MK5 Golf GTI
General => Random Chat => Topic started by: Baz300 on August 18, 2013, 12:50:25 pm
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First of all I'm not having a dig at the police this thread is just a warning to anyone else.
I have pressed plates with German font on my golf for over a year but I got stopped by the police yesterday for having them.
I was polite to the police officer during the whole time he was speaking to me and I got away with a warning because I was able to change the plates in front of him.
The worrying part of the warning was that the fines have changed in the last week and it is £100 for each plate so I could of been looking at a £200 fine. He has also take a note of my details and told me that if I am spotted with the pressed plates again I will be stopped and fined.
I also think that with the fine changing more police will be on the look out for illegal number plates.
I am thinking about getting the dubmeister legal plates but I don't know if I can be botherd with the hassle of having to prove they are legal if I get stopped with them.
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I've used the dubmeister plates on my previous cars and not been questioned about them once.
I think it depends on what area of the country you're to aswell, Police seem abit more lenient around this area.
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The key thing here is GERMAN FONT.... nothing to actually do with pressed plates per se!
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You mention German font which I imagine would be illegal no matter what plate you had on. I wonder if you would have been pulled if you had a legal font. I must admit the thought of being fined is the only thing stopping me from acquiring some.
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Pressed ain't illegal it's the font. I used to rock pressed German plates An after being pulled 4 times in two weeks I ditched them. You can by uk pressed plates that are legal
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Anything other than the british standard font is easily noticed and therefore you would probably be pulled and fined. Another thing to watch out for is mis-spaced number plates, if you are caught and fined twice DVLA will take the plate from you. eg MK5 5GTI instead of MK55 GTI.
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Stick to pressed plates with uk font and the BS code thingy stamped on it :)
Sent From My Samsung S3
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He told me that the metal plates don't reflect the same way and can't be picked up by ANPR or speed cameras he didnt notice the font until after he stopped me.
I know the German font is illegal and I have gotten away with it for over a year, I've been followed by traffic cars plenty of times so I think the ANPR would of been able to read my plates, my plates have been automatically recognised in plenty of airport car parks too.
As I've said I'm not moaning about being stopped, but with the fines rising I think they might be more inclined to look for dodgy plates. And a £200 fine is definitely not worth the risk
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£100 :fighting: Been using dubmeister plates for more than 5 years without any problems. One officer asked how much they cost. Cheeky bugger :grin:
he was more interested in my tinted windows .OEM officer honestly :signLOL:
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The key thing here is GERMAN FONT.... nothing to actually do with pressed plates per se!
Rich is right.
I was very recently pulled over in a town centre for a random "flag them down" drink drive check campaign. I passed the breathaliser test with a score of 0 as expected which was completed in around five minutes.
They then spent what must've been the next 25 minutes talking to me about my pressed plates, which importantly are 100% legal and purchased in that knowledge. They have a stamp on but it's a very small font, probably size 4 font or similar in reality. The important thing is they have the stamp in the correct place and it's clearly readable at close range.
They quizzed me very politely on where they were from, how long I'd had them and the officer I spoke to for most of the time informed me that he couldn't actually scan them on his Blackberry QR reader which hooks-up with some sort of ANPR Blackberry app. He quite rightly pointed out that while they plates are legal, if some ANPR readers can't read them, it's no good to me as the owner should the vehicle go missing.
While I don't think that will be true of all the ANPR cameras on the back of traffic cars and in the ANPR fixed Van units (surely that would then be an offence?), it was interesting to find out in a chilled discussion.
No further action was required and he let me on my way.
Plates on the Audi are identical to these from my GTI. Font is completely standard, so not modified like the german pressed plates being discussed.
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fv394%2Frdfcpete%2FIMAG00942.jpg&hash=f3634cad8cdcbecea5a3d3ead03dcf2f6ec0c351)
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Using German font you are asking for trouble. I have the legal uk font plates and will be rocking them on my M135i.
There was a circular posted to police forces by the DVLA (can someone repost) which tries to remind the police forces that pressed plates are perfectly legal providing they adhere to the correct standards.
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Anything other than the british standard font is easily noticed and therefore you would probably be pulled and fined. Another thing to watch out for is mis-spaced number plates, if you are caught and fined twice DVLA will take the plate from you. eg MK5 5GTI instead of MK55 GTI.
Who told you that ? How would DVLA know ?
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He told me that the metal plates don't reflect the same way and can't be picked up by ANPR or speed cameras he didnt notice the font until after he stopped me.
I know the German font is illegal and I have gotten away with it for over a year, I've been followed by traffic cars plenty of times so I think the ANPR would of been able to read my plates, my plates have been automatically recognised in plenty of airport car parks too.
As I've said I'm not moaning about being stopped, but with the fines rising I think they might be more inclined to look for dodgy plates. And a £200 fine is definitely not worth the risk
Sorry but he's is talking rubbish that they don't reflect the same way or can't be picked up by ANPR as I've had dubmeister UK font legal pressed plates on mine for well over a year and the ANPR system at work that's in our car park has no problem whatsoever :happy2:
Dave
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I've heard of this, if mis spaced or illegal fonts on private/cherished number plates after x amount of times the DVLA revoke the plate and iirc they don't alway put it up for sale again either and you can get upto a £1000 fine as well as loosing the plate
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Only in England would the government sell you a personal numberplate that says something, only to then fine you for actually buying it and using it.
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Ive had dubmeister pressed plates for 4 years on my car, never stopped. Perfectly legal.
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Just been looking through this interesting thread from what appears to be a Police forum. Seems most are arguing the fact because steel regardless of it being coated inst made from reflective material therefore are illegal. Some argue agains this but just shows the mentality
http://www.policespecials.com/forum/index.php?/topic/136915-pressed-metal-number-plates-uk-compliant/ (http://www.policespecials.com/forum/index.php?/topic/136915-pressed-metal-number-plates-uk-compliant/)
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Load of bollocks about not being picked up on ANPR. Wouldn't have three points on my license otherwise!
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Load of bollocks about not being picked up on ANPR.
It's amazing how much bull5hit the police talk about ANPR. I once had an interesting discussion with a traffic cop friend. He would not have it that it was designed by the military and only bought by the police.
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They have to call the cut off somewhere though... otherwise where would they draw the line with "acceptable number plate fonts" ??
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I took mine to the police station before I fitted them... The copper came down with all his print ours hoping to hand me my arse but realised they were legal and was fine with them.. He also said that other fonts are illegal but his ANPR will pick up any font... Even gypsies writing on their caravan plates
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When i got pulled for having the front plate in my window :laugh:
The copper looked at my rear plate which is pressed but never said anything to me, has the BS stamp etc so fully legal.
Having german font is just asking for trouble tho :party:
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I've had the dubmeister 'legal' pressed plates for the past 2.5 years. Had no issues getting parking tickets :fighting: :grin:
Also have been stopped on a random stop by the cops and they didn't even mention the plates.
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Just been looking through this interesting thread from what appears to be a Police forum. Seems most are arguing the fact because steel regardless of it being coated inst made from reflective material therefore are illegal. Some argue agains this but just shows the mentality
http://www.policespecials.com/forum/index.php?/topic/136915-pressed-metal-number-plates-uk-compliant/ (http://www.policespecials.com/forum/index.php?/topic/136915-pressed-metal-number-plates-uk-compliant/)
Yeah I read this before. But regular plates are made of plastic, which is not inherently reflective anyway. It's the paper behind that makes them reflective. So I call BS.
Ultimately tho I reckon if they want to give you a ticket badly enough they will find a reason. Whilst I am firmly in the "do the police have nothing better to do" camp, if you take the risk you pays the price.
Anyway I've got legal Dubmeisters a not a problem in the last 12 months. Tbh you have to be looking out for them to notice the difference.
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Sub39h - sound advice right there.
I'm sure garrardrj will back me on this.
Pressed plates are only an issue when they don't conform to legislation. I speak to, and came across, people who told me "but I bought it from ebay and they said 'cos it has a BS number, it's fine!"
The amount people that go on about "it's got a BS number on"!! errr, so what! Just because it has a BS number on it, does NOT mean it's legal.
If the following are fulfiled you have legal plates. Dubmeister/Europl8 do fully legal ones and paid £££ to get BS approval (which is what gives them the right to stamp it with a BS mark).
UK spec font as set down in legislation
Correct spacing for style of plate (ie: XX52 XXX or XXX 1234.....not X J52ON X etc)
The background is retroflective (if it is and complies with the standards set by the British Standard for numberplate, you can stick the BS number down).
The maker's name and postcode
If you have all the above, you are legal. If you get a ticket, contest it, have your day in court and you WILL win. Simple. I have had it once, unfortunately the CPS decided to drop it 5 day before court when they found out I knew what I was talking about. It has also been mentioned in two other stops. Both said fine in the end.
The DVLA will only find out IF the police officer fills in a DVLA form, takes photos of the plates and gets you to sign the form (or you refuse). DVLA won't take any other way. They then write to you going, sort it out or else. Depending on the severity will determine how quickly they withdraw the plate. Sometimes if it's that bad, DVLA will withdraw it straight away. Others you'll get one/two warnings. Regardless, the DVLA will only do this to cherish transfer plates (ie: private regs).
The problem is pressed plates (ie: metal) are not natually retroflective. They can be treated to be and that is what makes them comply with the British Standard. If you do buy a set of pressed plates, this is key if you get a ticket and want to go to court. If it is not retorflective, game over. Take a photo of the plate at night with a flash. It it reflects, it's retroflective. If it doesn't, it's not.
@Baz300 - the guy is right in a sense as metal itself doesn't reflect, but as said, depending on where you got your plates, they may well actually comply with the BS.
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http://www.policespecials.com/forum/index.php?/topic/136915-pressed-metal-number-plates-uk-compliant/?p=2493021
But I mean, ultimately all of this is juvenile. Any plate meeting BSAU 145d will meet the legal requirements.
It could be made of beryllium.
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http://www.policespecials.com/forum/index.php?/topic/136915-pressed-metal-number-plates-uk-compliant/?p=2493021
But I mean, ultimately all of this is juvenile. Any plate meeting BSAU 145d will meet the legal requirements.
It could be made of beryllium.
Exactamente