whats a metro plate?

[svensktoppen]

Rybo, thanks for your PM, now I see what happened.

The remark in the first post was actually intended to support you - I have never quite got this obsession some modifiers have with the "look" of the number plate. Everybody has the same ones, for the obvious reasons you state... Guess it did not come out that way.

No harm intended.

Still wondering what the actual rules are, for the reasons stated in the second post.

 

[rybo]

No problem!

Rules are as post #23:


http://www.dvla.gov.uk/media/pdf/leaflets/displayofnumberplates.pdf

 

[forde]

Metro is the font. Meaning the style of the lettering, not the size of it.

So, if you get 79mm metro it will be legal? Look at cess's for example, its not small it looks the same as a standard plate.

I had metro font on my old plates but it wasnt small i reckon it was the same size as the font on my standard plates.

 

[forde]

.

People who drive round with stupid italic fonts and making letter look like different letter, etc should be pulled over and booked, but I think if a cop pulls you for a metro plate, it is silly. I understand that they are illegal but they are still perfectly readable by the ANPR system and human eye, i personally think its just an easy £30 target for the cop.

x2, if its good sized metro like cess posted up and not the small stuff, and a cop cant read that, they probably shouldnt be drivin a cop car lmao

 

[B A Baracus]

I think Rybos last Quote should be lifted into a thread on its own and made a sticky and when anyone ever asks about Metro plates or other fonts we can direct them to it

Thats basically why I started the ANPR thread but I wasnt sure if it was ok to post the information Rybo did

 

[Mark_C]

I think ANPR is a good idea, I just wish they'd give them a decent system.

 

[Rob]

Metro is the font. Meaning the style of the lettering, not the size of it.

So, if you get 79mm metro it will be legal? Look at cess's for example, its not small it looks the same as a standard plate.

I had metro font on my old plates but it wasnt small i reckon it was the same size as the font on my standard plates.

That's because Cess's IS a standard plate

 

[forde]

That's because Cess's IS a standard plate

lol, oh rite, guess i misread some posts.

i had metro tho and it was that size, just the font was slightly different. Tbh you couldnt really tell the difference lmao maybe ill take a pic.

 

[Neil@rockvale]

There is a massive difference between metro and standard when they are both made 79mm legal height . the metro looks daft that size as its too chunky and has to be squashed in to fit the length of the plate .

 

[RComms]

Just to add my 2p's worth. I personally think the type of car you drive makes a difference as well. I know that SMW Volvo sells new cars with the plates below (I presume these are Metro from what I can see above). I wonder how many of these Volvo drivers get pulled for illegal plates? It might be an interesting statistic.

 

[Conor]

could you put your fine on the dealership then??

 

[Woodcutter]

RComms - the plates that came on my car from Bavarian are the same style as yours, massive big fat metro digits that basically fill the entire plate.

 

[DaddyCC]

could you put your fine on the dealership then??

Yes and quite a lot of people have and the dealerships paid

 

[Graham2]

My mums MINI has a plate the same as RComms too.

 

[PeteJ]

Ballymena, but we cover Larne, Moyle Ballymoney & Coleraine districts as well.

The ANPR system can at times read non-standard fonts in ideal conditions. Once you throw others factors into the mix, such as bad lighting, rain, higher speeds etc then the system is less accurate.

Take the time to Google how effective ANPR is in tackling crime.

Sex offenders are known to travel many miles from where they are known & monitored, for example, to 'frequent' schools in areas where police do not know them or their vehicle. There are so many thieves, drug dealers and other persons of interest about, officers from say Armagh couldn't realistically be expected to memorise all the details of a sex offender & his car from Belfast & retain it indefinitely. ANPR can. It works away reading plates while officers are concentrating on other patrol matters in a way that no amount of officers can.

What you're also forgetting is that this legislation was in place LONG before ANPR was even thought of. That's because the human eye needs to be able to read number plates on a moving car at a reasonable distance. Many, many criminals have been arrested & jailed because they've been clocked leaving the scene of a crime. I've brought many a person before a court, tracked down because of their number plate. You have no idea how many victims of crime have reported rapes, murders & other serious crimes & the only lead is a number plate. A high percentage of them are wrongly reported or only partial numbers, often because the lettering was too small, too close together to read at night at 50mph in the rain etc.

Those criminals who change their plates to avoid ANPR are likely to be pulled in by police for that very reason.

It's just not a matter for debate. you may think your 'metro' plate 60mm high or whatever is perfectly readable. It doesn't meet the legal minimum standard which is, and will continue to be, enforced.

Your right to 'personalise' your car doesn't give you the right to override this. So that's some of the reasons why we take this stance on it. Maybe not what you wanted to hear but there you go.

rybo ive read this thread, and to be hoenst your replies were starting to annoy me, as i was taking the view that you only come on here to 'educate' and 'teach' us the law as if your doing everyone a favour and we should be in debt to you.
however that response i have quoted is the approach you need to take, you have clearly stated the reasoning behind it, and yes your totally correct and i agree 100% with this. it is the law, and laws are there for a reason. however asyou well know people break the laws, so all you can do is point them in the correct direction which you seem to have done.
I am not having a go, as you never get on like your above anyone usually, but one ro two posts earlier could be read like you are talking to people and obtainnig that vulgar and disrespectful attitude that so many police have adopted over time. most unlike you.

 

[rybo]

Thanks, (I think!)

I am on here to explain aspects of the law & the reason we act on certain things. The post(s) I think you're referring to were a result of a mutual misunderstanding with another member, which was quickly resolved in an amicable way via pm.

Unfortunately I too am frequently subjected to vulgar & disrespectful attitudes from the very people I'm trying to help.
But I do apologise if any of my posts come across in this way.

 

[Crispy Rice]

Do you mind me asking, is it a policy of the PSNI to educate drivers by posting on internet forums or is this something which you have decided to do yourself?

This is sincere question please don't misunderstand it as being facetious, I am genuinely interested.

 

[Mark_C]

I think it's a good idea to have a resident 'official' - saves rumours and scaremongering and makes sure people can have the correct information rather than jimmer hearsay

 

[Nazor]

true ^ at least we are getting facts

 

[B A Baracus]

Crispy Rice - Rybo and buds are good enough to come on here in their own time and give us advice. (just ignore anything Bastidlad says)

 

[Crispy Rice]

I agree that it is a good idea, some of the posts can come accross as fairly condescending but all in all there has been some great advice given (esp in the Legal section).

My question stems from wondering if it is policy to monitor these (and other forums) that is it also poilcy to attempt to secure prosecutions using evidence from posts which are made here.

 

[rybo]

I'm doing this in my own time and at work - in the full knowledge & blessing of my superiors.

It is our role as police officers to educate as well as enforce - both have their place in reducing casualties on the road. I am a petrolhead and enjoy cars & bikes.

But to answer the other part of your question, no I don't monitor this or any other sites to gain evidence of offences to act upon, nor have I done so. I haven't heard of any such goings on anywhere else either.
And people on keyboards say they've done stuff they haven't, just to look good, so I take these claims with a pinch of salt.

I do occasionally warn people that if they carry out what they say eg drive without proper insurance, cut springs and the like & I come across them on patrol, I will deal with them properly. I do this in the hope they will think about that & change their mind, rather than me or some other officer having to prosecute (or worse still have to attend their collision).

 

[Crispy Rice]

Thankyou for a direct and succinct response