Reminder to Keep your Number Plates Clean

Police are reminding drivers to keep their number plates clean after stopping a car with an “invisible” rear plate.
Dirty number plate on a car.

The seasonal reminder comes as there is more dirt from leaves, mud and grit on the roads.

Richmondshire Neighbourhood Policing Team were alarmed to find one vehicle with a number plate that was so filthy, not a single digit was visible (pictured).

They were on routine patrols when they pulled the vehicle over.

Inspector Martin Metcalfe, of Richmondshire Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “It’s that time of year when we see more and more vehicle registration plates that are totally obscured.

"So this is a gentle reminder to please check your lights and number plates are clean before you set off.”

Drivers can be given a verbal warning and told to wipe their plate clean. But sometimes the digits are so badly obscured that a warning is not appropriate and they are reported for the offence.

Insp Metcalfe added: “This one was totally invisible, and we see others like this too. It’s not crime of the century, I agree. And before anyone says it, yes we do have better things to do!

“I’d rather people kept their plates readable than we had to spend valuable time stopping and dealing with them. But we can’t turn a blind eye if your number plate is this dirty.”

While it is not an offence to have a dirty vehicle, it is an offence to have an obscured registration plate or one that is not easily distinguishable.

There are a few good reasons for this. Firstly, the obvious one is police need to be able to read your plate to check if your insurance, tax and MOT are in order.

Secondly, it could be used in crime, or is much harder to find if it is stolen.

One recent example of this was when a vehicle was taken from the Melsonby area of Richmondshire and as a result of being able to track the registration plate quickly, police recovered the vehicle in the Cleveland area and returned it to the owner.

The maximum penalty for having an obscured registration plate or one that is not easily distinguishable is up to £1,000.

Insp Metcalfe said: “All we’re asking people to do is keep their numberplates clean - it only takes a few seconds before you set off and further checks will be ongoing while we’re on patrol.”

So how do you ensure you get one that rises in value rather than one that remains static? The trick is to buy something that other people are likely to want. Number plates that show a person’s name or initials are a good example, providing they are not unusual names or initials. Having something that is unusual will not prevent the number plate from rising in value, but it may be more difficult as it will be harder to find a buyer whom the number plate is relevant to and who wants to pay for it.

Next, have a look at what is currently for sale that matches that name or initials. If there are not many or if the one you have is considerably better, you will have a greater chance of the investment rising in value. If, on the other hand, there are lots of other options for people with that name or initials, you may find it harder to sell the one you own.

Other things that can prevent you from getting a high price for a number plate include:

Number plates that are hard to understand – If people can’t tell what the number plate means after a few seconds of looking at it, you might struggle to get a high price for it.
Humorous number plates – These types of plates are very niche, so the market for them is smaller than for standard phrases.
Made up or unique words – There may not be anyone else who wants a number plate with a very unusual word.

number plates