Number plate in front window?

[Conor]

I was stopped about two weeks ago by a traffic branch officer,for an unrelated reason to the topic,but while i had the chance i thought id ask him was it legal to have the number plate in the front window,and he said where i had it was fine,as it was clearly showing on the front of the car.

Fair enough.

But last night at a checkpoint a cop tore into me about how stupid it was that my plate was there.His attitude was awful so i argued back stating what the other cop had told me.he was having none of it,so i moved te plate to avoid a fine.

So my question is is it legal to have the number plate displayed in the font window or not?mine was a legal number plate displayed very clearly in the top p/s of the window.

and if it is legal,is there anywhere on the net or whereever that clearly states this in case i run into the same p***k again?

This cop also told me that my plates were illegal,the ones from rockvale that i had to send my v5 away for.

 

[Boydie]

AFAIK legally your plate has to be on the front bumper of the car but I do not know about cars with stickered plates on the bonnet

Found this:

The ability for a numberplate to be read is covered by Statutory. Instrument 1971 No 450 - The Road Vehicles (Registration & Licensing) Regulations 1971. Part Ill - Exhibition of Licences and Registration Marks states the following:

( 1 ) The provisions of this regulation shall apply to vehicles, other than works trucks and agricultural machines, first registered on or after 1 October 1938.

( 2 ) The registration mark of the vehicle shall be fixed and displayed on both the front and the back of the vehicle, so that in normal daylight the letters and figures are easily legible from every part of the 'relevant area', the diagonal of the square governing the 'relevant area' being 75 feet.

( 3 ) For the purposes of this regulation, the expression 'relevant area' in relation to a registration mark on a vehicle means the area contained in a square described on the ground, either in front of or behind the vehicle, where one corner of the square is below the middle of the registration mark and the diagonal of the square from that corner is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, but excluding any part of the square within 10 feet of the vehicle.

It is an offence to allow the numberplate to be obscured. This is now a fixed penalty offence, and therefore more likely to be policed. Obviously, this is of some concern to towbar fitters and to drivers of vehicles with towbar attachments


and this:

http://www.personallyyours.co.uk/number-plates-numberplates.htm

 

[Graham]

Oh the joy of motoring

i think as long as the registration plate is forward facing and clearly visible it's legal, however behind tinted glass "clearly visible" is something that it might not be ?

 

[Conor]

Yeah i wont mind at all if it is illegal,im in the wrong then and thats fair enough,just cant understand why id be told otherwise.

Nah graham it was very visible where it was,no sunstrip!

 

[Graham]

there is nothing that would mean you putting it on the front bumper, just "forward facing"

i know Rcomms had a vinyl plate stuck on his bonnet but due to the bonnet pointing more skywards than forwards he was asked to remove it

 

[Conor]

Whered you get that boydie,wouldnt mind printing that out.

 

[Boydie]

I just googled number plate position laws or something like that

 

[saxo_man]

Whered you get that boydie,wouldnt mind printing that out.

Is this where you had the plate when the cop stopped you the first time and you asked him about it or did you just ask was it legal for you to display the plate in the windscreen?

 

[Conor]

Thats where it was when i asked was it legal.

 

[Jason MacQ]

Id imagine its a grey area, that if argued, you'd lose. The first officer was probably just accepting you for a reasonable chap, the second more focused on his job.

In all reality, the glass will create alot of reflective glare and make your plate somewhat impossible to read in certain light.

Its another daft VAG fad of late, although i have to say most i have seen on the road are bottom left at an angle, not top. Looks a bit daft when you have a number plate holder on the front of the car though.

 

[pablo]

why not put it on the bumper where it belongs?

 

[big cyril]

I suspect an anpr or spec camera might not be able to read it as easily behind glass or at an angle?

 

[andy_gdon]

why not put it on the bumper where it belongs?

Too logical

 

[pablo]

well it looks ******* stupid, and is clearly illegal.

 

[saxo_man]

Cannot possibly be legal to have something like that on the windscreen.

 

[Graham]

if it was on the outside of windscreen it's prob 100% as it's forward facing

 

[smyth]

Personally I would put it There:

On that gap

 

[Conor]

LOL oh dear,a harsh reaction to an oul fad...lol

Il remember not to ask again.

 

[smyth]

either way, the car looks well i forgot to say also lol

 

[Rik]

It does look a wee bit silly mate, there is clearly a big gap on the bumper were it should be

Car looks great tho! Only Fabia I've liked

 

[big cyril]

either way, the car looks well i forgot to say also lol

Numberplate aside I agree, looks well

 

[natogreen16v]

well it looks ******* stupid, and is clearly illegal.

the authority on the law has spoken. question answered

 

[Jason]

ffs i wouldnt even embaress myself asking a question like this course its not bloody legal (for looking gay!)

 

[pablo]

car is mint and ruined by a stupid fad.

 

[Bryan]

The old Citroen SM had it's number plate behind glass in the central part of the grille between the headlights. Behind glass shouldn't be an issue I would imagine but diagonally across the top of the windscreen like that might be a different story.

I drove around with the Octavia plate in the front screen but on the dashboard so it was sitting straight. The only reason for this was because the front bumper I had on the car needed painted so there was no point sticking it onto the bumper until it was painted.