Did anyone read the MCN article on the new numberplate laws that may be coming in?Does this mean that as from now, the police will be targeting small plates? I have had my small plate on since i got the bike with no probs, any advice? I really don’t want to put the windbreaker back on, it will ruin the look of my rear end (ooooo errr)
Everyone who runs a small plate will have this concern, though you have to remember that MCN are plagurists of the first order when it comes to stuff like this. Nobody has said this will happen, they’ve just made the conclusion that it could happen as the Police and Government will want to get as good results as possible out of their National ANPR system.
I think personally, that it’ll either come into the limelight as we’ll start getting more fixed-penalty fines, or it could go as they predict and the law could be changed to award points for this offence. It’s a pretty heavy penalty though, for such a minor offence, so I think the first option is more likely; more fines.
What gets me though, is that every copper I’ve been forced to have a chat to about small plates seems to actually BELIEVE the spiel they dish out about people with small plates are hiding something, or are likely to be criminals… Complete CRAP, we just don’t like the frickin’ ugly standard plates. What’s so hard to realise about this?
But then, we all know why they’re asked to take this line; it’s a cover for the fact speed cameras and ANPR have a hard time reading small plates, and so the gov is missing out on stealth-tax funds. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ve met a number of friendly cops who don’t give a fudge about small plates and loud exhausts, just about people not smearing themselves across the road, which is fair play.
Are there any police who are members on here that could shed some light on this? As i really don’t want to be getting 3 points on my licence for somthing as trivial as a small plate, i can handle a fixed penalty of £30, but it’s just not worth it for points on my licence.Also is ther a law that dictates where on the rear of your bike that the plate must be? What i am getting at is putting the plate further under the undertray, maybe at a slight angle.It really is about time the motorists(car and bike) of this country started standing up for themselfs aginst such blatant tax collection,as i think thing can only go from bad to worse, if the politicians and do gooders are just allowed to always get their own way, with no proper cosideration or hard facts.
Last year went to Kos and they all ahd thier number plates hidden under the under tray looked much better. 
Thats of course only for the bikers that bothered with plates.
mcn plagurists of supposed crackdowns? just a bit eh 
think position of no plate comes under design and use regulations and has to be readable from certain angles stood away from back of bike, all lights etc are covered by this (had problems with a mates custom vw ages ago
the vosa website might have regulations about it in the sva test requirements bit
The 3 main things the law don’t like are dark visors, loud pipes & small plates. Generally i’ve found you can get away with 1 or 2 out of the 3 (depending on how norty you were being to be tugged 
)
sadly the law is the law and if we choose to break it knowingly then we shouldn’t complain at the consequences… (even if the law is an a$$)
As for What mcn said, it’s a bit of a worry… but as Jay said they are a bit OTT at times. Don’t think any of us would mind number plate data being used to genuinely detect & prevent serious crime, how much power they will have with the monitoring we’ll no doubt find out.
As with all these “systems” they will only be able to detect and punish those who are law abiding and are the registered keeper of a vehicle and have insurance, tax etc. They will still be relatively powerless to deal with the insured, unlicensed scum on the road 
Correct Biggus - it wont catch the real crims.
The question is - WHY change the law.
Now lets pretend. A master criminally is planning to transport his stash across country by bike. It’s worth a cool million to him. Comes to the point when he’s ready to go.
Does he decide to run his mega sports bike with letter box plate and uber-loud race can coz if he didn’t he wouldn’t look ’ cool ’ - despite the fact it could attract attention and scupper his dastedly plan? Or does he think ’ I’ll use a legal plate and can for this trip so he doesn’t attract attention.
Get the point - any seriously crim/terrorist will not be put away / caught because of this. They’ll run legal, run a stolen bike ( I understand that there may be a bit of bike theft these days ), or run fake plates anyway. SO WHAT IS THE ****ING POINT!!!
The point is to squash press us into a 24/7 surviellence state - we are already the most monitored population in the world already, and its going to get a LOT worse. This is just another tightening of the noose.
Funnily enough - I remember when all this didn’t exist ( 70s / 80s ) - and I don’t remember the world crashing around me and society imploding in a bloodbath of anarchy. I also feel a lot less secure now - get into a scrape and your likely to get knifed etc.
To any police members - I know you boys want the tools to do your job - but at some point it’s got to stop. Hell, if you follow the argument, we should all be DNA tagged at birth ( some are seriously calling for this ), have a microchip implanted so our location is known at all times. And while were at it why not cctv cameras in every room of every house, as so much crime is domestic.
It all makes logical sense - but funnily enough it’s not the society I signed up for.
Rant over
A few weeks ago I stopped at my local garage for petrol, but stupidly stopped off for an expresso & nibble with the bike parked arse out . . . . watched as a bike cop pulls in . . . . spots bike/me and comes over for a chat.
He tells me he can see the plate is small but I havent tried to hide it and “as a member of xyz area ANPR team he is happy the system could read mine, so he wont give me a ticket” . . . but that some others might, had a little chat and off he went, a decent bloke.
Also, he told me single line number plates [like mine] are illegal ? not sure about that one . . . . .and there was no mention made of the lack of number plate screws - with a plate the size of mine [small] normal screws would have messed up the lettering badly anyway.
kao5…
“Motorcycles registered on or after 1 September 2001 must display a two-line number plate number plate. Motorcycles registered prior to the 1 September 2001 may display a three-line plate, but one-line plates are illegal, irrespective of the date of registration of the motorcycle.”
source: http://www.dvla.gov.uk/vehicles/regmarks/reg_marks_current_requirements.htm#motorcycles
Aha, thanks, I was wrong there, but cannot for the life of me see why - surely it is harder to read one line, then go down and back to read the line below ?
Anyway,I will keep it for now, if i get feedback [tickets or warnings] that the 1 line small plate is getting me more attention than a 2 line small plate would, I will change it. For now, the great British public are free to enjoy seeing my pert single line plate bottom disappearing into the distance on the roads and highways. Enjoy.
The worrying thing for me is that they will be able to time us from camera to camera! Being able to nick or ban us on the average speed.
I was looking into laser diffuser, but that wont hide the plate from the cameras.
Remember that report on London tonight, when the congestion charge came out. There was a gizmo that beamed light over the plate, rendering it invisible to the eye and cameras, was about £50-£60.
Anyone remeber what it’s called, and where to get it???
Ok,
right ANPR is a great bit of kit to be used in getting one back over on criminals…disqual drivers/uninsured drivers/stolen cars/bikes etc…
even yesterday my team were involved in the recapture of a wanted Robber in a stolen vehicle on the M1 after ramming numerous vehicles and driving the wrong way down at Newport Pagnell he was T-pac’d and even then he emerged swiping with a Samurai sword damaging police bikes and hurting officers…none seriously.
he was nicked and remanded, result.
and it all started from an ANPR hit.
anyway MCN are scaremongering.
yes the law is to change on plates but it is to hit the people that like to put on playing card size plates and the type you can’t read at 1 ft away!!!
slightly smaller plates are to be left alone, basically if the ANPR can read it it’s ok, and officers know what can be read and what can’t.
another myth is this spray/laser diffusers and the like…the ANPR will still read it and alert the operator it has struggled to read it…
any misread etc the operator looks at the image and can type it in manually.
It’s a horror story and i wouldn’t lose any sleep over it…
Put it this way, i’m not changing my plate.
Thought as much, MCN will say biking is to be made illegal tomorrow, they thought it would sell more papers one week. I ride with a slightly smaller, two-line plate, I don’t believe it’s hiding my reg, it just looks tidier.
Sounds like a pretty hairy person to have been after, Porkscratchin, blimey!
complete nutter by all accounts…
afwiw steer clear of one line plates on bikes…for some reason they put the backs up on a few of my london colleagues for some reason…
no need to feed the ammunition now…
Nice one Porkscratchin, Think i will change my one line to a two line plate, just keep it a little smaller, that way i get the best of both worlds, smaller neater plate to keep my rear tidy (dose my bum look big in this!! ), and at the same time not have the worry of getting 3 points.