Faded ink on tax disc

Scuzi

Scuzi

Scuzi

Man of Honour
Joined
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I was driving my mum's car through Belfast late last night and was pulled over at a routine VCP. Typically, the first time I get pulled in a long time has to be when my licence is off with the DVA for renewal. :rolleyes:

So the police man asks me for ID, all I have are credit cards which seem to satisfy him. He then has a look at the tax disc for a while, pointing his torch at funny angles. He comes round to the window again and explains that he could do me for not properly displaying the car tax. This is apparently due to the ink on the disc being faded by the sun. The tax was purchased at the post office 10 months ago and they wrote the car details onto it with a biro pen. I looked at it today in daylight and whilst it was slightly faded, it was still legible.

I asked him if he was serious and he assured me he was but because he was busy he would let it go. I was also instructed not to go over it with a pen myself, but to return the tax disc to the post office to have it re-issued.

I went over it with a black biro this morning :D
Could they and would they really prosecute for something so petty? Has anyone else experienced this? Was that police officer just really, REALLY bored?:D


/cool story brah
 
I experienced this in the isle of man as they didnt (dunno if they do now) have the same system as us at the time (you could still break fluid discs and reuse them) so i just took it to the post office and got it sorted so it depends what its like in ireland
 
Does my head in when Police make use of their resources like this - Absolutely no need for it whatsoever.
 
Scuzi said:
I looked at it today in daylight and whilst it was slightly faded, it was still legible.
Click to expand...

This is all that is required.

These are the requirements for displaying a VEL:
The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 said:
Exhibition of vehicle and nil licences

6.—(1) When a vehicle licence or nil licence has been delivered to the Secretary of State with an application for a replacement licence, no licence need be fixed to and exhibited on the vehicle to which the licence relates until the replacement licence is obtained.

(2) Except where paragraph (1) applies, the manner in which any vehicle licence or nil licence in force for a vehicle is to be fixed to and exhibited on the vehicle in accordance with the provisions of section 33(1) or (1A) of the 1994 Act, when it is used or kept on a public road, is that specified in the following provisions of this regulation.

(3) Each such licence shall be fixed to the vehicle in a holder sufficient to protect the licence from the weather to which it would otherwise be exposed.

(4) The licence shall be exhibited on the vehicle—

(a)in the case of an invalid vehicle, tricycle or bicycle, other than in a case specified in sub-paragraph (b) or (c) of this paragraph, on the near side of the vehicle;

(b)in the case of a bicycle drawing a side-car or to which a side-car is attached, on the near side of the handlebars of the bicycle or on the near side of the side-car;

(c)in the case of any vehicle fitted with a glass windscreen in front of the driver extending across the vehicle to its near side, on or adjacent to the near side of the windscreen;

(d)in the case of any other vehicle—

(i)if the vehicle is fitted with a driver’s cab containing a near side window, on that window; or

(ii)on the near side of the vehicle in front of the driver’s seat and not less than 760 mm and not more than 1.8 metres above the surface of the road.

(5) In each case referred to in paragraph (4), the licence shall be so exhibited that all the particulars on the licence are clearly visible in daylight from the near side of the road.
Click to expand...

If what you said was accurate, no offence was committed. This would never have resulted in any other action other than word of advice, not even for a traffic officer.
 
Christ, with all the things going on that are actually important, its things like this which turn the public against the police.

What an utter waste of time, money, and effort. What a *****!!
 
Wow! obviously a slow day/new recruit or something - I would have been tempted to tell him to take it up with the DVLA if he has an issue, you are just displaying the disc you were given, if it fades, it's hardly your problem!

Maybe someone could clarify, could going over it with a biro to make the details more clear be classed as tampering with it?

What I find incredible is that they would have already checked it's taxed etc. before they pulled you.

Conclusion: Douchebag.
 
He was actually fairly pleasant. It was a complete curveball when he said it. I had to ask on here because it sounded completely unfounded.

However, disaster has been averted. The car taxation system meltdown has been avoided thanks to a Bic pen.
 
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