Replacement number plates

Freakitchen said:
I had some from dubmeister on my Mondeo. They were correctly spaced with the correct character size. They had all the right markings on and they asked me to send them the V5 before they'd print them. They were incredibly reflective, more so than plastic ones, but technically I guess weren't made of a 'reflex reflective material' which was the wording, at least when I last checked. So I guess they weren't legal?
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My understanding is that it needs to be the right colour (white/yellow) and have the background but not the text being retro reflective. Whether the plate conforms to the BSAU145d(a) specification (amount of light reflected, what angles this is visible from etc) is down to the manufacturer of the reflective film.

You can get pressed plates that meet and are certified to BSAD145d(a) but it's down to where you buy your plates.
 
Kaeo said:
The rules are there to ensure that plates are of the same standard and ones that aren't being made to standard are traceable, not to distinguish vehicles apart. The only correct way to distinguish vehicles apart is by the VIN number.
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I didn't say that the rules were there to distinguish cars apart, I said that was the purpose of number plates. And yes of course VINs are another way of doing this, but these can be changed reasonably easily just like plates can so aren't exactly infallible.

It's my understanding that the government created the system to restrict and track who can legally create number plates in an effort to try and prevent cloning. I don't think it's got anything to do with checking and tracking plate quality; I agree that would be a pointless system.

At the end of the day, the government system is completely ignored, cloning is still rife, and anybody and everybody can still make and sell number plates without much comeback from the authorities.
 
[TW]Fox;27026648 said:
Genuine question - are specials now used for traffic duty or are these vehicles stopped for reasons other than plates etc and just happen to have them?
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Specials have been part of the Roads Policing Teams for a long time but due to cuts there are less RPU officers around (both Specials and regular). We are all part of the same team so district resources have always been expected to enforce traffic law like any other. I stop vehicles for all sorts of reasons, from minor traffic issues like dodgy lights and number plates to a plethora of other reasons.

Often I'll just talk to the driver, but it gives me an opportunity to smell their breath for alcohol or drug use etc so it's amazing what will come from a trivial stop. I have stopped people for blatantly illegal personal numberplates before and reported them to the DVLA for them to enforce, but I generally don't get too worked up over it.
 
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