Weird Car Reg 0F-09-FSS

lau1247

So I was driving back home from Dublin on Sunday and was passing by Kinnegad. That was when I noticed a Dark Grey Volkswagen Passat (Estate) TDI with really weird car reg 0F-09-FSS with IRL plate and was driven by a woman.

Two things happened which suggest that it was dodgy as hell:

1. When we were at this stretch of road (http://goo.gl/maps/KDC4Y), the front of her was a convoy of cars so she couldn't really go anywhere. I tried to take a picture with my camera phone. Quality wasn't any good to show the reg as I was a bit far back. (Yes I know using a camera phone while driving isn't safe, it is times like this I wish I have a dashcam, anyway that is neither here nor there for this thread). I think she noticed that I was trying to get a picture because just when I was about to take the snap, her car turn signal flash left, right then left while clearly she couldn't have turn either left or right. Not sure what she was trying to achieve because yeah, like a turn signal will distract me from taking the picture.



2. Just when we cross the bridge to turn right to get onto the M4, she booted it down the slipway. I have to wait because a car was coming in my direction. I caught up moment afterward (She didn't get far). I was thinking maybe the back reg was fitted on by mistake, after I passed her, I look back from the mirror, the front also have the same reg.


So my question is how the hell do they get away with driving a car with that reg? Surely the driver must know. I assume it is to dodge tax, motorway tolls, <Insert what else you can think of>. It is the first time I actually saw someone driving with an illegal plate in Ireland.

ninty9er

Format appears Dutch IIRC

colm_mcm

Could have been uk reg and the plate fell off and they got a replacement but could only get an Irish plate?

DF09FSS is a civic though

Passat estate isn't your average Irish car to be fair.


If someone was taking pics of me from the car behind when I was abroad I'd be freaked out too.

kfog

colm_mcm wrote: »

Could have been uk reg and the plate fell off and they got a replacement but could only get an Irish plate?

DF09FSS is a civic though

Passat estate isn't your average Irish car to be fair.


If someone was taking pics of me from the car behind when I was abroad I'd be freaked out too.

GF09FSS is however a passat

colm_mcm

kfog wrote: »

GF09FSS is however a passat

Not just any passat though, a 140 DSG Highline estate!

beer enigma

Could it be GF-09-FSS - its a UK reg

Registration GF09FSS
Make VOLKSWAGEN
Model PASSAT
Description H-LINE TDI 140 DSG
Fuel Type Diesel
CO2 (g/km)* 159
VRT % Rate ** 27


Edit: Kfog got there first !

delly

Subliminally that reg looks to me to be saying GTFO FFS, possibly to the OP once the driver noticed the picture taking.

trad

It could be some one who doesn't want to pay the VRT on it and is trying to avoid undue attention with a yellow number plate.

CiniO

So we've got an answer

While we are at the subject, I just recalled seeing strange Irish number plates in UK and EU.
Thing is they were all in format "AB01234" or something like that - I'm not sure now. Two letters and 5 numbers.
And all of them were on artic truck trailers, where tractor unit had different country registration number - f.e. Dutch, German, Czech, etc..

They were not ZV or ZZ plates.

I'd imagine there must be some system for giving registration numbers for Irish registered trailers, which are being towed by foreign vehicle.
That would make sense, as on the Continent trailers use separate number plate to towing vehicle, so it's impossible to just display copy of towing vehicle number plate on a trailer.
Therefore Irish registered trailers towed by foreign vehicles must have their own registration number.

This thread reminded me I've seen few of them, but quick googling didn't give me any answers.
Who issues those registration number and what's the rules for issuing them?
Anyone knows?

beer enigma

trad wrote: »

It could be some one who doesn't want to pay the VRT on it and is trying to avoid undue attention with a yellow number plate.

I've recently re registered my car and was told a story by the guy at the registration centre of a woman recently fined because she thought you only had to transfer your UK plate to an Irish number plate format......it happens :rolleyes:

lau1247

well that satisfied the curiosity.. definitely a weird one especially with the IRL registration plate

lau1247

delly wrote: »

Subliminally that reg looks to me to be saying GTFO FFS, possibly to the OP once the driver noticed the picture taking.

Good one, unfortunately it is FSS

bmstuff

There is a new ferrari in dublin too with an irish reg but it is not your usual number, there is the irl letters on the left but then letters instead of numbers, what did I miss?

Anan1

lau1247 wrote: »

well that satisfied the curiosity.. definitely a weird one especially with the IRL registration plate

Honestly, it's been happening for decades. Back in the bad old days a lot of southern registered cars in the border counties used to use yellow plates to blend in more in the North.

djimi

Anan1 wrote: »

Honestly, it's been happening for decades. Back in the bad old days a lot of southern registered cars in the border counties used to use yellow plates to blend in more in the North.

I have seen that plenty of times, but I can honestly say I dont think I have ever seen the reverse, with a foreign reg on an Irish plate.

Suasdaguna1

bmstuff wrote: »

There is a new ferrari in dublin too with an irish reg but it is not your usual number, there is the irl letters on the left but then letters instead of numbers, what did I miss?

VRT

Anan1

djimi wrote: »

I have seen that plenty of times, but I can honestly say I dont think I have ever seen the reverse, with a foreign reg on an Irish plate.

I've seen a good few over the years, although now that I think about it I haven't seen any recently. Maybe revenue are getting cuter.

lau1247

Suasdaguna1 wrote: »

VRT

Hmmm, trying to dodge VRT by using a non compliant reg plate trying to blend in with normal car but with a FERRARI?? :eek: Looks like they clearly haven't thought it through

What would happen in this case if they were stopped by the garda? Surely the garda know something is dodgy if the car reg is foreign but is using IRL plate?

Anan1

bmstuff wrote: »

There is a new ferrari in dublin too with an irish reg but it is not your usual number, there is the irl letters on the left but then letters instead of numbers, what did I miss?

It's not a pre-87 Irish reg, is it?

PrettyBoy

delly wrote: »

Subliminally that reg looks to me to be saying GTFO FFS, possibly to the OP once the driver noticed the picture taking.

This made me laugh out loud in work

bmstuff

Anan1 wrote: »

It's not a pre-87 Irish reg, is it?

Na it is a ferrari F12
I posted a picture of it recently in the spotted thread. I always hide reg plates anyway out of respect.

PrettyBoy

bmstuff wrote: »

Na it is a ferrari F12
I posted a picture of it recently in the spotted thread. I always hide reg plates anyway out of respect.

Link to the pic? I think I know the one you're talking about, it's a UK reg number but the owner just had it pressed on Irish plates if you follow me.

djimi

This might be a daft question, but is it actually illegal in Ireland to have a foreign reg pressed onto Irish plates? Say you have someone from the UK for example who is visiting here with their car (so they are entitled to drive on UK plates), is there anything to say that they cannot have IRL plates with their UK reg on them while they are driving on Irish roads?

lau1247

djimi wrote: »

This might be a daft question, but is it actually illegal in Ireland to have a foreign reg pressed onto Irish plates? Say you have someone from the UK for example who is visiting here with their car (so they are entitled to drive on UK plates), is there anything to say that they cannot have IRL plates with their UK reg on them while they are driving on Irish roads?

Yes that's my question exactly, i would have thought that it is illegal on the basis that they took the effort to "blend in" so they clearly know what they were doing

CiniO

djimi wrote: »

This might be a daft question, but is it actually illegal in Ireland to have a foreign reg pressed onto Irish plates? Say you have someone from the UK for example who is visiting here with their car (so they are entitled to drive on UK plates), is there anything to say that they cannot have IRL plates with their UK reg on them while they are driving on Irish roads?

I'd say UK law which specifies exactly how number plate should look like.
Car registered in UK must comply to UK law requirements, and obviously that applies to number plate as well.
I suppose at least.

Between most countries in the world, it's Vienna convention on road traffic from 1968 which set's the requirement for foreign cars in international traffic to fulfill technical requirements from country of registration (that technical requirements include number plate).
But unfortunately Ireland is neither signatory or never ratified this convention, so I'm not sure about Ireland.

All I know if you went f.e. to Germany and put your Irish number plate in German format with D letter on blue strip, you most likely would get arrested for falsifying documents, as number plate there is a document.

bmstuff

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=87585273&postcount=3692

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Link to the pic? I think I know the one you're talking about, it's a UK reg number but the owner just had it pressed on Irish plates if you follow me.

djimi

Yeah I know the car would not be road legal in the UK; I guess the question is how that affects it when driven on Irish roads. Its only really a hypothetical situation (I cant see many UK drivers bothering to change over to Irish style plates for a casual visit!) but it just got me thinking.

CiniO

djimi wrote: »

Yeah I know the car would not be road legal in the UK; I guess the question is how that affects it when driven on Irish roads. Its only really a hypothetical situation (I cant see many UK drivers bothering to change over to Irish style plates for a casual visit!) but it just got me thinking.

I was trying to find any Irish regulations in relation to foreign vehicle use in Ireland for a long time, and I didn't find anything.
Nothing except revenue stuff making limitations for use of such cars.
But nothing about technical requirements, required documentation, etc...

Maybe slimjimmc could dig out something.

For Forks Sake

delly wrote: »

Subliminally that reg looks to me to be saying GTFO FFS, possibly to the OP once the driver noticed the picture taking.

Eric Cartman

lau1247 wrote: »

well that satisfied the curiosity.. definitely a weird one especially with the IRL registration plate

maybe its some sort of revenge for all the border county 'window-lickers putting an irish reg on a yellow plate' club.

Anan1

djimi wrote: »

Yeah I know the car would not be road legal in the UK; I guess the question is how that affects it when driven on Irish roads. Its only really a hypothetical situation (I cant see many UK drivers bothering to change over to Irish style plates for a casual visit!) but it just got me thinking.

Interesting question. I think the car needs to be road legal in its home country.

CiniO

Anan1 wrote: »

Interesting question. I think the car needs to be road legal in its home country.

But have you ever seen any Irish law that would require that?