Number plates

[masma]

My daughter has received a fine (£60) for her 'registration failing to conform'
She has had the car and number plates for 7 years without any problem. The numbers and letters are of the correct size but there is a very small 3 lions logo to one side.
Is this really an offence and if it is why are these plates still being sold?
She rang the police and they'd never heard of it.

[New Judge]

This is not the same as a parking ticket, joko. Parking tickets are now "decriminalised" and an appeal can be made to an independent adjudicator to have it rescinded.

The offence with which masma’s daughter is charged is a criminal offence under the Road Traffic Act, prosecuted by the DVLA. It is legally on par with a speeding allegation. As with speeding, if the accused wants to refuse the offer of a fixed penalty the only route open is to have the case heard in the magistrates’ court. There is nobody to write a letter of appeal to. That is not my “spin”, it is the law.

[Electrochem]

I sympathise with you.

Everyday I see numerous illegal plates and the police never seem to do anything about it, so your daughter was probably caught by a rookie cop with some time on his/her hands.

I do object to a lot of personalised plates where the spacing is incorrect. To my mind they should be pulled over and suffer the inconvenience of being held up for a few minutes, then given a FPN.

The law on letter spacing and font is quite clear. The problem is that people buy show plates and keep them on all the time.

From what I understand, having had to get a new plate myself last year, all plates should have the BS Kitemark and the name and telephone number of the supplier on them. I may be wrong, but I believe this is the case.

[Electrochem]

Further to my last answer:

What's the British Standard for number plates?
The British Standard sets out the physical characteristics of the number plate. This includes visibility, strength and reflectivity.

The British Standard also requires each number plate to be permanently and legibly marked with the following information:

•The British Standard number (currently BS AU 145d)
•The name, trademark or other means of identification of the manufacturer or component supplier (The company that made the plate)
•Name and postcode of the supplying outlet.
Other options:

•A non-reflective border
•Euro-symbol with national identification letters