Very small number plates on motorbikes.

Question

Are these legal to ride about with on the road? They look cute but would be very difficult to see from a distance if they ever needed to be identified for any reason. My boss saw people ride off on a moped with these tiny plates after robbing somebodys house but was unable to take down the reg number as it was impossible to make out the numbers due to them being so small and hard to see.

Answer 1

no they are not legal!!

Answer 2

I have one on my bike, yes they are illegal.

I have a legal size one too for MOT time.

Answer 3

There are minimum and maximum sizes for number plates, but the police can't be bothered to pull them over ! and if they do they only tell you to change them when you get a chance !

Answer 4

They are illegal. As with anything to do with road traffic legislation, including road signs etc there are strict regulations as to the size and layout of vehicle registration plates...they are illegal and the Police will eventually stop them....they do not avoid speed cameras either, but they do make it hard for people to read the plate following an accident etc.

Answer 5

not legal. there are specific laws around number plate sizes.

Answer 6

They are illegal and to combat this the DVLA will now take the plate off people who constantly flout the law.

Police will photo the offending plate and send it to the DVLA who will then write to the owner, if they don't change it and get done again then they have the right to take the plate off them.

Not much good having a vehicle without a plate,if they continue to use it then there are offences under the theft act that would be committed.

Answer 7

They won't pass an MoT test, which is why half the bikers I know have two plates; the one that came on the bike in the first place which is standard size, and a smaller one that looks better.

Police will, if the plate is unreadable, stop any vehicle they see. If it's undersized but still able to be made out they may still stop you but the worst they will ever tell you to do is get it changed and report to your local police station to verify you've done it.

Answer 8

Generally motorcycle number plates smaller than 9" x 7" (minimum legal size) are intended for off road or show use (United Kingdom)

Answer 9

This is an offence of an indistinct or obscure number plate.  

It can result in a fine of £30.00 but the normal course of action is to issue a ticket to ensure that the fault gets rectified.

The DVLA website gives information on the correct size and shape of number plate lettering but as a rule of thumb, anything that you normally see on the majority of cars is the correct font and size.

Edit for Chris:

With respect, I personally can be bothered with this sort of thing.  There's a lady local to where I work who now has new number plates (I've checked) as a result of me issuing her with a ticket to get them changed.

Answer 10

Absolutely illegal - the police WILL stop you for having them. They did me anyway!