turning a blind eye I wonder? A great video, thank you.
Thanks man, that's very nice to say. It seems lots it missed when it comes to education on the law. Motorway rules are another one that get me and rules with regards to filtering
@@CorpsMedia Yes I'm with you. It's such a shame that many drivers have no pride in their driving. They are generally rather ignorant of the rules of the road.
Yes, I couldn’t agree more. Round where I live I see so many illegal plates.
I ran a half size plate on my bikes since 1985, got stopped probably 3 times, one gave me an mot slip to have plate replaced and checked, one apologised for stopping me and he just wanted to run my details and couldn't read my plate , had no problem, the 3rd was a Welsh traffic copper who didn't get me for speeding but pulled me for my plate, said I'd get a warning but got a £100 fine, now I have a clip on full size plate for trips to Wales! On trial bikes I wonder if 3 line plates are legal, the police used them on their R100 BMW bikes for years. Great video.
I have been stopped for my personal plate, the police say it can't be read by the ANPR. However, if I go to the airport or certain car parks they have NO difficulty in reading my plate is the ANPR out of date?
It's because the Home Office supplied kit for police use is probably obsolete rubbish and has a high error/failure rate
I think they probably assume it can't be read if the font isn't the correct one. The point is, if it's not the specified font (which I believe since 2001 is now actually called the Mandatory font and is an update of the Charles Wright font mentioned in the video), then it's illegal because it doesn't meet the regulations.
Is the ANPR a parliamentary established lawful device or is it a police device?
There's no law the says it must be readable by ANPR
Great analysis, I have a personal plate, but it is a geek reference that only a few people will recognise. (It was cheap).
I did notice a while back that the DVLA advertise plates with incorrect spacing, making them more attractive to punters but illegal for road use. Sports bikes look so much better with small plates but people do push their luck, a mate has a plate that looks like it has been taken off a toy.
This is a subject that needs to be considered if your trying to make you vehicle more personal to you. It’s very easy to do ......Oh that will look cool ans it will be ok because I’ve seen that done by other people. When in reality your breaking the law
Great video mate keep them coming 👍🏻
I have an imported vehicle built in 2004 and imported in 2017. The reg. plate backings are smaller than the UK plates and my plates have been manufactured to fit exactly. I have confirmation from the DVLA as to their legality for road use; even though the plates do not comply with UK standards. I have been stopped but production of the DVLA's letter has always resolved the situation.
Interesting facts there. I remember back in 1961 when the E type Jaguar was launched and there was a big row because owners stuck the "plates" near to the leading edge of the bonnet. This meant that the "plate" was pointing more upwards than forwards. The row was on aesthetic grounds as I recall. Conventional plates would have completely spoiled the looks of what many regard as the best looking car of all time. Sense eventually prevailed and the stuck on "plates" were allowed. All 60 years ago so apologies for any inaccuracies. Do you know what the current situation is regarding E type plates ? Are stuck on allowed ?
If you're sticking them on an E-Type then if it's the same place as the plate would have been originally then you're fine. People are not expected to have to alter the way their car looks just because the law has changed at a later date.
For other cars they're technically legal but need to be as near the front as possible and visible, so on a relatively flat bonnet where they're pointing directly upwards you're probably asking for trouble.
The old Land rover series plate use to be a square plate usually under one of the lights front and rear
Hi Buddy, it's probably worth covering vinyl plates, i.e. a sticker, btw, i do enjoy your straight talking videos
Why do MOT centers PASS vehicles with doggy plates. Great video mate
" go full moron" that made me lol.😂
I think that was very well covered mate. As someone that runs a personalized plate on both the car and the motorbike i always try and make sure i stay within the rules. So if i change the size of the plate or add anything, i always make sure it looks as standard as possible and runs the BSAU mark on it. I use my showplates for my plates and they are technically sold as “showplates” but can be made to look totally legit.
This is always a massive bone of contention with people when i have chatted with them about their plate and what they have done to them. Some get very heated about it.
I guess it is down to individual choice as to whether or not you want to be constantly stopped and prosecuted by the police.
Personally i cant be arsed with that.
Great vlog as always. Look forward to the next one.
Nice one Gary, good to hear from you 💪
One of the best videos I’ve seen on TH-cam ever
TINTED REGISTRATION PLATES are not allowed due the the fact that the kite-mark must be clearly visible in the bottom left corner and the Post Code Dealer I.d in the centre and the registration plate provider can only supply a 100% yellow or white registration plate.
NO STYLE OF TINTS are legal.
Now define 100% yellow and 100% white. There’s no such thing. Instead you have traditional colors for yellow and white, but they’re still not specified with technical specifications.
I have seen a few odd plates around my area see few 4D ones and even seen one with the letter on the back as carbon fiber color not black so defiantly illegal. But like you have said in the vid people drive around for years with no problem i think it depends on the copper pulling you over if you give them attuited they will look for a reason to annoy you or what kind of mood the officer is in if they pull you over or it down to most officers don't really know much law on the plates as long as it white and yellow in black and looks close to legal they wont bother unless they are in a mood that day when they are behind you or if you make them angry.
And reading it up if it is a plate that is not to standard the MOT check is meant to pick that up as it can fail if not standard but by looks of it they even miss it as not something people really know about as long as the colors match up people don't notice it unless you are looking for it.
Tinted plates and plates in the windscreen just look so crap. I’ve seen some well dodgy alterations. Like F111CHY where the 2nd and 3rd 1’s were cut in the middle and skewed to make an N
Yeah, agreed, they are not to my taste either, and as far as altering goes it's just dumb
The tint is not legal bsau 145e stipulates that they must comply with a set reflective index
Excellent video
Just about to put a private on my car for the very first time and found the information in video very helpful and informative
Follow the rules and keep the pigs of your back😂😂😂
Thanks and keep up the good work
You need to do an update there are a lot of the information in the video is now not correct. As we have moved from bsau145d to bsau145e
Great video...im in Northern Ireland and I would say 4/10 cars run non standard plates, different font and no kite making....
post code etc to be printed on the plate are for plates after 2021
My previous car, a Gen 3 Hyundai coupe got through 10 MoTs with 13mm letters on the front number plate. The last 5 MoTs it got through without even advisories, despite having 164k miles. Until some petty bureacrat at an MoT station actually had time enough on his hands to find a millimtre missing! My garage replaced the plate without asking or telling me, and charged me £22 plus VAT for it. A year later I had to replace that plate because it had discoloured and delaminated after only 3000 miles and 12 months!
I've got 3D gel plates on my new(er) coupe now. Lovely.
If they did it without asking you then they have no legal right to charge you, unless you authorised them to do any repair work. Sounds like a scam to me,. I'd have told them to get stuffed and wouldn't have paid - they can't take it off again without your permission either.
would a glitter black on the correct front be legal ?
I have a couple of questions about registration plates, albeit not about legislation.
1. I've visited countries where the plates and fonts are very similar to ours and they don't all exclude the letter I or the letter Q like we do. Our format nowadays is probably unique but some people have registration numbers issued before year identifiers. So what happens if an overseas car arrives in the UK which happens to have the same reg as a UK car or at least a similar one if its letters I or Q are read as a number 1 or O? I admit it's unlikely but it must be possible.
2. I had a neighbour decades ago who had a registration something like '10 BD'. Years later, I passed a car with '1 OBD', Obviously, it could have been the same registration number with "illegal' spacing but might the licensing authority back in the day have issued 10 BD AND 1 OBD and how would ANPR tell the difference if the plates existed today and were spaced identically?
But it would take ten seconds for ANPR to decipher what the plate should be 10 BD or 1 OBD so why don’t the Authorities allow the owners a bit of fun ?
16:51 It goes like a 2.0TDi, it is actually a 1.9 so it does help air flow
That memory tag used to relate to the local office the paperwork was done. Now it’s all computerised and centralised so the tag relates to the location of the garage doing the registration or where you live if your have a new number assigned.
Not exactly. A car can have the same memory tag if it came from the same area, it doesn't have to have come from the same garage or dealer.
@@severnsea3924 Location/area. Same thing. You’re arguing the same point.
@@Cous1nJack You're missing the point. The way you described it was "the tag relates to the location of the garage". The "location of the garage" to me means the specific point where that garage is based, not the entire town or area. The tag relates to the area, it has nothing to do with any particular garage. Who cares, anyway?
@@severnsea3924 Who cares. You clearly.
@@Cous1nJack Couldn't give a toss pal, it's just a conversation.
As far as I can see there is no rule that says your reg must be centralised on the plate either.
DVLA probably just assumes everyone would want it centralised.
If you had a really short reg, say 3 characters, you could have all the characters to one side to be different if you wanted and be legal.....
[ AB 1 ]
Most worrying for me are the almost invisible heavy tinted plates. Ideal for hit and run situations. Come on plod do your job chase these up.
Many thanks for the information best to know the law
Hi,
Thanks for the video. Very informative! I quite like the Welsh dragon on my plate. Usually, you if you have a flag, you see a border, too. Is this something that will be allowed, or are the borders gone, too?
I ordered my Private Plate when purchasing from a private plate website (Swift Reg) it's coming as 4D with a black border.... is that okay? I assumed it was considering its the actual website providing it
One thing worth considering but never seems to be mentioned anywhere is the number plate lights on the rear of the car. Most cars have two lights for the number plate now, but you'll often see a car with one of the lights out. If one isn't working you can be prosecuted for that, as petty as it may seem, even if the other light is bright enough for you to read the full plate. Sounds petty but people have been pulled over for it.
I don't think you'd be prosecuted for having one number plate light out but it wouldn't pass an MOT.
@@johno4521 if its fitted it must be working so yes you can be fined for a bulb out
If it is out normally if you do get puller over the officer will give you a warning to get it fixed and make a note of the car on the system so you get seen 24 hours to change it after that if it still not fixed and copper sees that then will fine you for it never normally fine you first time as happened to my dad before coppers said you get 1 warning as you can say yea i noticed it just off now to get a new bulb.
But one thing i noticed a lot more is people that put on super bright LEDS that make the plate hard to see as it making the reflector shine i guess that might get you puller over as it might not pick up on AMPR and might get a warning to change it or fine you for that.
I'm thinking that your talking about across the pond and not the states. I detect a
british accent .
Questions for next update...... Rules and regulations regarding rear number plate illumination. i.e. brightness/colour cast/light spread. And number plate angle i.e. degrees off vertical.
I ask because I bought and fitted a tail-tidy for my motorbike, and the new plate hanger is raked a noticeably shallower angle than the stock hanger. Also the new plate illumination bulb led is a bluer colour cast than stock. Am I risking a pull/fine? Have I just been lucky so far?
Nope, the rear number plate just needs to be illuminated. There's no mention of the colour of the light or the angle, as long as it can be read from anyone following behind you.
The two main rules for lights are a bit quirky. (1), you can display any colour of sidelight (but not headlight) on the front of the car, but not red, and (2) that all lights fitted must be working, even if it's illegal to use them!
for the second one, what I mean is you can paint your car to look like an American police car and fit red and blue flashing lights to it - they must work (or it's an MOT fail), but you're not actually allowed to use them because then you would technically be impersonating a police vehicle.
Some of these retro fit LED number plate lights are crazy bright , they cannot be legal as it amounts to showing a white light to the rear...
@@severnsea3924 I had a 1965 Ford Mustang a few years ago which used the sidelight and indicator 'together'. I was on several occasions given a 'producer' to supply tax etc and eventually fitted a separate white lamp until the rules changed and I put it back to original. The tail lights were similar, but red and I was told ad nauseum that rear indicators should be orange, but I refused to change them
Well explained and to the point. Just one question that I haven't managed to find the answer to. I know there has to be 33 mm between the two groups, but iv seen so many that have 11 mm between the groups making all one word, iv seen more spacing, iv seen three groups (eg G H12 YFF). So is Ok to have 11 mm between all letters making one word? If not, why do so many plates exist like that?
No that's illegal, you have to follow the spacing for the type of place you have. If it comes with a space of 33mm you will always have a space of 33mm
Hello mate, I have a private reg, it reads as the same as a current reg for cars, for example i have AB15FGH, BUT i want to put a space after the first 3 letters, and then keep the last 4 together so it reads AB1 5FGH, I have seen so many cars like this so how is this illegal and surely a nan or grandad driving this car with these kinda plates doesnt intend anything bad, i cant seem to find a answer if i should do it or not
It's illegal, if you use a reputable plate supplier they will not make it like that for you. If nan and grandad choose to use a "show plate" provider off ebay, then they deserve the same treatment as everyone else.
That being said, as long as you kept the font and size standard I wouldn't imaging you getting pulled with that spacing (personal opionion)
@@CorpsMedia I only want 1 space after the first 3 letters and leave the end 4 together, i wont change anything else hmmmm its a gamble
That is just asking the police to pull you over, who needs that hassle?
Altering the plate is illegal without question
This is far better than the videos with the Devon and Cornwall black rat lying about the regs. Having bsau.. in the corner doesn’t mean it meets the standard. The bsau does state the colour and reflectivity of the white/yellow.
Why do the Brits make registration of a vehicle/plate application so complicated? I understand no tax disc anymore, just plate recognition cameras. Great way to raise revenue eh?
Because all they want to do is make money off us from any possible way. They don’t care if someone’s car or jacket is getting robbed. All just a money grabbing scheme.
It’s a brilliant way for them to raise revenue. Making millions out of basically nothing, just letters and numbers in a certain order. Crazy when you really stop and think about it. But defo worth it for the dvla to ‘make it so complicated’.
It's not really complicated, it's just that people often feel they can do their own thing. In some other countries they are much stricter than in the UK. For example, in Iceland, number plates are supplied via the police and cannot be knocked-up by anybody else.
Cracking video very informative keep it up
You didnt mention metal pressed plates :)
True, but as long as it follows the stated legal parameters then you should be fine regardless of material or manufacturing method
@@CorpsMedia I don't think that's quite right. When the regs were updated in 2001 it stated that if the plate was slightly damaged it had to be flexible enough to retain it's shape. As metal plates are generally aluminium they don't retain their shape and therefore don't comply with the regs. The exception is classic vehicles, which I think are those that are 40 years old or more. I could be wrong of course.
@@severnsea3924 in which case the current halfords plates which are aluminium with a sticker on wouldn’t work
@@severnsea3924 - I don't know about that, as the plastic plates can be quite brittle and crack when impacted.
Quick question as i cannot seem to find this anywhere - if you apply a private reg to your car, what do you do with the existing that is associated with it - is that a retention plate and if so, where do i report/record this so that when i come to sell it i can move my plate to another vehicle.. Thanks very informative vid.
Hi. The existing plate goes back into the system as available, but unless it is desirable and someone requests it, it just sits there. You will get it back when you purveyor private plate on retention. If the original plate is no longer available, you get a similar one of same year. If he's really worried, you could put original plate on retention but I've swapped private plates many times and always been allocated the original back. 😉
@@kevinbond3088 Thanks
Tinted plates reduce the reflectivity, so are illegal.
Will having a temporary cycle rack (with cycle )on the rear covering number plate be legal ? 18:40
Yes.
Illegal
Could you please do a video on what is allowed in a bus lane . I had 3 year battle with various authorities with regards to this . I think you will be very surprised that more can use it than what you would think. I have been lied to deceived by omission, and argued with complete ignorants. It is very simple but complicated. I am sick of hearing “ it’s PSV only”NO it’s not . “ your a private hire not a bus”it doesn’t matter what job your doing . “ it’s for vehicles that stop at bus stops,and take individual fares”NO again .
Below is list of people getting it wrong and should know better.
Taxi licensing
Traffic sergeant
Driving instructor
Driving test examiner
Fleet traffic manager of bus company
Bus lane enforcement officer ( later admitted he did know. Hoping I didn’t)
Parking officers
Man supervising driver awareness course
CPS
Many more individuals
It’s solely the vehicle that’s allowed not the driver , I’ve caught many out who lied and when presented with law they back down with comments like “ how did you know that”
“ your not supposed to know that”. Traffic sign regulations and general directions 2002 say in reg. 23 “ any vehicle constructed or adapted to carry more than 8 passengers ( excluding driver) and any ‘local bus’ not so constructed or adapted shall be bus construed accordingly”.so if you fulfill this reg. you are allowed in . Regardless of enforcement officers opinions
. Most confuse constructed or adapted with carrying or licensed to carry or capacity.
Was told secretly by VOSA inspector that authorities don’t like law change and try to keep it as it was in past , he admitted he has been instructed to lie about it untill court , then if other side quote law then withdraw.please help spread word
Not many people have a vehicle that can carry more than 8 passengers, so isn't it best just to stay clear of them and save yourself the hassle?
@@severnsea3924 law says “any vehicle constructed or adapted to carry more than 8….” . Note words “constructed or adapted “. And a mini bus regulation says same o therefore any vehicle described as mini bus on log book can , so can stretch limos and some”
land rovers “
I see more vehicles not using it who can , than I see vehicles using it who shouldn’t be.
What about trade plates that are in the window?
Looking on the gov site says it not allowed in the window has to be outside the vehicle. Guess it because of the readable from 20 meters as if in window it tilted up and if sunny can make the glass shine in places so not easy to read.
From the gov sites rules:
put them on both the front and back of the vehicle, or just the back for motorcycles
make them visible and easily readable from a distance of 20 meters
put them on the outside of the vehicle
not cover the existing number plates, unless it’s a motorcycle
@@giggity4670 trade plates can't be fixed to the front of the car as there is no way of securing them
@@MCraigyboy7 I have no idea how they want you to place it as just says has to be outside the vehicle does not say were outside just front and back of car. But i see it in windows all the time i don't think it is a problem and getting fined for it is very low chance as traders places are not on for long. I don't think the police will mind as long as it is easy to read and not tucked in the corner of the window cutting parts off from view. Police wont really bother with it unless you give them a reason like driving bad or trying to annoy them if you are puller over for other things by talking to them in bad way then they will find a reason to annoy you.
And if you do ever get pulled over for it just be polite and respectful to them say you seen many others that do it that way and even ask them what is the right way to do it they might know and show you or they might not know as long as you nice to them and not sticking phone camera in there face trying to annoy them they are nice back and wont fine you unless they really big pricks but it very rare it happens.
i really like this bloke he is on the same side as me number plates are number plates nothing else
I have a 4d plate the amount of police that have seen it and none of them say anything
Are those 11 inch by 3 inch nunberplates legal?
520mm x 111mm is the legal size, you could go shorter but only if the digits permit.
UK has been metric since 1965 🙄🤪
You can have 64mm height letters if you have an American car that's not EU spec
I have a question. Could I use a 22 number instead of the original 64 plate?
You cant make the car look younger in age with the plate. So in short, no.
Thanks for the advice. Appreciate it.!
Someone doesn’t like Audi’s 🤣🤣🤣
I was running a tinted rear plate on my T6, yes was darker.. but in my opinion still ok. I had police behind me plenty of times and was never stopped but it was always on my mind, and never wanted my partner to be stopped, so ultimately changed it back. I wanted to be stopped to know for sure, because I never was it makes me think it’s always going to up to the officer at the time .
What about on the front. I've just brought tinted plates and they are quite dark
@@tyyearwood9032 my take on this is as such.. front plate needs to be white and rear yellow. When you add tint, white becomes dark, grey even. Added to the rear and yellow becomes yellow, albeit a darker shade. As I said it will always be up to the officer at the time but to date I’ve never been stopped and had plenty of police directly behind me .
@@jamesallen5627 I've always thought they would care less about the front plate, seeing as lots of people drive without one and don't get pulled over, they aren't the main plate that cameras are reading (At least where I live, only carparks have front numberplate readers and those are private) and it would still be readable by the human eye or camera footage.
Really if you don't want to be stopped or risk a fine and waste time with the officer that pulls you over just don't bother with the tint or changing it as will just cause problems as some coppers might fine you even know it is legal while others wont bother just a headache if it happens fighting it in court not worth the trouble over a tint that you don't even see most of the time. And it does not make the car look cooler just makes it stand out and make other laugh at you on how silly it looks.
@@giggity4670 actually a tinted plate on a brown T6 swamper does look cool and as it happens, after posting that I swapped it back and never been stopped even with police behind me at lights .
my plates font is fine, spacing is fine, but i have a red outline on the letters, is this legal? the website i bought it off says it’s road legal. but i’m not sure.
So the colour allowed on plates legally is only black, and you can’t have coloured gel in a different colour either.
@@slvmmed1686 That's not correct. There's nothing in the regs that says any other wording needs to be black. The actual font for the number plate does, but not the rest of it. My daughter's Ford has a Ford oval logo in blue and their main dealer address. I'm sure they wouldn't be churning their cars out with a blue Ford logo on the plates if it wasn't legal.
You can have a union flag on them with the letters GB or UK in different colours too. UK is now the official abbreviation but you can still put GB on there if you prefer. As long as the background colour and spacing is correct you can put more or less anything else you want on there, borders, flags or anything as long as it's outside the specified spacing area, i.e more than 11mm to the left or right of the registration number.
3D and 4D plates are legal as long as the characters are black, no other colours allowed.
4D plate are for ding dongs. Same goes for people altering the spacing to make it something it’s not. Usually because they can’t afford the proper plate. Spend your money on a lottery ticket.
Nice
I have seen a pattern here are the plates. AISHA X ISLAM X MOOMED, TA55EEN, YASIN X, they were so badly constructed some had the smoke tint, some had an Arabic font. some had a Palestine colour scheme The police daily drive past and I have seen cars with no front number plates, with plates on dashboard and the cops pull me over as a person who is under 30 driving a car with a dirty number plate, which was clearly legible but had just come off a motorway in snowy conditions!
It is believed in some circles that a certain demographic is pretty much 'untouchable', because the police are terrified of the race card or accusations of so-called 'Islamophobia'. I don't know the actual truth of that.
Instead of 3D and 4D it should be 3DE (for 3d effect) and 3D for genuinely 3d plates. None of that 4d bullshit.
Just my opinion, but 3D and 4D plates look awful.
New changes in number plate laws coming later this year, get 3 tickets from anpr cameras and you win a Q plate. And see the price of your car halved. This comes from a traffic cop.
If that was true you wouldn't hear it from a traffic cop, it would be mainstream news
I was told years ago that if you are stopped 3 times for the same number plate offence that the dvla could revoke your plate and issue a Q plate. Not sure how true it was.
@@andicog would be age related not q.
@@Cous1nJack No, take a look, repeated plate (poor spacing, font, tinting etc) offences will see the dvla withdraw a vehicles registration and issue a Q suffix plate. A Q plate is also issued to vehicles where the year of manufacture is unknown or a vehicle is made up of components where the age is unknown. Its on the dvla site if you take a look. Obviousley the trade value Q plated vehicles lower. Over 30 years I've run bikes with small plates, been stopped a few times, been warned, been issued a form for the mot station to check plate and been fined once in Wales for a slightly undersized plate.
@@andicog It's true they can revoke your plate, but your vehicle would just revert to its 'homebase' number.