Pressed metal plates - Legal or not?

[TrophyJem]

I ordered a set of these number plates for my tin top

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRESSED-METAL-RAISED-EMBOSSED-CAR-REGISTRATION-NUMBER-PLATES-REG-PLATE-GB-LOGO-/272177953258?hash=item3f5f11f9ea:g:kV4AAOSwZ8ZW7Xon

 

Now they have arrived I'm questioning myself as to if they are actually legal.

 

They have BSAU145D on them together with the companies details, but I'm still not sure, so I thought I would ask the collective for your opinion?

 

Cheers

[CraigHew]

In short, because steel is not "retroreflecting" they're illegal.

[XTR2Turbo]

The website says legal.  If the material used is reflecting then they would be OK.  If just plain non reflecting then not legal other than on a much older car.

 

My 1926 model T has a painted plate ;-)

[Captain Colonial]

https://www.gov.uk/displaying-number-plates/rules-number-plates

 

2. Rules for number plates

Your number plates should:

• be made from a reflective material
• display black characters on a white background (front plate)
• display black characters on a yellow background (rear plate)
• not have a background pattern

Characters on a number plate can be 3D.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

The advert mentions compliance with regs, that include the reflective element, though obviously they could be lying or stretching a point. They also mention the use of 3M materials, that suggests something other than just boggo standard paint.

I'd say give the a try and see what they're like.

I should also add that to my surprise, my Ford Ranger came from the Ford Commercial dealer with metal plates, though they're nothing posh and certainly not embossed. They appear to be some kind of film or coating, bonded directly to the metal. They're certainly fully reflective etc.

[CraigHew]

Although the plate probably looks nice, the first time the car is scanned, either by a traffic car or mobile roadside camera, the camera will indicate  that the plate is non-readable.  Plod will probably deduce that the owner has applied some "anti-speed camera" paint or film to evade speed camera detection and pull the offending vehicle.

 

If the world was still simple and reliant upon visual inspection by the Mk 1 eyeball then I'd say go for it.  Unfortunately the computer will say no.

 

 

Edit.  The wording on the sellers Ebay listing are simply words.....and not true.

[XTR2Turbo]

 

Edit.  The wording on the sellers Ebay listing are simply words.....and not true.

I am not sure how you can be so adamant or have you bought from them before?

[bigals]

Looking at the add I would be surprised if they are not legal as it sounds like they have imported the materials and tooling to make them, the reflective beads that are contained in most number plate and sign material are ceramic and very hard on cutting tools,so I could see a cost advantage of having blanks made up pre cut and coated then just embossed and overprinted, the German have been making plates like this for years, and with PayPal protection you only need to wave them infront of your headlights and check your happy with the reflectivenes prior to attaching to your car

[Dommo]

They don't look very reflective in the photos...

[Mark (smokey mow)]

If they are selling UK road legal plates and are as they say a DVLA approved and authorised plate manufacturer why are they not requesting the same documents for proof of ID and vehicle ownership which every other legal plate manufacturer are legally required to ask you for?

https://www.gov.uk/displaying-number-plates/getting-number-plates-made-up

[JulianE]

I can't remember anything in the MOT manual to say that there is a problem , the picture they show looks fine , I wouldn't have a problem with testing a car with them on  , the font sizing and spacing appears substantially similar to the prescribed one , testers aren't required to physically measure the characters or their spacings and sizings given in the mot manual are for guidance only . I can't remember any mention about plate material , so yes metal are fine . 

 

However what construction and usage rulings which the police apply may be different although I have had a few police officers ask my advice before with regards to plates as most of them haven't got a clue ( yes some of my family are in the force so I know first hand as I know a few police officers ) 

[Deanspoors]

I have the same plate on the back of my westfield and I have had no problems. but I've also passed many a police car without a front number plate without any problems. Durham police aren't too bad.

[bigals]

interesting reading , i would ask for their registration details to make sure your covered

 

i

 

http://www.bnma.org/legislation.html

 

Can I use a metal number plate?

BNMA is a member of the BSI panel which is revising the number plate standard BS AU 145d:1998 “Specification for retroreflecting number plates”. This task group also includes representatives from DfT, ACPO, Home Office and the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology

The objective is to update this 1998 standard in the light of modern requirements and to update testing where appropriate in order to  maintain performance standards.

This draft standard (BS AU 145e) will be available for consultation shortly. BNMA customers will see little change as most work has been around the perfomance of the reflective materials themselves. There is likely to be a requirement, however, that plate fixings should not  intrude into the area of the plate containing the registration characters and that the characters should be uniform black in nature.  This is intended to reinforce the existing requirement for fixings not to interfere with readings - see 11.3 of The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001. No reference will be made to character spacing and design, incidentally, as this is also fully covered in the 2001 Regulations.

The current standard is a performance standard and the panel is keen that it remains non-prescriptive ie the standard does not require the plates to be made of any particular materials as long as they meet the performance requirements  - this is designed to encourage innovation by industry. This means for example that in effect that either plastic or metal plates can be used, and this principle will be carried forward into the new standard.

[TrophyJem]

Thanks for all the replies guys. 

I'm going to give them a go as they look great in the flesh. 

The backing is much more reflective than the pictures show. Very much like a normal plate. 

Now how to fix them? The back of my car has a small raised area that is designed to take 2 screws. I was going to stick them and not have screw holes but I'm not sure they will stick on such a small area.

Also screws would have to be right on the edge of the letters. Tricky on a stamped plate. 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

For my front plate, I've got a rectangle of two mm thick aluminium sheet cut to the exact size of the plate, this is screwed onto the car, (well bolted actually). The plate is then stuck with regular license plate tape on to the nice flat aluminium. - no visible fixings, but as I tend to use way more tape than really necessary, it's very secure.