Covering license plates

"AddMustard" (AddMustard) 01/05/2015 at 04:42 • Filed to: None

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This is getting ridiculous! I have never worried about covering my license plates in ads or just sharing pictures online, why are other people concerned? Everyone can see it while I'm driving anyways. What can be done with it? Where did this start? When will it end?

Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 04:48

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I definitely don't get this.

Too many M's > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 04:53

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In this pic he just wanted to give the car props with a thumbs up. Seems legit to me.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 05:03

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Hes not covering the license plate, Hes censoring the Truck Nuts

Think of the children

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 05:08

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I call it the "Craigslist finger".

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 05:11

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You'd think if people were that concerned about it they'd just take the damn plates off. It takes what, maybe 5 minutes to take CL ad pictures? It is not that hard to take off the plates and put them back on with out ruining your pictures with your thumb. Or just MS paint the numbers over like people here do.

Alfalfa > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 06:40

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These are questions that I ask on a daily basis.

Svend > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 06:42

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I'm doing friends cars quite often and editing licence plates out was become a pain and also losing some picture quality in the edit so I bought a set of show-plates and a garage forecourt holders to hold them on. They clip on the sides and my plate slides in front.

No I get that many (okay most if not nearly all) people don't need a set of these but seriously all they need is a bit of cardboard and a couple of elastic bands (one on each side and then slide the card through) or some sticky tape and a piece of card or heavy weight paper and stuck on.

Using your thumb is just awkward and looks dumb.

AddMustard > Svend 01/05/2015 at 06:58

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Yea but mostly why? What's the risk?

Svend > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 07:27

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Some people are nervous about car cloning or just don't like there licence plate on view.

I've tested and reviewed car cleaning products and techniques and generally posted pictures of cars I've done on a forum and Google has picked them up and used them for one.

DipodomysDeserti > Svend 01/05/2015 at 07:57

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Car cloning? What the fuck is that? Someone gets your car's stem cells via it's license plate? Your license plate is on view 24/7 whether you like it or not. It's also only held on by phillips head screws, so anyone who wants it can take it within a matter of seconds. Bottom line is if someone has the tech and knowledge to make fake plats and tags, they're also going to be able to look up plates that match their cars via the DMV database.

The people that I know who do it have lots of expensive modifications and stereos. When they post up pictures on the internet, they don't want anyone tracking them down via their plate and stealing their shit.

Justin Hughes > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 08:01

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Some people are worried about a random internet troll running the plate and finding the owner's name and address. I could understand that with a sweet car like a Mazda 323GTX, but the one in the pic is just a standard 323, so whatever.

Another time I've seen it is action shots at autocrosses or track days, so someone from the insurance company doesn't see it and cancel their policy, or so that the manufacturer doesn't void their warranty, which has been known to happen. But there's still the question of why not just remove the plates before hitting the track?

Svend > DipodomysDeserti 01/05/2015 at 08:05

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Car cloning can be done in a few ways. One is where they take your VIN number and put it on a stolen vehicle and sell it on, new owner finds out too late when they come to register it and have the car taken off them while the car thief makes off with the money but in this case it's where a person say is driving a red five door Fiesta, they don't want to pay speeding camera fines or they haven't paid for their road tax, etc... so they look through some pictures on Google or on car forums for a similar red five door Fiesta, take note of the licence plate and get plates made up and put on their car. They now appear to be driving a fully road legal car with insurance and tax, etc... and when a speed camera catches them, they don't worry about it as the fine will be getting posted to the registered address of the true owner of the licence plate.

Ducky > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 08:25

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cl is a super trendy place. People just do shit because they see other people doing it

signinsrlame > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 08:31

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Yeah I have never understood this lemming like trend

spanfucker retire bitch > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 08:42

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It can't possibly be that hard to spend a minute in MS Paint, cropping and deleting the numbers. If you care that much.

DipodomysDeserti > Svend 01/05/2015 at 09:00

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You'd spend more money making a fake plate/tags/registration than you would save running tolls. How would you get a VIN from a photo of the license plate? It would be a lot easier to just find the same car at a wrecked and cut the VIN plates off. The only people this would be worth it to are car thieves, and it's a lot easier for them to steal physical plates than to try and clone someone's plate off the internet. This whole things started from modders covering their plates so people couldn't find them and steal their stuff. It took off from there because people are lemmings.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 09:14

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I don't think there's any point to it. I really don't care if someone on the internet sees my plate number. If anything, I'd me more worried about someone local spotting it and wanting to know more about me or it so they can steal it.

Svend > DipodomysDeserti 01/05/2015 at 09:23

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You can get licence plates made for around £10-15 that are essentially road legal with no documents exchanged (garages and motor stores have to be registered and need to see relevant documentation for a replacement licence plate to be made and will have the postcode of the place that made it up in the centre on the bottom of the licence plate in a small font) but some places get round this legality by calling them 'show plates'.

As you point out some criminals have been known to hang around motorway service stations and steal the licence plate and put it straight onto their own and generally steal from shops and private property, they won't care if a security camera picks up the car as once they are away and safe, they take the stolen plate off, the real owner of the licence plate gets a visit from the police, etc...

Cars that get scrapped here in the U.K. have a destruction notice sent to the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) to say the car no longer exists with a date of destruction and how it was destroyed (ie parted out and chassis crushed or simply crushed). Granted getting a VIN number is harder to get but you've got a stolen car you want to get money for so what's a bit more time to get your big pay day from selling selling something you stole.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 09:37

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Perhaps they're worried their plates will be misinterpreted.

DipodomysDeserti > Svend 01/05/2015 at 10:12

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Is there that much of a market for stolen cars in the UK? Where I live in the US, the vast majority of stolen cars are either brought to Central and South America, or used as vehicles to run drugs. Very rarely do people steal cars in order to sell in the states, as you don't get very much money for them considering the amount of work you'd have to put in to forge the documents. There was a stolen car ring broken up at my state DMV a few years ago, but they just had DMV workers create entirely new plates, rather than reusing other plate numbers from similar cars. It was a cartel deal, and the cars were being used to run drugs.

Svend > DipodomysDeserti 01/05/2015 at 10:54

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With the eastern block opening up the more premium cars were either heading out to eastern Europe (also popular for plant equipment like excavators and diggers) but also quite a few heading out to Asia, regular cars still pop up in local newspaper classifieds and on Autotrader. If you know what you're doing and have a few people helping you can turn over a large amount of money. One guy in London was arrested by the police and found he'd made £2,000,000 by having people steal and part out or resell cars with either forged or no documentation.

If your car is cloned by having its licence copied and illegal activity becomes associated with that licence plate it's pretty much on the onus of the real licence plate holder to prove it was them.

There was a case a few years back of a Belgian car caught on camera speeding. In a black and white photo a Belgian licence plate can look similar to a U.K. licence plate if it doesn't have a national identity marker either on the licence plate or a stuck on sticker.

Belgian plate without national identity marker and with.

U.K. plates (mixed) with and without national identity marker.

Now the thing was the computer thought it was a U.K. plate and sent a fine to the registered address of the licence plate holder. The U.K. owner argued and said it wasn't them and were told they had to prove that it wasn't their car that was caught by the speed camera. It was only out of looking back at there own camera footage that it showed at the time at the speeding ticket for doing 90mph the U.K. was parked up in the museum all safe and sound. Incidentally the U.K. vehicle that had the similar licence plate was an old electric milk float only capable of doing 15-20mph.

E.U. countries now legally when putting on a new licence plate have to have the blue edge with the European Union stars and the 1,2 or 3 letter prefix for their country. The U.K. doesn't and can have either the E.U. stars, English St. George flag, Scottish St. Andrew flag, Welsh St. David flag or Northern Ireland St. Patrick flag or indeed go without.

DipodomysDeserti > Svend 01/05/2015 at 10:57

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Damn. I guess the Eastern Euro guys are a little more hard up for cash. You can make that kind of money a year selling weed in the states, and that requires a whole hell of a lot less work.

Svend > DipodomysDeserti 01/05/2015 at 11:11

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I guess the ones who grew up with cars know what they are doing and cut costs (if they every paid any and didn't just steal their tools also). People growing drugs are ten a penny at the moment.

This was a scene outside my window of an early morning drug raid last month. What you don't see is the other police and investigation vans either side of the window outside of the shot. The owner who just kept himself to himself and his girlfriend were charged with cultivating drugs with intent to sell.

DipodomysDeserti > Svend 01/05/2015 at 11:15

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Those are pretty small flats to be cultivating drugs in. Out here people will use entire warehouses or they'll plant in forests. I have friends who are wildland firefighters, and they've stumbled upon acres of pot plants.

Svend > DipodomysDeserti 01/05/2015 at 11:42

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Lol. These are three bedroom houses. They are old factory terrace houses from (mine was built in 1879) and were built as and when property was needed to house it's workers.

In fact the parents of the 28th President of the United States were from my city and Woodrow Wilson's grandfather (Reverend Thomas Woodrow) built his own house in 1831.

Of course that one was two and a half times the size of the regular one next door (which is about the same size as mine really.

DipodomysDeserti > Svend 01/05/2015 at 14:12

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They looked a lot smaller in that first photo. That's some cool history in your neighborhood. Here's the size of the operations I've seen

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 14:33

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If I am taking a picture of a car that isn't mine or a close friend's but isn't a complete stranger's, I will obscure the plate.

Svend > DipodomysDeserti 01/05/2015 at 15:45

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Ouch. That's some industrial level operation going on there.

DipodomysDeserti > Svend 01/05/2015 at 16:29

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There's a place like this by my work somewhere. Every morning around 8 the air fills with the smell of weed. I'm guessing that's when they get to work.

Svend > DipodomysDeserti 01/05/2015 at 16:40

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Why can't people do a honest days work anymore. Everyone wants the get rich quick plan but actually spend more time and effort avoiding work than it would take to do a proper job.

DipodomysDeserti > Svend 01/05/2015 at 17:21

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It's honest, it's just considered illegal by the federal government. It's perfectly legal according to the state I live in.

Svend > DipodomysDeserti 01/05/2015 at 18:53

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You wouldn't be in Washington State would you (I don't know, just guessing).

lonestranger > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 20:54

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I had the same question a few months ago. Someone mentioned that a person could search your plate via CarFax, and get info that you might not want public (such as your name or address). I don't know if this is true, but that was the theory. In some countries this may be an issue, but AFAIK it's not one in Canada. Only police and insurance companies can get access to that info.

Come at me bro.

wkiernan > AddMustard 01/05/2015 at 22:13

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This is especially dumb in a Craigslist post where the whole point is, you're advertising for random strangers to come meet you in person to make a medium-large financial transaction with you.

DipodomysDeserti > Svend 01/05/2015 at 23:32

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Nope. Recreational use still isn't kosher in my state, but "medical" use is.