Is Photoblocker legal?
Puppet Master (the artist formerly known as Shrike)
Has this been ruled upon in the UK courts?
And what happens if you buy a car that someone else has treated with
Photoblocker?
Thanks in advance for any advice or links to relevant news stories.
Cynic
formerly known as Shrike)" <haunte...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Is using Photoblocker to obscure a car number plate legal?
IANAL. Reading about it, there appears to be two issues. The first
is that if it is spotted it could amount to attempting to pervert the
course of justice. The second is that it apparently doesn't work -
the number plate can be read perfectly satisfactorily on a speed
camera image.
--
Cynic
Dr Zoidberg
news:r19895the8jo6mg7a...@4ax.com...
Yep.
The defense to the first is that it was already applied and you were
unaware.
As for the second , it's not effective at all.
At the NEC bike show one year a chap was demonstrating how it couldn't be
photographed and was somewhat annoyed when I took my camera out and produced
a totally readable photo.
--
Alex
"I laugh in the face of danger , then I hide until it goes away"
BobC
Mythbusters tried out lots of different systems marketed to mask
number plates and none of them worked!
I guess therefore the only illegality would be under the trades
description act against the retailer who supplied/fitted it :-)
BobC
watcher
There certainly is something that masks number plates as demonstrated
on "Road Wars" or "motorway cops" one of those types of programmes
when they pulled over a driver for just that. The plate was readable
to the eye but the cars onboard camera it wasn't. They never said
what was done to the plate but the driver was reported.
Cynic
wrote:
>There certainly is something that masks number plates as demonstrated
>on "Road Wars" or "motorway cops" one of those types of programmes
>when they pulled over a driver for just that. The plate was readable
>to the eye but the cars onboard camera it wasn't. They never said
>what was done to the plate but the driver was reported.
It is possible to exploit the fact that most electronic cameras
respond to infra-red but the human eye does not. You can then put
markings or lights within the number plate that are visible to some
types of camera and will mask the numberplate, but cannot be seen with
the eye. Paint is available that looks black to the eye, but white to
an infra-red camera for example.
One way is to fit infra-red LEDs at strategic points of the black
numbers and letters. Using the type of LED that has a black
appearance, and mounting through holes drilled into the numbers and
sanded flush, they will not be visible to the eye. When powered on
however, they will create points of overexposure to a digital camera
that will mask the number. Probably of no use with a speed camera
that uses film.
--
Cynic
numpty
If you ask why would anyone want to use a car registration plate
photo-blocking device, the likely answer is to avoid prosecution if
caught on camera for speeding or to avoid paying charges such as the
congestion charge. Both activities are likely to be illegal.
If you bought a car, so treated, and knew about the blocking measures,
it would be reasonable to expect you to change the plates as soon as
you became aware of the issue. If you are stopped by the police, and
genuinely didi not know, they may give you 14 days to make the change
but I would not count on that happening. You may just be prosecuted for
the offence.
http://www.esure.com/media_centre/wcmprod_015924.html
The link is to an article on an esure web page. I could not find the
link to esure's research paper.
*"New research released today by esure car insurance3 reveals that more
than one in ten UK motorists (11 per cent) have tampered with their
vehicle licence plate or would consider doing so in order to avoid
being caught by a speed camera - methods that would cause them to fail
the MOT test under Department for Transport proposals.
The research shows that one in twelve (eight per cent) of motorists
surveyed have or would consider using masking tape, mud or even
reflective sprays to disguise their licence plate, preventing
identification by traffic enforcement cameras.
Despite the fact that a third of motorists (33 per cent) polled admit
that they are aware of the consequences of using illegal methods to
cheat speed cameras, it can be estimated that over a million5 drivers
(four per cent) have personalised number plates which are intentionally
difficult to read or have placed screws in non-standard positions on
their registration plates to distort the numbers or letters." *
--
numpty
Roland Perry
Aug 2009, numpty <numpty....@legalbanter.co.uk> remarked:
>it can be estimated that over a million5 drivers
>(four per cent) have personalised number plates which are intentionally
>difficult to read or have placed screws in non-standard positions on
>their registration plates to distort the numbers or letters."
Which is illegal anyway, since long before ANPR or Speed Cameras.
Why don't the police ticket these cars whenever they see them? (And also
prosecute the number-plate vendor because it's illegal to sell illegally
spaced plates).
--
Roland Perry
Mr X
"Roland Perry" <rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote in message
news:7TYudXRd...@perry.co.uk...
without these plates.
Roland Perry
16:15:28 on Fri, 28 Aug 2009, Mr X <inv...@invalid.com> remarked:
>> Why don't the police ticket these cars whenever they see them? (And also
>> prosecute the number-plate vendor because it's illegal to sell illegally
>> spaced plates).
>I've often wondered this. I also wonder how other EU countires manage to do
>without these plates.
They are more popular in UK and USA, maybe the less susceptible formats
elsewhere mean they don't catch on, or rules making them
non-transferrable take the shine off. But several countries do have them
(including other European ones):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_plate
--
Roland Perry
Les.
"numpty" <numpty....@legalbanter.co.uk> wrote in message
news:numpty....@legalbanter.co.uk...
>> The research shows that one in twelve (eight per cent) of motorists
> surveyed have or would consider using masking tape, mud or even
> reflective sprays to disguise their licence plate, preventing
> identification by traffic enforcement cameras.
This does not surprise me at all and is likely to remain the case as long as
speed "safety" scameras are used as cash cows and fitted in places where no
hazard exists.
I must admit that I am more than a little uncomfortable with the burgeoning
ANPR scene. Yes, it helps detect the uninsured, etc. but it is also a
marevellous big brother tool to check on exactly where we the plebs. have
been or are going.
Les.
Roland Perry
Sat, 29 Aug 2009, Anthony R. Gold <not-fo...@ahjg.co.uk> remarked:
>>>> Why don't the police ticket these cars whenever they see them? (And also
>>>> prosecute the number-plate vendor because it's illegal to sell illegally
>>>> spaced plates).
>>> I've often wondered this. I also wonder how other EU countires manage to do
>>> without these plates.
>>
>> They are more popular in UK and USA, maybe the less susceptible formats
>> elsewhere mean they don't catch on, or rules making them
>> non-transferrable take the shine off. But several countries do have them
>> (including other European ones):
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_plate
>
>that is no problem because those plates are still produced by or for the
>state and use only authorized colors, fonts and spacings. AFAIK no US
>state or territory permits use of home-made or independently made plates,
>which is the root of this particular problem.
The root of the problem [of illegal spacing, extra bolts, etc] in the UK
is people trying to spell things that aren't really there, for example
making "131 OKE" look like "BLOKE". The USA allows any[1] combination of
letters and numbers on a vanity plate, not just the ones inherited from
the normal numbering system. So there's no need for dodgy morphing
(although it's also true what you say about the way they are
manufactured).
[1] fsvo. There must be a few exceptions.
--
Roland Perry
the Omrud
You are not allowed to use obscene words on a US plate. But obscenity
is in the eye of the beholder and the language of the reader. There is
somebody driving around in California, I think, with a plate of
"BOLLOKS". It should be "BOLLOCKS" of course, but the max number of
characters is seven.
Ths US term, which I like, is "vanity plate".
--
David
realising that I may have used a stop word. We shall see.
Mr X
> The root of the problem [of illegal spacing, extra bolts, etc] in the UK
> is people trying to spell things that aren't really there, for example
> making "131 OKE" look like "BLOKE".
than to introduce a different numbering system.
Or the Police could enforce existing rules by either ticketing these cars
or, if the rules allow, seizing them until the owners fit regulation plates.
Roland Perry
12:31:07 on Sat, 29 Aug 2009, Mr X <inv...@invalid.com> remarked:
>> The root of the problem [of illegal spacing, extra bolts, etc] in the UK
>> is people trying to spell things that aren't really there, for example
>> making "131 OKE" look like "BLOKE".
>It would be much easier to stop the production of any plates not up to spec
>than to introduce a different numbering system.
That's already been stopped. There's a law against it - doesn't that
stop people doing things ;-)
>Or the Police could enforce existing rules by either ticketing these cars
>or, if the rules allow, seizing them until the owners fit regulation plates.
In theory they should also fail the MOT, but perhaps they swap the
plates that day.
--
Roland Perry