DEEDEE

Well if the crime statistics are down do they automaticlly pick on motorists. I moved the gap on my number plate I know its illeagle but its a petty offence, compared with all the other crimes. If they spent more time chasing the real villians,but thats too hard and I was an easy target. £30 fine and told if I get caught with the plate on again I will be issued with a Q plate is this correct ?. Then they say support your local Bobby. So any body in the Derbyshire Area bewarned they are looking for brownie points. It made me so mad not the £30 but knowing I was doing no harm to anyone like some of the scum round here, and they are still doing it.

BOB.T

I agree it's a petty offence but then you knew that, so why do it? I also agree the police could use their time to better effect but what would you do in their situation?

Bob

letdown

I would suggest a flame-suit for you!! people on this BBS seem to be pro-police.

[This message has been edited by letdown (edited 06 February 2001).]

pslewis

They could have asked you to alter it and show the plate at the station in, say 5 days time, would have done the job and kept a member of the public on their side - simple really but they so, so often lose the chance to keep respect (you must be fair with them too, mind you, not rude and mouthy!!)

My wife in her Metro, rarely speeds and was a fan of the police!! - until last spring on the way to school when she was clocked by a copper hidden in the back of a van (he was in The Sun newspaper looking so bl00dy proud of himself - I hope someone has inserted the camera sideways in him by now!!) anyway, my point:-

The police are there clicking away on the school run - the wife was done at 38!!! - while on a friday night on the same road the scum of the area are racing up and down at more than 70mph!! where are the police then??????? hmmmmm yes, in the cosy station looking at how many mums they 'DID' that morning and feeling so bl00dy smug of themselves.

There we are then, they lost the respect of so many people on that morning of tickets - they could be burning and no-one would cross the road to p155 on them - this is so sad but sadly true.

The police must get the right people - prosecuting the normally innocent, whilst allowing the always guilty to go as its too much trouble, is not the way to win friends.

Some coppers are great and have a lot of sense - its normally the young eager kid coppers that seem to get out of hand, IMHO.

Pete

Chins

Have to say it gets to me when I see all the people messing with their number plates. What with bad spacing and stupid fonts. If the police didnt do anything about no one would be able to read any number plate. A line has to be drawn somewhere.

Sorry no sympathy from me. Just wish they would pull more people on it. Amazed at how long people local to me are allowed to drive with number plates as they are. You need to go to Latin Classes to read some of them.

Buy a nice number plate and it is told to you in no uncertain terms the condition of the sale.

With regards to the police. Its the same in all walks of life that the youngsters think they have something to prove. Maybe if the govenment ploughed enough dosh into the police a nice 30year old experienced copper would accompany them. Certainly helped when I got pulled a few year ago - I could see the lad dying to pull his notebook out, the nice female traffic cop had a quiet word.

If you want people with something to prove go try the armed forces. The young officers there make the police look like cuddly toys.

Jonathan

[This message has been edited by Chins (edited 06 February 2001).]

logiclee

DEEDEE,

Police in the Mansfield area have been cracking down on this for a couple of months. A friend of mine own's the car shop on Skerry Hill in Mansfield and has had so much trouble he will now only sell fully legal plates.
Later this year the law gets even tougher with all plates needing an EU conformity stamp with all letters and plates being of correct size, shape, font, colour and spacing.
You don't want the digital speed camera's to have trouble reading your plate do you.!!!

Lee

MrData

DeeDee

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Chins and say I've got no sympathy for you either.

If you know it was wrong, why'd you do it?

I heard a good line from a copper once, when asked by a motorist;
motorist: "why did you stop me, what about all the others?"

plod: "Did you ever go fishing?"

motorist: "yes, why"

plod: "Did you catch all the fish?"

Regards
Kurt

letdown

Another fishing quote!! "what about the big one that got away!!!" he he!!! I think the point of this thread was have they not got "Bigger fish to fry??"

DocJock

DEEDEE....so you deliberately have an illegal plate and are upset about being stopped ? If nobody comitted *petty* offences then they could concentrate 100% on *real villains*.

Sorry Pete but doing 38 at school run time is probably as bad as 70 at night when there are no kids / hardly any traffic around. How many of the *MUMS* compain about traffic outside the school ?
Agree they should be there in force at night as well though to do the little *******.

DJ

Chris L

I'm with Kurt on this. I know it is not a big deal, but why give them the excuse to pull you?

This happened on the way up to Donington last month. I was in a convoy of about 6/7 Scoobs (led by Blowdog's ever-so-subtle Evo Mak ). We were all being sensible, but when we went past this traffic cop who had just pulled over this other guy, he virtually ran back to his car and came roaring after us. He went past every car in the convoy obviously doing PNC checks etc and he was itching to pull us over. He eventually managed to get one of the guys for an illegally spaced number plate. Cem gave him a piece of his mind , but it made no difference, Alex (I think it was anyway) still ended up with the fine.

If you have a look at the DVLA site and others, this is one of the things they are going to be cracking down on. I saw a nice TT a couple of nights ago with the reg M4D TT, with the '4' tilted to oneside to look like an 'A'. MAD TT is a great number plate, but you just know this guy is going to get pulled sooner or later.

Chris

[This message has been edited by Chris L (edited 06 February 2001).]

boomer

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by pslewis:
<B>My wife in her Metro, rarely speeds and was a fan of the police!! - until last spring on the way to school when she was clocked by a copper hidden in the back of a van ... done at 38 mph ...[/quote]

Sorry Pete, but if your wife was doing 38mph (and possibly more) in a 30mph zone during the "school run" then she DESERVES to be nicked! This is JUST the kind of inappropriate driving/speeding that this BBS hates (and which gives good motorists a bad name).

Targeting speeding on motorways, rural dual carriageways etc is FAR different than that outside schools at chucking out time!

Sorry to disagree,

mb

pslewis

DocJock - I quite agree ... the point of what I was saying is that if the police were also nicking the ones who tell them to go shove their heads up their 4rses and spit at them etc. then it would be OK ... its the fact that they 'do' the nice little mummies cos its easy for them.

The mums have no probs getting 'done' - as long as the scum also get done - do you understand where I am coming from now??

Pete

logiclee

Pete,

I know what you mean. Plenty of speed traps around my way, usually timed for work kick out times. Last Summer we had a problem with the boy racer brigade flying around at 60mph-80mph at 8pm-11pm. A number of times I called the Police and so did others, usually 10 minutes to get through and a car sent, if at all, a hour later.
I understand the Police resource problem it just points towards the easy target thing.
Don't get me wrong I have respect for 90% of the Police and I try not to speed in built up areas (zero points), just those with operational control duties need to re-think.

I was also a witness in a crown court case and had a few problems. Rang the local station as I was being threatened and had some damage done to the wife's car, the desk attendent said they could get someone to see me in the morning. I ended up ringing 999. Someone needs to look at Police priorities whith resources as they are.

On a lighter note this is the first post where I have agreed with pslewis.

Lee

JGRIFF

No we are not. Contrary to popular belief we are out their catching "proper" criminals, but please don't complain if you make a decision to do something unlawful, and then get punished for it. Ask Stuart even as a specialist traffic officer he very seldom has the time to worry about number plate offences!, they come a long way down the list of priorities

Indy

I live on the sleepy Isle of Wight where hardly anybody drives more than 40 mph. SERIOUSLY!!!

However, when it suits Hants Constab, they bring a dozen men over, sit in a car park and "zap" cars picking up speed over 50 metres (uphill) from 30 mph as they see the 60 mph sign. They can also pick up people decelerating from 60 mph (downhill) to 30mph.

The speed limits are clear and you can see exactly what is happening, so it is your own fault.

HOWEVER, my point is: If the police are genuinely concerned with controlling speed limits, why not (as Jeremy Clarkson once suggested) stick up a speed camera so that it is clear to see (pink perhaps?) so that you can WARN people that they are in the wrong? Play with fire my son and you've had it. Hey presto, a response that Pavlov's dog would have been proud of!

Sticking 12 bizzies behind a car park wall saves NO lives and generates income alone (and probably winds up a few people).

Is it 2 weeks before something comes through the post from the courts? Return journey each working day? That's 20 potential incidents.

...and if police resources are that stretched would it not be cheaper to stick up a camera?

Heaven forbid, we might even save a life...

ian/555

If you do something unlawfull does it automatically mean it was wrong or dangerous?

As far as I can tell most laws passed relating to traffic offences these days are there for the prime reason of raising cash FULL STOP!

Before you say if you are not happy with the laws change them, how would you suggest we change them? Bearing in mind that most of us are busy doing mundane things like Earning a living, getting an education and raising families.

In an ideal world no one would commit an unlawfull act, but from my experience we don't and never will live in an ideal world.

Chris L

In response to Indy's comment about speed cameras. Couldn't agree more. If they are meant to be a deterrent and not just an easy way to generate income, why aren't they painted fluorescent orange? Surrey CC have the habit of painting them green to match in with all the surrounding trees and bushes (heaven forbid, they might get a complaint from someone that these speed cameras are very ugly and can't they do something about it..). If you're ever in the Reigate area, look out for the green painted camera on your left as you come down to the bottom of Reigate Hill

DocJock

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by DocJock:
<B>
Agree they should be there in force at night as well though to do the little *******.

DJ[/quote]

Pete

I wasn't having a go at your missus in particular. My post (badly worded perhaps) does agree with you on the point about the scumb@gs

DJ

banshi

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by JGRIFF:
<B>. Ask Stuart even as a specialist traffic officer he very seldom has the time to worry about number plate offences!, they come a long way down the list of priorities [/quote]

Obviously few criminals or speeding drivers in Nottingham then! Probably the same near me judging by the amount of time a Panda car regularly spends parked outside a nearby house.

Scooby

As far as the Police are concerned, Number Plates are big business! If their little cameras can't read them properly, then they can't generate all that lovely lolly for the government.

This is probably all part of some productivity deal with the Home Secretary to prevent budgets from being squeezed and funding their increasing array of Super Cars!

Dave P

I am positive that a sure way to pick up 3 points and a fine is to suggest to a police officer that they should be catching proper criminals.....

At what point do you become a proper criminal? Is it:

a) when you speed
b) when your speeding gets someone killed

Whenever you break the law, WHATEVER the law, you risk getting caught. If you are prepared to take that risk then that's your shout and you should take it on the chin like a man.

Dave

DavidLewis

Got pulled just before Xmas for the same 'spacing' offence. Plod was very nice and after explaining that the DVLA were clamping down on this and it would be far easier to identify the car if I reported it stolen (bull$hit) he wished me a merry xmas and sent me on my way. No ticket, no fine. Lucky really, coz if he had checked, it would have been my second offence. Anyone know of any decent Q plates out there?? Q111CKY maybe?

RussP

The way i see it is this...

If by taking a standard number plate and making it "more interesting" ie take 13 EAT and make "BEAT" - should the number plate need to be remembered by a member of the public or copper, then it's more likely to be remebered.

Short of the plate being completely obliterated (in which case i agree that it should be cautioned) it's a completely victimless crime that actually has a POSITIVE angle to it.

In todays computer age, it's hardly difficult for plod to sort out what the plate really should be and match it up to cars of that particular type.

Result? More chance of catching the naughty boys - or at least having a chance of tracing it.

On the other hand, it's another easy nicking for the "Revenue Gatherers"

Russ (who doesn't like police traffic policy much)

Otis

I must admit that I ain't a fan of private plates or spacings, especially those A12 BOB types - poor mans private plate IMO, but hey one mans meat.....etc. However I do feel that when plates are 'adjusted' to say something like 'R 5END' I think I would stand more chance of remembering something like that as a witness say of a hit and run than I would of a standard plate! So what harm are they? I suppose they are legislating like this as someone always takes it to the extreme, but at the end of the day I do feel it is somewhat harmless. Small plates and fonts are a different matter though .

As for the Police, well they ain't ever done me any wrong so until they do I ain't got any beef with 'em really .

Otis.
V*** J AT

GP

that's a terrible bad case of the rationalisations you've got there Russ.

Number plates aren't just to indulge a few egos by fiddling with the lettering - do it, get caught - stop moaning.

If everyone just realised this that'd be one thing less to take up the coppers time, wouldn't it ?

If you must be noticed, spray your car pink or something

BarryK

Oh well, they have their job to do. I don't think ALL police are *~*, no more than I think all Man Utd fans are from Manchester!

I agree with Otis (real name John Arthur Thomas, ha, ha!) odd bod number plates are more, rather than less, memorable and so likely to attract more plod/public attention, whteher legal or not.

BarryK
V*** EDB

JayDee

As everyone knows, modern technology (SPECS, etc) is on the way which incorporates optical character recognition of number plates. Clearly if they have been messed about with these wonderful devices will not be able to read them.

this is why the campaign to make number plates more easily readable.

Course if things like SPECS ever become widespread, you might feel that the risk of being stopped for dodgy number plates is a better risk than 5 million points, life ban, asset seizure hung drawn, quartered, and the social opprobium that results from exceeding the 70 limit by 1mph

JD

RussP

ACAB

Russ

Neil Smalley

Jaydee.

If that happens(lots of SPECS) camera's all you need to do is remove the front number plate. That's only a 20 quid fine and no points.

AFAIK number plates that cannot be read automatically are flagged and read by a human operator.

The only thing safe from SPECS's camera's are motorbikes(no front plate) and senior members of society(footballers, Chief constables and ministers)

pslewis

Ok DocJock - we both got the wrong end of each others threads!!

Lee - be careful M8 - you will be buying a Trailer Tent soon!!!!

Friendly little thread what??

Pete