Obscured by dirt, I mean. So fouled up as to be totally illegible. Rear plates mostly. Seen plenty of those, driving past me on the motorway these last few days. What I wonder is, do they also fool the GATSOs? The ANPRs? etc. etc.? Is it an offence? Should I shop them? But how? Comments?
Yup it's an offence. It's also a welcome seasonal embellishment for some. It would probably be more helpful if you went around wiping them clean rather than reporting them to the police.
I can just see it,"id like to report some cars with their number plates obscured by dirt speeding" "certainly sir,cars number please?"
Aye 'tis an offence. It's also the one thing I don't like about my motor. Living in rural parts, the roads are particularly filthy and the design of my motor (A-class) seems to attact dirt like no other on it's rear end. I keep a supply of wipes in the car and I have to clean the rear plate daily. Indeed, just the drive five miles into town to get the weekly shop in can render the rear plate *filthy*. It's an 4R$3.. literally!
Its never actually crossed my mind,so i went out and took a look at my car.And it is indeed blacked out with muck from the last few days driving around.As for being able to do something about it,i dont think you can,it just depends how often people clean their cars,i for one dont do it often.
Yep - I am a sad B******** and do this occasionally! I was in Fenstanton Travelodge the other week and a prat in a BMW (with Prat plates) drove in at speed, blared his horn at a car that was in his way, and parked in the disabled bay because t was closer to the Hotel. When we came back from the pub, we cleaned his plates for him!
Now that would be funny. "Don't you worry about the speed and those flashes, Traci my hot secretary who I'm taking away for the night to 'a conference'. I may have been doing 110, but the rozzers will never catch me. It's winter, and the back of the beemer is black with salt. I can do whatever speed I like until the car gets cleaned at its next service, and that isn't until March. Now pass me that Keane cd from your door pocket and let's get it on." 10 days later, in his hallway after picking up the post- "Curses to you Cunobelin, you lentil knitting sock eater!!!" <Angrily shakes fist at police-letterheaded notice>
There was a piece in the Sunday Times the other week on this subject. They interviewed one total plonker who had altered a C to an O because he had been Gatso'd 3 times in 3 days in 3 different places. This "proved" to him that Gatsos were deliberately designed to "extort money from people like him". He was, of course, perfectly correct in that - he was such a co-operative victim, aka plonker
You only really need to clean it if you're the sort of person who would have a crash and bugger off without leaving details. If you know you're not going to do that, then it doesn't really matter - to you, or anybody else. You're hardly going to think "I know, I might speed today, but I agree with speed cameras so I'll wipe my number plate clean in case I get caught."
