Tinted number plates

I guess its just NCT testers giving leeway then

That and the fact that many of the offenders have a legal set of plates in the boot and fit them for the test.

A young lad was showing me his new second hand car last week and he had two sets of plates in the boot.

Theres no chance the M50 toll cameras can read them. Surprised they are not making an issue out of it for lost or potential lost revenue.

I couldn't make one out less than 2 metres from me when stopped.

There's one great trick to avoid draconian fines - fit the proper plates!

There is no fine.

The law was updated for it to a FCPN, the corresponding finance act, for which it shares subsections with, haven't been updated with the fine amount.

Btw.. the FCPN fine is supposed to be €60, but the finance act doesn't reflect this, so until that happens.. nothing will happen.

Didn't you once say "you'd have to admire the courage of someone willing to risk the consequences of breaking the law", or words to that effect, when cars were getting wing-mirrored by scrotes? Does that not apply to drivers/cars? Or is it only when the drivers are the victims that you think it's admirable?

So you went out of your way to put smaller plates on your bikes (which I presume are harder to read by passers by) and the only time you got caught then sellotaping the proper size on was sufficient? SMH.

TBH, I'd be reasonably confident that I never said any such thing about cars getting wing-mirrored, but feel free to go searching and prove me wrong.

Either way, it's not really got anything to do with lads running dodgy plates.

Way to dodge the question.

It may not have been in response to wing mirrors being removed but you definitely said it. I'll try to dig it up but the search function has been borked on boards for almost three decades at this point.

Edit: Found it

It was in relation to air being let out of tyres, not wing mirrors, but the question remains…..do you admire everyone who risks ending up with a conviction or is it only when they're criminally damaging cars that you find it admirable?

Question dodged again, I see.

I had a feeling you knew exactly what I was talking about, but were being deliberately obtuse my mentioning the wing mirrors. Looks like I was correct.

There's a fair ol difference between deflating a tyre and breaking a wing mirror, in terms of getting it fixed. To fix a deflated tyre, you pump air into it. It's an inconvenience, not damaging.

It's illegal. So is using dark tinted plates. You admire one act, but not the other. I was wondering why (we all know why, but I wanted to hear your own justification for it), so I asked the question. I'd argue that deflating someone else's tyre is magnitudes of order worse than using a tinted plate, but whatever. Your refusal to answer the question has scuppered any further exploration of that thought.

I've never heard of anyone getting a criminal conviction for deflating a tyre, but perhaps it has happened.

A complete non-sequitur. You're the one who admires people who risk the conviction, you're the one who brought it into the conversation in the first place.

There's also a fair ol difference between deflating a tyre in an attempt to stop our planet melting, and fitting a fancy plastic reg plate which may well avoid vehicle identification in an attempt to look cool.

Not really in the same ballpark at all.

Agreed. Messing with someone else's property is much, much worse than a crime that doesn't really impact on anyone else in any direct, meaningful, tangible way.

What makes you think someone would answer your question when you've repeatedly refused to answer theirs?

The Road traffic Act 1961 is the law.

113.—(1) A person shall not, without lawful authority or reasonable cause, interfere or attempt to interfere with the mechanism of a mechanically propelled vehicle while it is stationary in a public place, or get on or into or attempt to get on or into the vehicle while it is so stationary.

Why do you admire one act of law breaking and not the other?

Honestly, it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that deflating a tyre is 'interfering with the mechanism'? Is a tyre a mechanism?

Yes. The wheels and tyres form part of the mechanism of the car. You cannot drive with flat tyres. Interfering with them is illegal.

It's just a bit of rubber, and when deflated, is easily inflated.

When you have a pump to hand, and possess the ability to use it. Plenty of people out there who don't have either.

I've made my position on both issues absolutely clear. I've refused to answer your 'have you stopped beating your wife yet' question.

You haven't. The issue is the same in both instances; i.e. the courage of risking a conviction after breaking the law. You've made two separate statements which directly contradicting each other, hence the request to elaborate on them. Your refusal to elaborate speaks volumes. Your insistence that "why do you think this about x and not y" is a leading question is completely absurd and is nothing but a way of dodging a valid and legitimate question.

Its all level as @AndrewJRenko and @Yeah Right contend for the crown of king of the internet. Its expected to go late into the night as both contestants fuel up on a can of monster. Serious dedication from both participants in this tit for tat with one contestant even throwing in a few multi quotes. can the underdog year right beat the seasoned champ Renko with an impressive 30k posts of junk. Stay tuned

@Yeah Right moves 1 point up after a carefully considered post that took 30mins to complete.

Except that I didn't claim that "both wheels AND tyres aren't essential for a car to be mechanically propelled". I did question the definition of 'mechanism', as legal definitions tend to be a fairly complex area, which is why we pay solicitors and barristers the big bucks.

So just in case of any doubt, I admired one illegal act, which results in a minor inconvenience, and is aimed at saving our planet, while pointing out that a different illegal act, which is aimed at looking cool and possibly avoiding detection isn't such a great idea.

Actually, now that I think about it, I really didn't say anything at all about illegal plates, except that anyone who wanted to avoid getting fined has an easy way to avoid such fines.

But it looks like you've been carrying some grudge around in your head for a years, and you think you've got a gotcha now to put me in my place.

Sorry to disappoint you.

@flyer_query I'd suggest that's me 2-1 into the lead with a brute force attack?

Ah here, I'm done with this pedantic bollocks, I'll not be replying further.

Except that I didn't claim that "both wheels AND tyres aren't essential for a car to be mechanically propelled". I did question the definition of 'mechanism'

If they're required to mechanically propel the vehicle then they are part of the mechanism, by definition. You're trying to cast doubt on this by hiding behind legal definitions. GTFO of here with that nonsense.

So just in case of any doubt, I admired one illegal act, which results in a minor inconvenience, and is aimed at saving our planet, while pointing out that a different illegal act, which is aimed at looking cool and possibly avoiding detection isn't such a great idea.

Coming out to find your tyres have been deflated is not a minor inconvenience. It's a pain in the hole and can lead to all sorts of major inconveniences like missed appointments or worse. It's not some heroic act, it's pure vandalism of the worst kind…….the kind that directly negatively impacts your fellow man.

Actually, now that I think about it, I really didn't say anything at all about illegal plates, except that anyone who wanted to avoid getting fined has an easy way to avoid such fines.

You were acting like a sanctimonious so and so, wagging your finger and chastising another poster in a smarmy manner….."well, you know how to avoid those fines don't ya". It's clear as day that you think illegally interfering with another person's property is commendable while other illegal acts are not. That's what stuck out for me, especially given your previous posts on this topic. Using tinted plates has absolutely zero impact on everyone else. You think one illegal act (which affects your fellow citizens) takes courage, while the other (which doesn't) doesn't take courage. This is the dictionary definition of hypocrisy. Your mental gymnastics to excuse this hypocrisy and refusal to discuss the matter like an adult are, unsurprisingly, infantile but expected.

But it looks like you've been carrying some grudge around in your head for a years, and you think you've got a gotcha now to put me in my place.

Sure thing, Walter Mitty…..whatever you say. Add me to your list of arch enemies if it helps you sleep at night.

I'd suggest that's me 2-1

I was already 2-1 ahead, do try to keep up 😉 But, like I said, I've no desire to continue this pedantry with a self-appointed, hypocritical arbiter of right and wrong.

You have a good day.

I would have said I thought I had seen it all:
> German font (without hyphens, or county name) on 'D' plates complete with fake Ingolstadt (for Audi) or Wolfsberg (VW) stickers and TUV stickers on them.
> Italics and other fancy fonts
> A black stripe instead of blue
> A black stripe with the car maker's logo instead of the EU flag
> Yellow reg plates (usually without hyphens or EU stripe)
> Creative spacing or omission of numbers (one from years ago having the reg: 7 - W - 7)
> Creative positioning of the fixing screws
> Black-on-Grey text
> And black-on-silver but with a current reg number
And the classic inch-thick layer of mud/muck making the plate completely unreadable

But then I spotted a reasonably nice car with the EU flag replaced with the tricolour and IRL replaced with Eire (including the fada)

My experience has been that, unless the index mark is incorrect for the vehicle in question, or the reg is foreign, the Guards aren't concerned and the driver will still be caught

In your opinion, but I'd counter that the common style of font used on printed plastic plates that copies the UK is downright ugly, pressed metal plates had a slightly nicer one that at least made the 1 look like a 1 and not an upper-case L or I.

The 'FE Schrift' font that's been used by Germany since 1995 or so was designed expressly to be tamper resistant with each character being distinct

You know if we didn't have both a number plate system that encourages snobbery and such an aggressive resistance to allowing folks to customise what they get issued, this could quickly become a non-issue as it could be introduced with a fixed font designation for all new (or reissued) plates.

In Norway they have a pretty simple system: Two letters issued to the region and a sequence number but the option to replace that with anything that isn't offensive, the font is standardised, the plate is considered a legal document and the police will remove plates from vehicles that are non-compliant with road rules including driving without the correct tyres (even from foreign registered vehicles)

The lax system here and lazy enforcement encourages it, and while it amuses me to see it, I consider it an own-goal scored by the powers that be.

Given the grey plates are an attempt to pervert the course of justice, they should be treated as such.

As in so many things here, until such time as they come up in a court case, nothing will be done about them.

We wouldn't be paying barristers €3k a day if your average Boards poster could be definitive about technical definitions in the statute book.

But regardless, you seem to have missed the key objective of tinted plates - which is to avoid having the reg plate readable either by humans or by machines or both. This is absolutely NOT a 'zero impact' on everyone else. And neither is choosing to drive an SUV a zero impact on everyone else.

In fairness, I didn't comment about whether fines for dodgy plates were good or bad things. I just pointed out that they're fairly easy to avoid, for anyone who wants to avoid them.

Risk is not the same as certainty.

Even if we accept that in relation to cameras, they're definitely less readable to humans harmed by the illegal driving of the dodgy plate owners - which is surely their intention.

Something I've noticed lately is that some cars now have extremely bright light bars directly above their front number plate. It doesn't seem to give out any extra light for the driver but does make it next to impossible to read the number plate if you're looking at front of car.

Can't be legal, can it?

This stuff drives me bananas, between the tinted number plates, the 3D/4D plates & the plates with funny fonts!

I see the majority of tinted & 3D/4D plates on new-ish cars also (221/231/241). Obviously these do not need an NCT, so are never caught. Are they getting these plates after-market or what? And why are they not being stopped by the Garda?

That about sums it up.

If we are serious about number plates we change the legislation.

If not it's the Wild West.