How Stupid Am I? - running a fake license plate

"Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2" (pompei426) 01/02/2015 at 15:41 • Filed to: None

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I live in a county that has recently turned into Nazi Germany, well, more like modern London. Cameras, cameras everywhere. And, I hate them. There are speed cameras everywhere and their limits are unrealistic. Besides that the county has made them look like utility boxes next to the sidewalks. Picture below. Well, since I've moved here this summer I've received 4 speeding camera tickets. And they certainly come at a price. After having enough, I said fuck it and have put on a historic plate that isn't yet registered. So far, I've only had to avoid a cop once by pretending I had to go down a street I didn't know. But, so far so good. And, my bank account is happy too. I know what you are thinking. DON'T SPEED DIPSHIT. Well, here's the thing. I don't know where they all are, and myself along with all other drivers slow down considerably when we approach them. Honestly, they are a burden and I miss lights constantly just because I have to drive unrealistically slow. The limit for all of them is 30mph. My speeds for the tickets have ranged from 41 - 46 mph. And, guess what? I didn't kill anyone. There's even a camera on a bridge. WTF. Found out about that one the hard way recently. So, how foolish am I being? What's your opinion?

If you are a cop, this is a hypothetical, LOL

R3nx > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 15:48

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An unregistered plate on your vehicle...could void your insurance, get your car impounded and cost you more that a ticket. Theres technology in radar detectors that will warn you of known camera locations. Slow down..you are being stupid X-3.

As Du Volant > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 15:48

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Putting a plate on your car that isn't registered to said car is a felony in many states. I know this because I was once pulled over for doing exactly that (traffic jam, bored cop behind me, ran my plate for shits and giggles). Nowadays many cop cars have automatic license plate readers so you may not even need a bored cop behind you to get caught.

Seriously, just DON'T SPEED DIPSHIT.

Also, Maddie is awesome, and I happen to have a coonhound that looks almost exactly like her.

Milky > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 15:50

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InB4 hatefest.

Do the Cameras runs off radar? Aka can you just get a radar detector?

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 15:51

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wear a mask, take a can of quick drying spray paint and carefully spray over the lens of each of the ones you do know about. be careful that it doesn't run so that it takes them longer to figure out why the tickets have suddenly stopped coming from certain locations.

Svend > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 15:51

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So, you're driving on a fake licence so you don't get tickets for speeding because you don't know where the speed cameras are?

What the hell.

I'm guessing the discreteness of the cameras is to make people like yourself keep within the speed limit. Cameras aren't there to make sure the speed limit is observed only at the point of where a camera is located.

If there is an issue with the speed limit in a certain area then see your local council person and/or get a petition to how support for the unrealistic speed limits in that area.

A law isn't there for people who want to obey the law it's for all to obey the law and if the law is wrong in your view, go through the legal framework to amend it not circumvent it.

CB > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 15:52

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I think you said it right.

"DON'T SPEED DIPSHIT."

It's really that simple. Going 50% faster than the limit is a poor decision. Also, the excuses of "I don't know where they are so it's not fair if I get caught" and "I haven't killed anyone" are lacklustre. You should abide by the rules on city streets, end of story, because the gods know that we're the first people to chew others out for breaking the rules of the road. It would be hypocritical and unsafe of us to do otherwise.

Also, don't use plates that aren't registered or are fake, because I'm certain that the penalties are going to be a lot worse than those of a speeding ticket.

Rico > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 15:55

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The owner of the shop that did my tints and vinyl wrap has this on his truck:

It works so well that I myself am tempted to get it. It's cheap to he paid about $150 for it.

Anima > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 15:55

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I'm sorry but at the speeds you received the tickets you were driving at 130% t0 150% of the speed limit. Putting it like that might change your perspective a bit. If it was only a mile or 2 over I could feel sympathy, but this just seems like systematic speeding.

Is 30 too slow? I don't know. I don't know the situation, but it seems the city deemed it the safe speed.

Yes Britain and London especially has been known for not being the nicest place do drive, but that doesn't mean that speeding is justified and I'm pretty sure that driving around with fake plates is a felony.

Tohru > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 15:56

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The fake plate is a stupid idea.

Speed cameras are bullshit.

MooseKnuckles > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 16:04

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I ran the numbers properly, in metric, so I could better understand this stupid "mph" talk.
I got ticketed doing 70kph in a 50kph zone a couple months ago, that is the equivalent of you doing 43 in a 30mph. I honestly thought it was 60kph zone at which point it wouldn't have been a problem. I was in the wrong, I accepted fault and paid the ticket without question or concern. The cop also knocked it down so I wouldn't take any demerit point hits.

In your case you don't have a cop to knock the fine down, that sucks. I'm glad we don't have speed cameras here, though I wouldn't drive any more slow if they were here since I typically stay within reason of the limit. Highway driving I go with the flow of traffic and drive to conditions, but all others I tend to not go more than 10kph over.
You were doing upwards of 150% the limit, that's a bit much don't you think?

I'd say you should obey posted limits a little closer, and if you get dinged for the non-registered plate you bite your bottom lip and take it. What is the speed tolerance on cameras?

And if you have to ask, you already know. If you need to be somewhere sooner, leave 5 minutes earlier.

Svend > Rico 01/02/2015 at 16:07

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And you are as bad as the OP. The law is the law. It's not for everyone but you because you like your car to go fast, are in more of a hurry than anyone else, have a faster car than other people so the law doesn't apply. It's the law, either obey or work to change it (but till it's changed, obey it).

ACESandEIGHTS > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 16:07

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Hmmm. Chuck, did you produce the Oppo Afterschool Special on How to not get Harassed by the Police ? If you were, you have got to know better than this. Overtly violating the law is breaking rule #1.

Hey, believe me, I think the state is absolutely f'ed up beyond belief. Way too many police "freedoms," and way too many of our personal liberties gone up in smoke. Probably forever and for the worse.

On one hand, I hearken back to Jack Kerouac who was writing in the 40s and the 50s that we were already screwed because you can outrun a patrolman or a cruiser, but you can't outrun a two-way-radio (or in later years a helicopter, a camera, a bullet, a mine-resistant armored vehicle, or a freaking computer record—oh, I see you've been in trouble before! Here, let me either ignore you as a human or throw the book at you as a criminal) but on the other hand I say... fight what is unjust, but not what's a faux-impediment to your lifestyle. I mean, 100 years ago, only a Harley Davidson could reach the speed you get to when you're merging into freeway traffic. Maybe it's time to slow down—-not just in the car, but reassess what really makes you happy, makes your day bearable etc.

Because the entry drug to madness is this feeling like things are beyond your control. They're infringing on my freedom. They're limiting my true potential. They're going to catalog my guns next. If it wasn't for them , I'd be a law unto myself, hell, I'd be an independent state, sovereign and invincible.

Don't run a fake plate, dude. We all like you and want you to keep telling stories. Look at it like gambling. You get a thrill from paying to see the cards. Ante up and get a thrill from discovering that there's a camera on this road, and oh look it just flashed the car ahead of you instead of you.

Fred (FreddsterExprs) > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 16:16

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If London would really have become Nazi Germany, you would be executed in front of your family for doing something that stupid. Thank god we lived past these times. Put on a proper license plate, and then decide if you are willing to speed and pay for it or just, you know, don't speed and relax while driving. I've been to London once, and it's the same for every metropolis: there's never a point in driving faster than the law allows, traffic always catches you in the end.

Mercedes Streeter > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 16:21

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Really, really sketchy...

I can understand running a fake plate for a day because of a cat show (you can get legitimate looking custom plates from the net), but to avoid speeding tickets? Bad idea.

I mean, if an officer runs the plate (and obviously, won't get your cat) they can slap you with a ticket much greater than any speed camera, or worse; a full on felony.

I have a better solution: Either get a radar detector or don't speed hon. :)

Rico > Svend 01/02/2015 at 16:25

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Eh...My car currently has no front plate, clear side marker lights, and 50% tint all around including the windshield all of which are illegal. I am currently in violation of 3 laws so I am currently a criminal in the eyes of the law but fuck it man.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 16:34

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It's hard to answer your original question, "how stupid am I?" Stupidity is not easily quantifiable. However. I'll say that I've been reading Oppo for a few years now, and have been an approved poster for well over a year, and I think I've only read one or two stupider schemes proposed in these pages during that entire time.

Here in Phoenix, we beat the speed camera racket through widespread civil disobedience. Nobody paid . They couldn't collect enough, and the whole contract was ripped up and we sent RedFlex packing.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > Mercedes Streeter 01/02/2015 at 16:39

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Oh, yes, of course, if he had said it was for a cat show , I'm sure the tenor of the responses here would be totally different. WTF?

Svend > Rico 01/02/2015 at 16:39

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That's fine but don't get shirty with the police officer who pulls you over and says 'get the front licence plate sorted', 'get the clear side markers sorted' and 'remove the window tint' followed by 'and here's your fine'. By saying 'oh come on, I'm not hurting anyone, hell it's a stupid law' and so on and so forth.

Dan F > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 16:40

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I speed more or less everytime I'm on the road. On highways I'm often doing 15 plus and figure it'll catch up to me eventually. But I disagree with the laws, I understand the risks and will fight whatever tickets I get because that's how the system works. I'm not against speeding on highways at all.

That being said, on roads that are 25MPH I'm damn sure doing under 30. 30MPH I'm under 35, so on and so forth for slower areas. The thing is that while speed limits that are 55mph on open highways are most likely bullshit, residential area speed limits make sense. You're piloting a multi-thousand pound object through a space that happens to be co-occupied by children, dogs, senior citizens, new drivers and the infirmed.

Slow down or take the wonderful point free tickets as your personal tax for not being able to pull your foot off the go pedal around neighborhoods. You get to actively choose if you want to get a speeding ticket. It's not punishment for doing something right. Pay the tax, fight the law in court or slow down. Don't put yourself in a situation where you get cuffed because you're trying to skirt the law.

Mercedes Streeter > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/02/2015 at 16:44

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It's the XKCD Substitutions Firefox extension. Makes reading the daily news hilarious; also makes posting on car sites kinda odd...It seems to be live updating, as even though I type "car" it comes out as "cat" when I hit Publish...

Edit: It appears if I edit after I post, I can change "cat" back to "car". Nah, I'd rather leave it as "cat". :)

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 16:46

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Just pick up a can of photoblocker.

http://www.photoblocker.com/

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 01/02/2015 at 16:55

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Really want to rent a dump truck and accidentally back into them.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > ACESandEIGHTS 01/02/2015 at 16:56

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Thanks for the comments. I was planning on switching back eventually. My car is basically garaged for the winter.

Pixel > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 17:00

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How stupid? Fucking stupid.

Depending on how not nice the cop decides to be things can escalate quickly and you can get anything from...

- fix-it ticket for the wrong plate

-a fine for not having your correct plate displayed

-fine & having to have your car towed home as "not legal" due to no plate

-fine & car impounded

-there is even a chance of arrest if the cop decides that you are trying to defraud the police by running a legally registered car with a bad plate.

Remember that car thieves and people planning to do something illegal often switch plates, so the cops may decide you were on your way to do something very wrong when the managed to luck into catching you ahead of time. This can result in a fetching set of attached bracelets and a lot of awkward questions down at the station.

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 17:04

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Fake plates are not smart. Sell whatever car you have and get a peel 50, then you can drive flat and no one will care.

deekster_caddy > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 17:25

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Unfortunately you need to approach this problem from a different angle. Slow down. Get in with the crowd against the speed cameras. Bring lots of attention to the unconstitutional side of this argument and make lots and lots of noise. Get people who used to not care, to care. Get them outlawed.

Sorry, but it's the only way. The company that's managing this system I'm sure sunk lots of money into getting them approved and installed.

Rico > Svend 01/02/2015 at 17:48

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I'm brown and live in NYC. The last thing I'm going to do is argue with NYPD, I'm not trying to get killed.

Svend > Rico 01/02/2015 at 17:59

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You could do something to stop yourself being brought to their attention in the first place though and get the car sorted. Sure a front licence plate doesn't look great but it has to be there so see where you can put it, say lower down on the front bumper or off to one side like on a Mitsubishi Evo, get the tints removed or put to a legal level and replace the side markers.

Best way to not be a statistic is to blend in with the other numbers rather than stand out as a lone figure.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 01/02/2015 at 19:12

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Photoblocker doesn't work. Myth busters busted that myth.

sony1492 > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/02/2015 at 19:24

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Why not run a plastic dealership plate?

DanZman > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/03/2015 at 02:40

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YEAH I know that I disobeyed the shit out of those things too. Do you remember how dangerous it was on the 101 in Scottsdale when everyone would slam on the brakes as late as possible for each camera?

Anyway, I'm glad they didnt pull them off the surface streets (where this kid seems to be having his problem) you never know what a pedestrian might do.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > DanZman 01/03/2015 at 10:23

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Frankly, it felt so good to ignore the letters, too. They weren't official summons or citations, they were just requests. If, after ignoring the letter, you were among the unlucky 7% who received a personal summons, the penalty was something like an extra $7 on top of the ticket to pay the guy who served you.