Red series 2 2+2

[cactusman]

Saw a lovely deep red series 2 2+2 in the environs of Hemel Hempstead on Sunday pm. Sadly I was in the van. Reg no is OBV 672H. The car is on Xke data.

A peer on the mot check says it is MOT'ed but ....ahem....the tax ran out on 31 Dec 2015!!

The tax is FREE....if you are the owner and reading this post get the car taxed....

While we are lucky that our cars are zero rated for road fund licenses you do still have to get the 'tax' each year. Untaxed vehicles...even old ones....can be seized until the vehicle is taxed and while the tax is free getting towed by the police won't be....

And for everyone else....when you get the reminder do remember to get the tax. Takes three mins on line and will save a lot of hassle if your car trips and anpr camera as untaxed

[Hugo]

It hasn't been a 'road fund licence' for decades, not since Churchill began plundering the road fund for the general exchequer.
The idea of seizing an 'untaxed' tax-exempt car is interesting. I'm fairly confident they won't do it, because a) they can never identify an 'untaxed' historic car since ANPR cameras can't read black & white plates, and b) there's no money to be made from it. All you need to do if your E Type is seized is fill in a form & get it back. Seems pointless to me.

[cactusman]

Sorry Hugo. I have to disagree. While the chance of being stopped is low it is not nil. The urban myth that cameras can't read old plates is dubious. They may not read them as reliably as a nice clean new one but they can be read.....I got into a conversation with a copper at a car show along with a few other car people. Someone joked that old plates could not be read...Mr policeman said..."wrong....we can read almost any plate given a good view so be careful out there"

Whether you pay for your "tax" or not is irrelevant as far as the police are concerned. Driving an "untaxed" vehicle on the road is an offence be it a new bmw or a classic Jaguar and if you are caught the police will have no option but to treat you as they treat anyone and deal with the offence. That means seizing the vehicle and taking it to an approved pound. You will then have to prove the vehicle is taxed, has an MOT (until next year) and is insured then pay the fee for recovery to the pound plus the daily pound fee plus you will probably have your licence endorsed....all because you forgot to buy the free tax...it may be daft but that is the law as it stands...

Having had my car recovered after it was nicked I know....I had to pay the recovery fee although they generously waived the daily pound fee as it was their choice to retain it for ten days for forensic examination. To release the car I had to present my licence and proof of insurance. The pound had already verified the MOT and tax were both in place.

[Hugo]

Yes, SOME cameras can read b&w plates, but ANPR cameras cannot. They send an infra-red beam down from a gantry, which in normal cases will just bounce off whatever it hits and disappear into the road. But reflective plates are made of lots of glass hemispheres which reflect the light in all directions, including back up to the camera. That is all the camera sees - the reflective portion of the plate. If there is no reflective material it sees nothing at all. It recognises the licence number and compares it to the database by OCRS, so any deviation from the standard script will confuse the camera. Even a strip of yellow tape across the top of the rear licence plate, if it touches the top of each letter, will throw the camera into utter confusion and appear as an unintelligible pattern, even though it be practically invisible to the naked eye.
Enforcement of vehicle excise duty is the preserve of the DVLA, not the police. The police have no interest in it these days. It was always a civil matter. In the old days all the sole duty of the police was to report the facts to the DVLA for possible prosecution. I'm not sure they can even be bothered to do that these days. Today the DVLA drive around in vans with cameras on each corner but, as I said, if you have b&w plates they won't see you at all.
The clamping and seizing of unlicensed cars again is done by the DVLA, and it is often done illegally. If they see a car they fancy they will just take it without giving the requisite notice period.
I am fairly sure that vehicle excise duty enforcement has now been what they fondly call "de-criminalised", as was done with parking. What this means in practice is that you are denied anything resembling due process. They impose a penalty, you pay it, or they send the boys round.
Either way, it is certainly not something which can be endorsed on your licence.

[Series1 Stu]

Well, maybe, but surely it's better just to obey the laws of the land and sleep better in the knowledge that you've fulfilled your responsibilities. That way, the authorities are on your side if something should happen to you or your car.

What's the point of being awkward, especially when it costs you nothing and gives you so much pleasure?

Regards

[Hugo]

I wasn't giving advice, merely stating the facts. It's not for me to tell others what to do or what not to do. There are far too many people doing that in this country.