Numbers On Cars And The Law.

[Tony-Bones]

I have heard conflicting reports on this...... Is it legal to have number decal on a road car, say 33 on each front door?

[aztecbandit1]

I was pulled over in one of my old mini's a few years ago for having a number 7 on the side doors, and was told by the officer that the only number that should be on display on a vehicle on a public highway was the registration plate? But i have seen quite a few of the newer beetle's going about with numbers on the doors replicating the original herbie and the newer BMW Mini 7 ,also has it on the side doors so not sure Tony?

[Tony-Bones]

One of my staff refused to test drive a car because he thinks it's an endorsable offence.... But some of the owner/ driver track cars that are fully decaled up say they have never been tugged on this.

I ran the topic in wim and it never really concluded so i wonder if LOC members could answer this once and for all.

[Boothby Coggles]

As far as I can remember, when I was a copper, (until 1997), it was never an offence to have a number like that on the car doors, although with the pseudo-soviet government we have now anything is possible.

The regulations about registration plates were, and probably still are, quite explicit about the size, colour, positioning etc. of the registration plates and the numbers on them. For example the plate should be facing vertically and not on a slope on the front edge of the bonnet, and the spacing between the letters & numbers was specified to the inch.

If you can, get hold of copies, (from a library?), of the latest Motor Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations, and the Registration of Motor Vehicles Regulations to see what they might say now.

The only way, I imagine, that you might come to grief over numbers on the outside of the vehicle is for them to be likely to be mistaken for the registration number. I don't think a big 33 on the door could possibly be seen in that light.

Seems to me that you probably encountered some prat who didn't know what he was on about or was trying to get his numbers up

[shake]

as one peter griffin once said.... (read aloud) "can't touch me"

now break out in song and dance! (sorry watching family guy at the mo)

[dave1]

If that was true then surely all these cars that belong to businesses and carry varying amounts and types of advertising logo's and contact details would also be illegal. Telephone numbers and addresses on various parts of cars/estates including rear bumper etc. are more likely to be a distraction from the vehicle registration details.

[Mike_B]

Sounds like cobblers to me as well. Police cars have large numbers on the roofs which are specific to that vehicle (so they can be individually identified from the air by helicopters) so I can't see why you couldn't have numbers on the doors. And as dave1 says, how can you legislate *specifically* against race numbers but permit advertising, phone numbers etc on other vehicles?

[TheDon]

i think it stems from something to do with "road rallys" .... dont fully quote me on that.. but i think it was to discourage motorsport on the road so to speak..

but if you put a red tape band through the numbers it nullifys it... strange.. yes.... understandable.. no..

[shake]

it cannot be illegal as car makers offer decal / numbers on the door / roof as an option. they are not going to sell something that the customer will sue them over if its illegal.

[Monster-Mat]

as posted on WIM

ok ive been looking around at this for a while now and this is what i have found

there has never been a law saying it was illegal, however, some people found it necessary(why i haven't found) in the 50-60s to cross out the number between stages of road rallys to distinguish cars that were, and were not currently in racing

[TheDon]

as posted on WIM

ok ive been looking around at this for a while now and this is what i have found

there has never been a law saying it was illegal, however, some people found it necessary(why i haven't found) in the 50-60s to cross out the number between stages of road rallys to distinguish cars that were, and were not currently in racing

i knew i was sorta close