Why don't people clean their number plates

[Sportslady44]

Saw a disgusting car yesterday. The number plate was thick with black dirt and you couldn't read the back number plate.

Surely they realise. Why don't they clean the car? What happens if they are in an accident and you can't read the plate?

I’ve never washed a car in my life. I’ve got much more interesting things to be doing.

Again, you don't need to clean the whole car. Just the number plate.

@Stellaris22

Again, you don't need to clean the whole car. Just the number plate.

Yes - but the point is you can clean it and have it be illegible again five miles down the road. I don't believe anyone rural stops and pulls over that often to clean their number plates!

So just because someone has filthy number plates, doesn't mean they're lazy or doing it on purpose.

But you’re breaking the law and risking a fine each time you ignore it. Check before you set off again and wipe it if needed. You know if the conditions are such that it’s likely to need doing and it takes, what? Ten seconds?

So you think people should stop and check every time they drive through the mud just in case?

I could check when I set off and five miles later it would look like they've not been cleaned for weeks.

Just checking when you set off doesn't stop them from becoming illegible over the course of your journey, which is the point many of us are trying to make.

Where I live there is so much mud on the roads in that it only takes a couple of days for the car, particularly the back, to be completely covered in cack.

This. I got mine cleaned yesterday and it's already filthy again!

Maximum fine for unreadable plate is 1000£

If a plate is obscured mid-journey, I think we can all agree that there’s not a lot that can be done. Making sure it’s legible before you get in the car is another matter.

@mogsrus

Maximum fine for unreadable plate is 1000£

Yes - as numerous people have said.

Luckily the police here (rural Cumbria) are pretty understanding of the fact that it's impossible to keep them clear at all times due to how filthy and muddy the roads are.

I see multiple cars like this every day. Always the back number plate smeared with filth. I can only conclude it’s so the car can’t register on ANPR. It’s also illegal.

Always those brand new 4x4s, range rovers that kind of thing

It’s the shape of the back car that makes it worse. Our 4x4 gets a lot more cack on the back than our saloon car.

@Jessicabrassica

NHS worker. I almost never see my car in daylight so I have no clue how dirty it is. It's dark when I leave for work and dark when I come home. My commute is single track lanes behind logging lorries and milk tankers. The paint on my car is barely visible. I work. I parent. I do not have mental or physical capacity to clean my car.

NHS workers don’t have the monopoly on leaving for work when it’s dark and returning home when it’s dark.

Surely a number plate is not going to get so dirty in one journey to render it unreadable, it takes a lot of build up to get to that point.

I drive on some mucky roads, and it is worse when I get behind a quarry wagon, but even then it is not unreadable in an instant.

Eh. I’m a farmer, live in the middle of nowhere down a bumpy muddy lane, spend a good percentage of time actually in fields (muddy this time of year, just FYI) and funnily enough have plenty of other shit to do instead of repeatedly cleaning my numberplate. Anyway, it matches the rest of the truck… shit high 😂

People should pay attention visibility of the plate but the rest of the car can wait for a wash, they get filthy so quick this time of year. I usually take ours to the hand carwash every month or so, cba to wash it myself.

@Stellaris22

I've noticed this a lot recently. I don't care about cars being dirty and muddy, but drivers should be ensuring number plates are readable. If pedestrians, cyclists and other road users are unable to read your number plate then you are an unsafe driver.

Don't be daft, there's nothing 'unsafe' about a dirty number plate.

And to those who are saying you're too busy to clean your reg plate? Shame on you. Would you drive without defrosting your windscreen? Or without fastening your children? No, you wouldn't, you spend a couple of minutes doing that. If you have a car, take some responsibility. I get you're busy, we all are, but it's no excuse

@Chickorma. How in gods name can you compare buckling children in & defrost the windscreen to the safety (??) of cleaning a reg plate??? Bonkers

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

But you’re breaking the law and risking a fine each time you ignore it. Check before you set off again and wipe it if needed. You know if the conditions are such that it’s likely to need doing and it takes, what? Ten seconds?

So you think people should stop and check every time they drive through the mud just in case?

I could check when I set off and five miles later it would look like they've not been cleaned for weeks.

Just checking when you set off doesn't stop them from becoming illegible over the course of your journey, which is the point many of us are trying to make.

Check before your return journey is what I suggested. I’ve been driving for over thirty years and have done hundreds of thousands of miles all over the country. I live in the countryside, so I’ve always been aware of this law. I drive to a city regularly, and on days when I’ve driven there on muddy, salty, wet roads, I will wipe my plates when I load my things back into the car before my return journey, because the morning’s wet, salty mud will have dried on during the day and rendered the plate illegible.

You should check this just as you check you have enough in your washer bottle, or have enough fuel. If you’re not prepared to do basic maintenance, then stay off the roads.

[quote ElftonWednesday]@JugglingJanuary It's a life skill to do basic stuff to comply with the law and not be stopped by the police and fined up to £1,000.

I live rurally and the numberplate hardly ever needs wiping.[/quote]
Lucky you. Not seeing how that's remotely relevant?

Takes seconds to wipe your plates and lights. Life’s to short to die cause your lights are filthy and you can’t see

@somewhereovertherain

How exactly is a number plate in ANY way comparable to a number plate?

Hint: it's NOT!!

@Jessicabrassica

NHS worker. I almost never see my car in daylight so I have no clue how dirty it is. It's dark when I leave for work and dark when I come home. My commute is single track lanes behind logging lorries and milk tankers. The paint on my car is barely visible. I work. I parent. I do not have mental or physical capacity to clean my car.

It takes less time to wipe your number plate than it did to type that paragraph.

As a related aside, why doesn't the county council clean roads signs? Some near me are green with algae and muck and almost illegible.

I don't specifically clean my car more than about once a year (when it gets serviced they do it!), because I don't really care what my car looks like as long as it's safe & comfortable! It rains and that keeps it clean enough. my numberplate is always legible.

@JugglingJanuary

Takes seconds to wipe your plates and lights. Life’s to short to die cause your lights are filthy and you can’t see

@somewhereovertherain

How exactly is a number plate in ANY way comparable to a number plate?

Hint: it's NOT!!

But if you're not cleaning your car that suggests you're not cleaning your lights so it is really YATA

@BrioNotBiro

As a related aside, why doesn't the county council clean roads signs? Some near me are green with algae and muck and almost illegible.

Report it to highways and they will, even if it takes a while. Do the same if a lorry has knocked one down, especially a give way sign or one warning of a junction ahead.

@Lipsandlashes

I see multiple cars like this every day. Always the back number plate smeared with filth. I can only conclude it’s so the car can’t register on ANPR. It’s also illegal.

Assume what the fuck you like, but you'd be wrong. The back plate gets filthy because if it's placement. Anyone want to obscure a plate to avoid ANPR or whatever would obscure the front plate & frankly if that was my intention I'd simply coat them in stuff that obscures them for ANPR but leaves them looking clean!