Just back from a splendid afternoon watching Torpids at Oxford.
I am not a regular mid week motorway user but there did seem to be an awful lot of very dirty vehicles carrying their road warriors to the next punter
It was Minis that seemed to have totally obscured rear number plates.
I would have expected estate cars to be most affected. Do Minis have some sort of aerodynamic disadvantage?
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Not sure what the fine is for having a dirty numberplate but I'll bet it's less than the points and prizes from a speed camera when you have a clean one...
Just saying...
:-)
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Mine has been heavily coated for a couple of months at least, along with the rest of the car up to its armpits. But having to meet some people in Surrey on Tuesday who might have given me some gyp for it, I went most of the way to Worthing on Monday and put it through a car wash.
Cheaper than London but no better.
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Not washed the X1 sincevthe winter tyres went on, sort of self cleaned a little in the rains- rear numbrr plate is dirty but readable seems to have hit a plateau and stayed there. ALl lights are clean !
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May upload a photo tomorrow !
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When I fitted the towbar and associated bits to the new Vitara, I was a little concerned that a good portion of the number plate was obscured.
Not wishing to give the Babylon any excuse to give me a tug, I got my mate with the number plate shop to make me a motorbike rear one which I fitted on the back door below the handle with automotive double tape.
At the MOT last year, the tester spent some minutes searching for the no. plate light in the back of the handle until I showed him the original plate and light....doh !
Ted
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Cleaned it this afternoon in the lovely sunny weather we had today. Forgot to photo it dirty, but it sure was dirty.
Steel wheels (especially coated with the gungy stuff recommended on here last year) are so easy to clean.
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But having to meet some people in
>> Surrey on Tuesday who might have given me some gyp for it, I went most
>> of the way to Worthing on Monday and put it through a car wash.
You shouldn't have bothered we never noticed! Also it might have been a good idea to lower the aerial? that coat hanger looks most unattractive.
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>> Not sure what the fine is for having a dirty numberplate but I'll bet it's
>> less than the points and prizes from a speed camera when you have a clean
>> one...
According to this tinyurl.com/83gs5wx the fine for a number plate offence can be up to £1000.
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>> According to this tinyurl.com/83gs5wx the fine for a number plate offence can be up to
>> £1000.
>>
Thats a lot of potential grief for one swipe with a damp cloth occasionally, you don't even have to spoil the image of being a wannabe "Road Warrior". :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 24 Feb 12 at 08:23
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>> According to this tinyurl.com/83gs5wx the fine for a number plate offence can be up to
>> £1000.
>>
It's not the fine for the dirty plate you want to be worried about...it's the message given out to the Old Bill that goes with it.
Either:
1, vehicle uncared for.......what else is wrong with it, let's take a look
2, driver taking the 'p'.......what else can I find, let's take a look
It makes your car a magnet for the bored Old Bill....mine's always spotlessly clean.
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Same principle as driver's window open when it isn't that warm...
....a klaxon goes off in your head for 'drink driver'. Not always right of course (and I don't want to start Zero and Lugonos off)...:-)
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I have noticed this lately in quite a few cars! These are mostly estates or hatchback (because they attract the dirt because of air vortex at the back).
They must have gone through really dirty and muddy tracks :-)
I wonder how the owners open the hatch without making their hands dirty.
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Why do drink drivers have open windows?
Bemused!
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>> Why do drink drivers have open windows?
>>
>> Bemused!
To try and sober up, to try and stay awake, to try and keep the stink of booze out of the car if you get stopped.
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>> >> Why do drink drivers have open windows?
I did say that once to an older male relative...who replied 'thanks, i'll bear that in mind', which wasn't quite what I was expecting.
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Come to think of it, I often drive with the window open a bit, even in cold weather. Think it comes from when I smoked. Never drink and drive though so bring it on.
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>> It makes your car a magnet for the bored Old Bill....mine's always spotlessly clean.
So why do we see so many? come to that why do we see so many non standard plates.
It may be a magnet but there are insufficient striped ferrous objects to be attracted to it.
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Combination of a vertical rear end, to create the vortex Movi mentions, and very little bodywork behind the rear wheels paints the tailgate brown in no time. I think the Mk II Golf was the absolute worst for this - you often couldn't tell from directly behind what colour the car was meant to be - but there are plenty of others, including our Verso. The current styling fashion for weedy little rear wipers that clear a tiny central semicircle doesn't help either.
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Meant to add that a short body (eg Golf, Polo) or one that's short relative to its height, like the Verso, is more likely to produce the dirty-bum effect. Longer shapes tend to have longer overhangs too, but I suspect there's also a smoothing effect on the airflow that puts the mucky vortex further behind the car.
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>> Just saying...
>>
>> :-)
>>
Says an estate car driver ...
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Filthy numberplates I have sen plenty does it help not being detected by a speedcamara?
Or cars with just one light,and cars which drive very slow.I'm always thinking no licence or insurance.I should have been a copper.>:)
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>> Do Minis have some sort
>> of aerodynamic disadvantage?
>>
dunno.
But I did two idential 900km trips many years back, in near identical cars, a week apart.
Same road, same weather.
the E30 BMW 318i was fine, the 323i, with a vinyl spoiler type thing on the boot attracted crud like nobody's business - back lights and plate had to be wiped every stop.
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Rear number plates obscured by road filth - Runfer D'Hills
