The Night Mail

[jamie92208]

On 18/07/2023 at 23:32, AndyID said:

 

I wonder if UPU 2 is still on the go?

 

My brother was hoping to get MAR 10N for his wife but he just missed it.

 

I seem to remember Glasgow tried to get its hands on G 1 for the city limo but they couldn't get it so they invented G 0 instead 😄

Nottingham had the letters RA apparently BRA38D went for quite a bit.  They also had NN  IIRC they gave Ann 1 to a certain Princess who then got caught speeding and became the first Royal to go to court. 

On 18/07/2023 at 23:48, Hroth said:

I do miss the old tax disk, different colours every now and then and a bit of a reminder to cough up next year.

 

My tax disk holder is currently occupied by the sort of disk issued in the year I was born, suitably made out. Sad, eh?  🤪

 

 

The colours were on a 4 year cycle so it was dead easy for us beat bobbies to telif they were out of date.  Guinness labels were quite easy to spot.  A dodgy tax disc usually meant no insurance and or Mot.

 

Jamiel

Edited July 20, 2023 by jamie92208

[Dave Hunt]

I suppose that tax discs were relatively easy to forge though?

 

When we lived in the Netherlands in the early 1970s there were no tax discs or other visible means of seeing whether a car had road tax paid on it. A Dutch friend worked for the tax authorities and his job was to drive round all day with a colleague photographing car numberplates to see whether the owners had paid their road tax.

 

Dave

[Rugd1022]

10 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

I wonder if UPU 2 is still on the go?

 

My brother was hoping to get MAR 10N for his wife but he just missed it.

 

I seem to remember Glasgow tried to get its hands on G 1 for the city limo but they couldn't get it so they invented G 0 instead 😄

Not so long back ‘UPU 2’ was on a green and white Mk1 Cooper S built for racing, I’ve just done a DVLA check and it seems it’s probably now on retention.

 

Currently sat at Stewart’s Lane on a stone train, perusing a rather nice Ian Allen tome called ‘The Heyday Of Stewart’s Lane And Its Locomotives’… time for a brew!
 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Rugd1022

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

I suppose that tax discs were relatively easy to forge though?

 

When we lived in the Netherlands in the early 1970s there were no tax discs or other visible means of seeing whether a car had road tax paid on it. A Dutch friend worked for the tax authorities and his job was to drive round all day with a colleague photographing car numberplates to see whether the owners had paid their road tax.

 

Dave

When I were in Belgium, we (British service personnel) did not pay road tax.  Instead we were issued with an annual transit plate. 

 

Belgian registration plates were red letters on a white background, whereas the transit plate was red with white letters.

 

When back on leave in the UK, they sometimes caused issues with certain police officers who were not up to speed with continental vehicle registration practice. 

 

Of course, that is not a problem in this current age of electronic information, but back then, it was wise to carry full documentation with you to ease the pain should you get stopped. (Usually because they simply wanted to know 'what the f is that plate?')

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

I suppose that tax discs were relatively easy to forge though?

 

When we lived in the Netherlands in the early 1970s there were no tax discs or other visible means of seeing whether a car had road tax paid on it. A Dutch friend worked for the tax authorities and his job was to drive round all day with a colleague photographing car numberplates to see whether the owners had paid their road tax.

Their job has been replaced by ANPR cameras, who will have issued the penalty notice to the offender before they've completed their journey.

[New Haven Neil]

Over here they have great fun with number plates, the MAN thing....Nigel Mansell had MAN 53l L back in the day, 51MAN, MAN1C and stuff like that.  They invented 'MANX' plates a few years ago, so those with a LOT of money can have low numbers and that - MANX 11 is just down the road, they run a care home - I thought there was no money in those?  Pah.  

 

We still have tax discs here, I like them!  Folk here tend to retain numbers, especially if they are from the MAN series.  Newer ones are currently RMN 123 A in format, MAN ran out years ago.  There is no age relation to numbers here.  We have MAN numbers on the bikes and the camper....the cars get whatever they came with.

[rockershovel]

22 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Their job has been replaced by ANPR cameras, who will have issued the penalty notice to the offender before they've completed their journey.

I recently spoke with a trainer who, among other things conducts those "speed awareness" courses sometimes offered in place of Statutory Penalties. 

 

He told me that since lockdown, they have sometimes become quite challenging to conduct and with a general air of resentment and victimisation. 

 

Police reputation seems to be on the verge of collapse. 

[Compound2632]

10 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

Police reputation seems to be on the verge of collapse. 

 

BiL was on a London jury some time ago. He said he was shocked at his fellow jurors' assumption that police evidence was unreliable and probably fabricated.  

[Happy Hippo]

40 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Their job has been replaced by ANPR cameras, who will have issued the penalty notice to the offender before they've completed their journey.

I have just received a parking penalty notice from those effing, hoofwa8king a*se bandits who operate under the name of Parking Eye.

 

If I were guilty, I would shut up and pay, but not guilty M'lud.

 

I booked three nights in a hotel, filled in my vehicle details in both the hotel booking paper work and also the electronic car parking gizmo they have at the front desk.  As a regular visitor, to this establishment I am well aware of the procedure.

 

Today I receive a penalty charge for the Saturday night.

 

We had booked three nights: Arrive Thu pm: Depart Sun am.

 

Of course, I have appealed it on line. If I had not entered my registration correctly, then I can guarantee that the money grabbing stewards of the bar would have ensured I received parking charges for the preceding two days as well!

 

I suspect they had a minor electronic glitch in their system.

 

However, I doubt if there will be the slightest hint of an apology.

 

Slightly miffed of Horton

 

 

 

 

[Darlington_Shed]

22 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

BiL was on a London jury some time ago. He said he was shocked at his fellow jurors' assumption that police evidence was unreliable

 

My experience, too, when I did jury service about 6 years ago at Southwark Crown Court. I can only imagine it's worse now.

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

When I were in Belgium, we (British service personnel) did not pay road tax.  Instead we were issued with an annual transit plate. 

 

In Germany we had BFG (British Forces Germany) number plates that in appearance were UK plates but with different alphanumeric sequences. The German and Dutch police were familiar with them and they caused no problems but occasionally when in the UK on leave we were stopped by policemen who were apparently not familiar with them. On posting back to UK we had, IIRC, six months in which to register the cars. We also had to have BFG driving licences and since Jill learned to drive in Germany in 1971 she had both a BFG licence and a German national licence that she used to obtain an international licence. When we were posted back to UK, where I was stationed at RAF Valley in Anglesey, because she was then a UK resident her licences various were valid for 12 months, after which she had to have passed a UK driving test. Hence, after about 11 months she applied for a test in Holyhead and had the slightly bizarre experience of legally driving herself unaccompanied to the test centre, then putting L plates on the car and taking the test. She passed OK but even if she had failed she could have legally taken the L plates off the car and driven herself home unaccompanied. All a bit silly really.

 

Dave

[newbryford]

12 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Back a page or two..... number plates, brings me to a subject that I have always been baffled by, the personalised variety.  I have one on retention - but not on a car - because the Jag I had for a short while came with it.  Nothing special, it has only one number, but I kept it because it was valued at about twice the MOT-failed car.  I'll probably sell it on when the retention certificate expires (which might be this year actually).

 

But there are people out there in the UK - they walk amongst us - who will pay six-figure sums for what amounts to a piece of bureaucracy on the front and back of your car.  When the very first DVLA sale took place over 30 years ago, someone bought JUL1E for, wait for it, One Hundred and Seventy-Six Thousand Pounds.  It's like paying extra for a personalised tax disk (not that we have them any more, although judging by the number of people around here with them still in the windscreen, that's not been well-publicised...). 

 

Far be it from me to tell people what they should or shouldn't waste their money on, but writing IMAC0CK in the dirt on the back of your car is a much cheaper way to draw the same attention to yourself.  There's also much less paperwork if you change your mind about it.

 

P.S. I'm talking about the UK here.  The US system means personalised plates are normal and there seems to be very little premium paid for them.

 

I always found it amusing when seeing a numberplate that was meant to say something, but wasn't at all obvious.

So unobvious in that the owner of the plate had to have what it really meant in the small text below the main digits.

 

 

One of my favourites that I used to see on my commute was A113ERT, which by use of a strategically place fixing bolt and spacing of the letters (albeit illegal) was ALBERT

 

And yes, there was a PEN 1 S issued in the Bury area.

[Happy Hippo]

22 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

I recently spoke with a trainer who, among other things conducts those "speed awareness" courses sometimes offered in place of Statutory Penalties. 

 

He told me that since lockdown, they have sometimes become quite challenging to conduct and with a general air of resentment and victimisation. 

 

Police reputation seems to be on the verge of collapse. 

There is a nationwide misconception that exceeding the speed limit, and various other motoring offences do not constitute illegal or criminal actions.

 

The vast majority do not see the devastating aftermath of their supposed 'non crimes' which result in death or seriously injury.

 

I think public confidence in the Police no longer exists.  over the years their collective higher echelons of management have lost sight of their primary aim of a police service, to protect and serve.  They are too busy box ticking and ensuring that they appear politically correct, rather than enforcing the law and being an organisation that the public know they can rely upon.

 

That there were/are a small number of bad apples in the box, and I include high ranking officers who appear incompetent, makes it so demoralising for those who are out on the streets trying to make a difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Adam88]

I saw one once on a car which I assumed belonged to a funeral director: 2 MB

[newbryford]

8 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

In Germany we had BFG (British Forces Germany) number plates that in appearance were UK plates but with different alphanumeric sequences. The German and Dutch police were familiar with them and they caused no problems but occasionally when in the UK on leave we were stopped by policemen who were apparently not familiar with them. On posting back to UK we had, IIRC, six months in which to register the cars. We also had to have BFG driving licences and since Jill learned to drive in Germany in 1971 she had both a BFG licence and a German national licence that she used to obtain an international licence. When we were posted back to UK, where I was stationed at RAF Valley in Anglesey, because she was then a UK resident her licences various were valid for 12 months, after which she had to have passed a UK driving test. Hence, after about 11 months she applied for a test in Holyhead and had the slightly bizarre experience of legally driving herself unaccompanied to the test centre, then putting L plates on the car and taking the test. She passed OK but even if she had failed she could have legally taken the L plates off the car and driven herself home unaccompanied. All a bit silly really.

 

Dave

 

I have seen it happen,

Man arrives at test centre on his own, puts L plates on car, takes test (and failed), removes L pates and drove off.

 

A friend moved to the US - his wife was from the US but had been in the UK so long that her US licence had expired.

She had to take a retest.

She set off along the road on the test and the small talk turned to why she was taking a test.

She explained that she had to retest as her licence was no longer valid.

He told her to turn around and drive straight back to the test centre.

"You've passed and remember to drive on the right" were his parting words.

[Dave Hunt]

46 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

I recently spoke with a trainer who, among other things conducts those "speed awareness" courses sometimes offered in place of Statutory Penalties. 

 

He told me that since lockdown, they have sometimes become quite challenging to conduct and with a general air of resentment and victimisation. 

 

I was 'caught' on a 30mph speed camera seven years ago in a small Leicestershire village. The road leading up to the village was 60mph and the 30mph sign was round a bend such that it was only visible from less than 50 yards away; less than 25 yards further on was the camera. Although I wrote to the police authority issuing the summons stating that I considered the arrangement to be nothing short of entrapment as in order to reduce speed to 30mph before passing the limit sign would require quite sharp braking  there was no response other than a repeat of the summons. I elected to do the speed awareness course, which to be honest I thought was next to useless, and when the 'trainer' asked each 'trainee' to explain how they were caught I said what I had told the police authority, i.e., that the layout of the speed limit signs and camera was patently meant to trap motorists rather than being a safety measure. He told me that I must have been mistaken as such things were never done and safety was the only consideration. A few months later I drove through the same village and was interested to see that although the speed limit sign was still placed as before, there were signs starting at 400 yards leading up to it warning of the upcoming restriction. Maybe I wasn't the only driver to have raised the issue?

 

Dave  

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

Their job has been replaced by ANPR cameras, who will have issued the penalty notice to the offender before they've completed their journey.

 

The Boss of the local garage was telling me they were MOT'ing a car (which involves the garage computer talking to DVLA in real time) when the Plod turn up - it turns out the car was nicked.  As to whether or not the "owner" knew that or not I've no idea - it's possible he bought it unwittingly.

 

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

Folk here tend to retain numbers, especially if they are from the MAN series.  

 

Bear had the number from Ricky the Rover 😢 transferred to Mickey the MG 🙂

 

50 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

I recently spoke with a trainer who, among other things conducts those "speed awareness" courses sometimes offered in place of Statutory Penalties. 

 

He told me that since lockdown, they have sometimes become quite challenging to conduct and with a general air of resentment and victimisation. 

 

Police reputation seems to be on the verge of collapse. 

 

An RN Pilot attended such a course and the bit that really hit home was when the Trainer said that "if you're doing 30 in a 30 limit and you hit and kill a little 'un who'd run out into the road then it's put down to bad luck; do the same thing when you're doing 40 and you're looking at serious Prison time".

 

36 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

BiL was on a London jury some time ago. He said he was shocked at his fellow jurors' assumption that police evidence was unreliable and probably fabricated.  

 

A Muddle Engineering College Buddy was on the Jury for a Drugs Case - he said the evidence was such that it was BLATANTLY obvious he was as guilty as sin - yet enough people on the Jury thought otherwise to enable him to walk.  

During the Jury discussions where they "deliberate" he actually said to them "HAVE WE ACTUALLY BEEN SITTING ON THE SAME TRIAL - DIDN'T ANY OF YOU EVEN LISTEN TO THE EVIDENCE???"

Perhaps the Guy was their Dealer, or they'd been "got at", or just plain Anti-Plod.  We'll never know.

 

28 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I have just received a parking penalty notice from those effing, hoofwa8king a*se bandits who operate under the name of Parking Eye.

 

If I were guilty, I would shut up and pay, but not guilty M'lud.

 

I booked three nights in a hotel, filled in my vehicle details in both the hotel booking paper work and also the electronic car parking gizmo they have at the front desk.  As a regular visitor, to this establishment I am well aware of the procedure.

 

Today I receive a penalty charge for the Saturday night.

 

We had booked three nights: Arrive Thu pm: Depart Sun am.

 

Of course, I have appealed it on line. If I had not entered my registration correctly, then I can guarantee that the money grabbing stewards of the bar would have ensured I received parking charges for the preceding two days as well!

 

I suspect they had a minor electronic glitch in their system.

 

However, I doubt if there will be the slightest hint of an apology.

 

Slightly miffed of Horton

 

 

 

 

 

 

A regular trick they use is when someone mistakenly enters the letter "O" when it should be the number "0"

[Dave Hunt]

18 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I think public confidence in the Police no longer exists.  over the years their collective higher echelons of management have lost sight of their primary aim of a police service, to protect and serve.  They are too busy box ticking and ensuring that they appear politically correct, rather than enforcing the law and being an organisation that the public know they can rely upon.

 

The son of a friend has recently resigned from the police force even though the job is both secure and carries with it a generous pension because he says that he was fed up with not being able to do the job he joined to do and being regarded by a great many people as no longer a trusted or valued public servant to the extent that even apparently decent and law abiding members of the public viewed him and his colleagues with distaste. As someone who has always respected and valued the police force I am deeply saddened by that.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

52 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I have just received a parking penalty notice from those effing, hoofwa8king a*se bandits who operate under the name of Parking Eye.....

 

Slightly miffed of Horton

 

Slightly?

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

28 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Slightly?

 

Dave

Ok, just a little miffed🤣

[Happy Hippo]

Does anyone else here get slightly annoyed when people do not reply to simple requests?

 

Selling stuff on Facebook is a typical example.

 

They pay, you post and then message them:

 

'Please let me know when you receive the parcel and whether it is ok or not'.

 

I suppose the high level of packaging and the free picture of a pannier tank leaves them stunned like a Mullet. 

 

With one notable exception, who was a charming gentleman in Scotland, who just happened to model the GWR, they never reply!

 

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Slightly miffed of Horton

We were a bit worried about MiL being bothered by bailiffs. Earlier this week MiL had a letter delivered to her address but with someone else’s name on it. It was for a speeding offence in Arona. We were able to see the photographic evidence on the Comune Di Arona website. I suspect they have used a “find this address “ app and picked the wrong one. The person named on the fine actually lives in Rainham and isn’t a 95 year old woman who stopped driving years ago and lives in Enfield.

[Tony_S]

59 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Does anyone else here get slightly annoyed when people do not reply to simple requests?

 

I am replying to your request! I probably do get slightly annoyed. Probably slightly less annoyed than when someone tells me they will contact me tomorrow and then they don’t. I don’t think I have been too annoyed by much recently, perhaps the tablets help!

[SM42]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I have just received a parking penalty notice from those effing, hoofwa8king a*se bandits who operate under the name of Parking Eye.

 

If I were guilty, I would shut up and pay, but not guilty M'lud.

 

I booked three nights in a hotel, filled in my vehicle details in both the hotel booking paper work and also the electronic car parking gizmo they have at the front desk.  As a regular visitor, to this establishment I am well aware of the procedure.

 

Today I receive a penalty charge for the Saturday night.

 

We had booked three nights: Arrive Thu pm: Depart Sun am.

 

Of course, I have appealed it on line. If I had not entered my registration correctly, then I can guarantee that the money grabbing stewards of the bar would have ensured I received parking charges for the preceding two days as well!

 

I suspect they had a minor electronic glitch in their system.

 

However, I doubt if there will be the slightest hint of an apology.

 

Slightly miffed of Horton

 

 

 

 

 

Contact the hotel and get them to call Parking Eye off. 

 

PE are one of the few who get the legal bits right on the paperwork, but it is worth checking they have. ( Protection of Freedoms Act 2012)

 

It's not a penalty ( only statutory bodies can issue those) 

If they have called it that they are in trouble. 

 

Your appeal will be refused. They make no money refusing appeals, so you'll be off to POPLA after that. 

 

Heading it off via the hotel will stop it dead. 

 

PE are well known to be litigious so best do some legwork just in case. 

 

 

Their tech is also known to be iffy at times, but they don't admit it.

 

The Pepipoo Web site is a good place to go for sone reading or even advice.

 

Andy

[Happy Hippo]

I have already contacted the hotel manager about this!