Number plates what is the law!!!!!!!!!!!

[rapport25]

I have seen a few cars over the last few days and im sure there number plates are ilegal. I was considering get some new ones for my pug and would like some advise. Example my reg is V802 YRP as seen on my pics. Have seen cars for example say using my reg V8 02 YRP is this legal as i thought the spacing had to be a certain way. Dont get me wrong i thought they looked a bit different to say standard but would like to use the plates if i purchased them. Thanks for your help Rappy

[DaiRees]

Here you go matey, all you need to know

It's actually a bit of a pet hate of mine, the number of illegal number plates you see on the roads these days is just rediculous. Spacings, fonts, colours, logos and symbols, stupid backgrounds.... I feel that there a lot of people taking the piss out there! You could get fined up to £1000 for displaying illegal plates, so I'm surprised that the law don't go after these, easy money!

One of my colleagues has private plates on her MGF with a really dodgy font so that the numbers look like letters and it spells her name, then she has a huge block on the left with a playboy bunny in it . She recently got stopped and fined £30 and told to put it right, she had new plates made up and immediately got stopped again because the shop (her mate's boyfriend) that made the new plates had misread the original plates (because they were that dodgy) and got them wrong, so she was driving a car that actually displayed the wrong registration number, and she hadn't even noticed . She fluttered her eyelashes at the copper and promised to sort it, went home and put the original ones back on and forgot all about it. So she's still driving 'round with the grossly illegal original plates - pisses me right off!

[rapport25]

Thanks for that Dairees, I was unsure of the law as the cars i have seen you could clearly see the reg as shown above with mine but the spacing was different. I know what you mean about people trying to change letters to look like something else etc..... I wondered if the law had changed as i have seen a host of various cars with the spacing as i have shown above. Mine still gets mistaken for an 02 plate

[DaiRees]

In the case of yours, with the 8 being mistaken for a B, that's just down to the similarity of the characters and nowt else. The correct spacing for the old style and new style places is effectively the same.

V802 YRP
VB02 YRP

Never mind eh? At least tey don't think it's 3 years older than it is.....

[Livefast123]

The regs governing the spacing of lettering are as followed

2001 onwards - Group 1 letters 11mm and Group 2 13mm depending on which system is used.
Pre 2001 - 11mm

Problem is that it's seen as picking on the innocent motorist again. The public don't see that those types of plates are used to get away with crime ect and on the flipside if their car is stolen it will not be picked up by static - car mounted ANPR sets.

DVLA are fed up and have said that you get 2 chances via police reported offences then the registration mark will be withdrawn from you. Bearing in mind the worst offender are usually expensive numbers then maybe they will think twice.

[rapport25]

Dairees, my plate getting mistaken for an 02 is not an issue . The first time i had taken my pug for the mot test the guy thought i had brought it to early for an mot test . Which i still rib him about now. It was just the spacing my query was about. And its been answered. It would be ilgeal so thanks for thw advice everyone

[Welly]

Imagine (god forbid) that a child was knocked down by a hit and run drunk or whatever and no-one could read the plates because they were all jumbled up and too close

[ianst28]

i gotta be honest i have no idea about the legalitys and such on plates all i do know is that the computers that we use will not allow you to incorrectly space a number plate the amount of people who ask us to space the letters wrong and then pitch a fit when we say nope we physically cant do that one guy had his plates made up and then pitched a huge child like fit in the shop cuz we refused to give him his cash back he complained to head office and trading standards sometimes i wish people would get a life