Can one be prosecuted from a Speed Camera if your numberplate is too dirty?

[hongman]

Not asking for me ;)

I was following a BMW estate today, and he was really having it down the 50 section of the A414.

He must of ripped past me at 70+ as I was going a steady 50. Camera went off (thankfully I am 100% I wasn't speeding) and when I caught him up at the roundabout, his numberplate was solid black from road dirt.

Now my reasoning is, surely if they cant read the plate, they cant identify the car.

Other part of me says that is too easy, and that people would purposely avoid washing their cars (esp at this time of year) for this reason. If they get pulled over they could probably spill a story of how it was washed only a few days ago and didnt realise it has got so dirty again.

What'dya reckon?

[MisterTommyH]

If the number is un-readable then you can be given a fixed penalty.

[Owenski]

Not asking for me ;)

I was following a BMW estate today, and he was really having it down the 50 section of the A414.

He must of ripped past me at 70+ as I was going a steady 50. Camera went off (thankfully I am 100% I wasn't speeding) and when I caught him up at the roundabout, his numberplate was solid black from road dirt.

Now my reasoning is, surely if they cant read the plate, they cant identify the car.

Other part of me says that is too easy, and that people would purposely avoid washing their cars (esp at this time of year) for this reason. If they get pulled over they could probably spill a story of how it was washed only a few days ago and didnt realise it has got so dirty again.

What'dya reckon?

Not a valid excuse, if your driving it your required to ensure it meets the required standards for road use this includes visible number plates.
We're often out and about in our vehicles forwork, either last yr or the year before (not important) one of the geo guys got a fine for having an obscured number plate.
Bikes arnt exempt either, been given a bollocking myself for having a crudded up plate following some quarry riding.
We were pulling into a petrol station and instructed to wash our bikes at the jet wash before returning to the road.


He wont get done for the speeding, not worth the hassle of chasing it I'd imagine. But if he's seen with it in that way and plod has time, Im sure he'll be told to sort it.

[Dicky Ticker]

Yes you can be prosecuted for a unreadable numberplate-----as to your heading I doubt if the camera would be able to identify the number through the dirt.

[hongman]

Yeah, I thought as much.

Altough with all this crap on the road, I've seen LOADS of cars with unreadable plates. Mine's getting close and I had it valeted a week ago.

[STRAMASHER]

Don't spray your mates bikes plates with WD40. ;)

[andrewsmith]

as said plates should be readable.
Its like small plates and is up to the discretion of the officer stopping if a fines issued.

[hongman]

I just noticed your avatar, and sicked up a little in my mouth...

[-Ralph-]

Depends on the camera. If it uses ANPR then how well the numberplate reflects infra-red, is more important than how well you can see it with the naked eye.

[hongman]

I guess so. But I'm talking caked in ****, literally the back end was just a blur of crud.

Im not supporting or endorsing the idea by the way - just a passing thought!

[andrewsmith]

I just noticed your avatar, and sicked up a little in my mouth...

I thank you!

[Kilted Ginger]

My wife was done by a fixed, when she came home that night i looked at her plate and it was about 1/4 inch thick in dirt, just a black mess, completely unreadable. I told her not to worry about it.
About 10 days later the nip came through so we asked for the fotos. it was as clear as day, dont know how it just was. so hopefully he'll get done.

[hongman]

Wow. Food for thought.

More amusing still, I thought those cameras had been turned off, as recently (well...about 3 months ago)an ambulance sped past them coming the other way, and the camera didnt flash.

[-Ralph-]

Similarly I got done recently for forgetting to pay my London congestion charge.

The front numberplate was covered in snow from driving through a bizzard on the way down the motorway. Not even visible that there was numberplate on the car 'cos the whole front bumper was covered. So I actually pointed it out and joked with a colleague "so does that mean I don't have to pay my congestion charge today?", then got home that night, crashed with a bottle of wine, and completely forgot about it.

The photo's that came with the penalty notice were an infra-red photo of the front numberplate and showed numberplate background in white and lettering in black, clear as anything, and of course a normal photo of the back of the car which had no snow on it anyway.

[-Ralph-]

More amusing still, I thought those cameras had been turned off, as recently (well...about 3 months ago)an ambulance sped past them coming the other way, and the camera didnt flash.

A gasto "Camera" is an empty box with a shelf in it. On the shelf there can be nothing, or a radar unit with a flash, or that and a camera as well. So you can get no flash, a flash but no photo, a flash and a photo, or a flash and a photo taken by a camera, but the film has run out.

Plenty of websites out there dedicated to explaining all the different cameras and how they work if you are interested.

[MisterTommyH]

A gasto "Camera" is an empty box with a shelf in it. On the shelf there can be nothing, or a radar unit with a flash, or that and a camera as well. So you can get no flash, a flash but no photo, a flash and a photo, or a flash and a photo taken by a camera, but the film has run out.

Plenty of websites out there dedicated to explaining all the different cameras and how they work if you are interested.

And around here they tend to swap the units around on a regular basis, so you never know which one has the camera and which has the dud.

[keith_d]

Recently round here the re-surfacing guys have been busy and wiped out most or all of the road markings at several cameras. I guess now the money's going to the chancellor the council has no incentive to re-paint the road markings.

[Stig]

Recently round here the re-surfacing guys have been busy and wiped out most or all of the road markings at several cameras. I guess now the money's going to the chancellor the council has no incentive to re-paint the road markings.

I've noticed similar around Reading. As for the dirty number plates, it seems to be mostly BMW's that I see with non visable plates. Strange.

[yorkie_chris]

The reps who work for my Dad's place seem to get done on a regular basis for unreadable plates. Doing a couple of hundred miles a day in this s**t it doesn't take long to get caked.

If the scameras don't notice then it can't have much effect on revenue generation, why do the plod care?

[fizzwheel]

I think it'd have to be pretty filthy for a camera to not read it.

Liz's SV plate was unreable to the naked eye due to salt crud on it after a weeks worth of commuting, I took a pic of it with the flash on and you could make out the letters easily enough.