Law regarding display of tax/insurance/NCT

AG918

What is the law regarding display of tax, insurance and NCT discs? Do they have to be physically attached to the windscreen?

I was stopped by the guards near my home earlier this evening. I have valid discs for my tax, insurance and NCT. However, the tax disc holder was not physically stuck to the windscreen. I had been cleaning my car - including the windscreen and all of the windows - this afternoon (I removed the disc holder in order to clean the dirt around the corner of the windscreen). At the time I was stopped the disc holder was sitting on the dashboard with all of the discs clearly visible.

The guard looked through them to verify that they were all up to date. After looking through the discs he informed me that despite all of them being in order, I will be receiving summons for non-display of tax, insurance and NCT.

Where do I stand now?

mgbgt1978

Not the first time this has been discussed here;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056585261

Dord

Jaysus, he's really holding it to the word. Here's the NCT rules on that...

S.I. No. 395/1999 - Road Traffic (National Car Test) Regulations, 1999.
"5. A person shall not use in a public place a vehicle to which these Regulations apply unless there is displayed on the front windscreen of the said vehicle a valid test disc."

AG918

All of the discs were clearly visible, just not attached to the windscreen.

Can't believe I'm being taken to court over this but what is the judge likely to say considering that the holder was only removed from the windscreen for a few hours in order to clean the glass?

No Pants

1. Make sure all your paper is in date. I'm sure it is, but double check.
2. Take several pictures, from different angles, of where it all is from outside of the car. Bring that to court.

Does the entire disc have to be affixed to the window or would just one corner fulfill the requirement?

Bongalongherb

This will be another waste of court time and money. The details are all up to date but not displayed on the window and the judge is just going to give out to the gaurd for wasting the courts time. Case dismissed it would seem.

mgbgt1978

Frankly, unless you really p!ssed him off about something else (and this was all he could find wrong with the car), then I would be surprised if you hear any more about this.

Let me know if I'm wrong..........:):)

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

dr.fuzzenstein

AG918 wrote: »

All of the discs were clearly visible, just not attached to the windscreen.

Can't believe I'm being taken to court over this but what is the judge likely to say considering that the holder was only removed from the windscreen for a few hours in order to clean the glass?

For some reason that cop was desperate to do you for something, anything at all and that was the best he could think of.
Couple of possible scenarios.
A: You won't hear about this ever again, once the cop realises how dumb this is.
B: He knows full well how dumb this is but drags you to court anyway out of spite, simply to cause you embarrassment and hassle, doesn't matter that it will get thrown out and he will most likely not even turn up.
C: This guy is Robocop from Limerick, in which case he will go to the ends of the earth to fcuk you for the sake of fcuking you, because that's what he lives for.

AG918

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Frankly, unless you really p!ssed him off about something else (and this was all he could find wrong with the car), then I would be surprised if you hear any more about this.

Let me know if I'm wrong..........:):)

My car has German font plates. He told me that the font wasn't legal - I told him that it was legal, having gone through the NCT just a few weeks ago. This pissed him off and is certainly the reason why I'm being taken to court for non-display of discs. I asked him what summons I would be receiving and he told me for non-display of tax, insurance and NCT (am I right in saying that's 3 offences?). He didn't mention anything more about my "illegal" plates.

dr.fuzzenstein

AG918 wrote: »

My car has German font plates. He told me that the font wasn't legal - I told him that it was legal, having gone through the NCT just a few weeks ago. This pissed him off and is certainly the reason why I'm being taken to court for non-display of discs. I asked him what summons I would be receiving and he told me for non-display of tax, insurance and NCT (am I right in saying that's 3 offences?). He didn't mention anything more about my "illegal" plates.

The plot thickens!

mgbgt1978

OP, this better be a German Car, not a Ford or something with German style plates.

So. he said the number plate font is not legal in this country.....
.....yet he is not prepared to summons you for this
That Templemore must be a great place for dossing classes, etc. And then just making it up as you go along.




....oh, and to all those in the Robocop Fan Club (limerick region). He retired a few months ago and landed the job of Taxi enforcement officer....so now he can only plague a certain amount of drivers
That's the original Robocop ( the large gentleman) although there are one or two trying to follow in his footsteps.

pudzey101

happend me years ago OP , was struck out in court

AG918

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

OP, this better be a German Car, not a Ford or something with German style plates.

Haha, it's a BMW E46

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

So. he said the number plate font is not legal in this country.....
.....yet he is not prepared to summons you for this

Apparently not I've taken pictures of the plates anyway as well as the tax disc holder sitting on the dashboard, we'll see what happens next.

TheQuietFella

AG918 wrote: »

All of the discs were clearly visible, just not attached to the windscreen.

Can't believe I'm being taken to court over this but what is the judge likely to say considering that the holder was only removed from the windscreen for a few hours in order to clean the glass?

The vast majority of the country have them placed on the windscreen!
Why do you think you should be any different?

CiniO

TheQuietFella wrote: »

The vast majority of the country have them placed on the windscreen!
Why do you think you should be any different?

Because idea of sticking anything to the windscreen, especially something as big as 3 discs, is stupid.

markpb

CiniO wrote: »

Because idea of sticking anything to the windscreen, especially something as big as 3 discs, is stupid.

The law doesn't care about your opinion unfortunately.

dr.fuzzenstein

TheQuietFella wrote: »

The vast majority of the country have them placed on the windscreen!
Why do you think you should be any different?

And if the vast majority of the country jumped off a cliff?

dr.fuzzenstein

markpb wrote: »

The law doesn't care about your opinion unfortunately.

Quote said law?

AG918

TheQuietFella wrote: »

The vast majority of the country have them placed on the windscreen!
Why do you think you should be any different?

FFS, there's always one...

If you'd bothered to read the original post thoroughly you'd have noticed that I said the tax disc holder was only removed from the windscreen for a few hours in order to clean the glass. It's back in the corner of the windscreen now.

Do us all a favour and think before you post in future.

pudzey101

did ya get the guards name ? go into the station with your documents and look for the super, tell em ur story straight out ,they might tell ya clear off then worst comes to worst its a easy day in court for ya

Noccy_Mondy

You were just unlucky that you met an oul prick. Had to "do you" for something. I can't see it going much further tbh.

AG918

pudzey101 wrote: »

did ya get the guards name ? go into the station with your documents and look for the super, tell em ur story straight out ,they might tell ya clear off then worst comes to worst its a easy day in court for ya

Yeah, I got his name. I never thought about going to the station, might be worth my while. Cheers.

mrty

AG918 wrote: »

What is the law regarding display of tax, insurance and NCT discs? Do they have to be physically attached to the windscreen?

I was stopped by the guards near my home earlier this evening. I have valid discs for my tax, insurance and NCT. However, the tax disc holder was not physically stuck to the windscreen. I had been cleaning my car - including the windscreen and all of the windows - this afternoon (I removed the disc holder in order to clean the dirt around the corner of the windscreen). At the time I was stopped the disc holder was sitting on the dashboard with all of the discs clearly visible.

Ridiculous, id say the guard is being a bit over zealous. Totally unreasonable.

djimi

Nice to know that the Gardai are making productive use of their time...

With any luck this will go before a judge who will tear the Garda a new one for being such a moron and for showing such a shocking lack of common sense.

ironclaw

Just curious OP, what holder do you have that you can remove it and re-apply? Any I've ever had have been fairly permanent that you apply once.

AG918

ironclaw wrote: »

Just curious OP, what holder do you have that you can remove it and re-apply? Any I've ever had have been fairly permanent that you apply once.

Removed the one that was on the windscreen and replaced it with a new one.

dr.fuzzenstein

AG918 wrote: »

Removed the one that was on the windscreen and replaced it with a new one.

Do you have anything else on your car that might act as a sh*t attractor for the Gardai?
They are known to react poorly to very long arials, lowered suspension, extreme camber, hugely fat and cheap aftermarket alloys and tires, skunk stripes, sun visors, Pioneer stickers, tinted windows, loud exhausts, chicken wire anywhere, skirts and bodykits and maybe fake performance badges on bog standard cars.
They believe that if no one did any of that to their cars, the roads would be safer. Nonsense of course, but otherwise they might have to do actual work and nobody wants that, of course.

AG918

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Do you have anything else on your car that might act as a sh*t attractor for the Gardai?
They are known to react poorly to very long arials, lowered suspension, extreme camber, hugely fat and cheap aftermarket alloys and tires, skunk stripes, sun visors, Pioneer stickers, tinted windows, loud exhausts, chicken wire anywhere, skirts and bodykits and maybe fake performance badges on bog standard cars.
They believe that if no one did any of that to their cars, the roads would be safer. Nonsense of course, but otherwise they might have to do actual work and nobody wants that, of course.

Nope, nothing like that. The German plates are the only thing that could be considered as a modification.

hi5

It's not even a legal requirement to have a windscreen.

So where do you put your tax disc on this....

angry_muppet

No windscreen - must be clearly displayed on the "near side". Why not just "left side"?

As far as I understand, there isn't a "legal font" in Ireland. The law only stipulates that it must be clearly legible and describes the size and spacing as well as the layout of the plate.

Like others, I can't understand why tax, insurance and NCT all must be displayed in the days of ANPR.

Oh yes, Ireland still lives in the 1960s with regard to using technological advances.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

angry_muppet wrote: »

No windscreen - must be clearly displayed on the "near side". Why not just "left side"?

As far as I understand, there isn't a "legal font" in Ireland. The law only stipulates that it must be clearly legible and describes the size and spacing as well as the layout of the plate.

Like others, I can't understand why tax, insurance and NCT all must be displayed in the days of ANPR.

Oh yes, Ireland still lives in the 1960s with regard to using technological advances.

Probably the cost of upgrading the cars to read them

Which is crap. I mean theres cameras everywhere from toll bridges, those weird cameras that read your reg for journey times and so on. Attach it to them aswell as garda cars

Not having any discs in the window looks better imo but tbh is not such a big deal to make a song and dance over. I mean it's never very often i change them and I'll never have to clean behind them

Del2005

AG918 wrote: »

FFS, there's always one...

If you'd bothered to read the original post thoroughly you'd have noticed that I said the tax disc holder was only removed from the windscreen for a few hours in order to clean the glass. It's back in the corner of the windscreen now.

Do us all a favour and think before you post in future.

Every cop show I watch when they pull someone for non display always says it just fell off or I just took it off a few hours ago, I don't believe them and neither do the cops.

Esel

Del2005 wrote: »

Every cop show I watch when they pull someone for non display always says it just fell off or I just took it off a few hours ago, I don't believe them and neither do the cops.

The discs were present in the OP's story. Probably all depends on how the information regarding the non-illegal font on the registration plates was imparted to the member.

1. "Sorry, guard, but that is not the case. The regulations specify stroke width, size, colour and spacing, but they do not actually specify a particular font. These plates are perfectly legible and are read OK by ANPR and e-flow cameras, as far as I know."

Result (hopefully) "Proceed."

2. "Eh, no actually. They are legal. Sure didn't they just pass the NCT?" [Member has no way of knowing the same plates were on the vehicle when it went through the test.]

Result: "Why do you not have a valid tax disc displayed?" [Removes notebook from pocket....]

Motto: Do not come across as a fish in a barrel.


OP: You said your tax disc was not on the windscreen, then you said you were told you would be prosecuted for non-display of all three discs. Were they all off the windscreen?

Either way, if it was me I would be contacting the member, eating humble pie, explaining in as nice a way as possible how the disc(s) happened to be off the screen (e.g. I stupidly forgot to re-attach it/them after cleaning the inside of the windscreen).

Next time though, either don't indulge your perfection side when cleaning the screen, or else remember to put them back! Just as a matter of interest: if you were having your car valeted, would you expect them to remove and re-attach the discs while cleaning the inside of the windscreen??

AG918

Del2005 wrote: »

Every cop show I watch when they pull someone for non display always says it just fell off or I just took it off a few hours ago, I don't believe them and neither do the cops.

Do you believe everything you see on reality TV shows? Cop on :rolleyes:

Nearly a month later and I haven't heard a word from the guards or received any summons in the post. Anyone know how long it typically takes for them to issue them?

AG918

Esel wrote: »

OP: You said your tax disc was not on the windscreen, then you said you were told you would be prosecuted for non-display of all three discs. Were they all off the windscreen?

The tax, insurance and NCT discs were all in a tax disc holder which was sitting on the dashboard and not physically attached to the windscreen.

Esel wrote: »

Either way, if it was me I would be contacting the member, eating humble pie, explaining in as nice a way as possible how the disc(s) happened to be off the screen (e.g. I stupidly forgot to re-attach it/them after cleaning the inside of the windscreen).

I might get in touch with them to enquire about the summons I was told I would be receiving. The guard in question wrongly accused me of driving with illegal plates. I corrected him and he argued that I was wrong so I intend to settle the matter in court.

Esel wrote: »

Next time though, either don't indulge your perfection side when cleaning the screen, or else remember to put them back! Just as a matter of interest: if you were having your car valeted, would you expect them to remove and re-attach the discs while cleaning the inside of the windscreen??

I don't get my car valeted, I always clean it myself. I change the tax disc holder every few months because they tend to wear quite quickly. It's usually replaced straight away, never had any issues before.

morritty

angry_muppet wrote: »

No windscreen - must be clearly displayed on the "near side". Why not just "left side"?

As far as I understand, there isn't a "legal font" in Ireland. The law only stipulates that it must be clearly legible and describes the size and spacing as well as the layout of the plate.

Like others, I can't understand why tax, insurance and NCT all must be displayed in the days of ANPR.

Oh yes, Ireland still lives in the 1960s with regard to using technological advances.

Sure look at dublin bus, they all have windscreens (obviously) and they display the tax disc on the driver side window. then you see motorbikes with the tax disc on the keyring. and i agree we should be like england and scrap the discs

For Forks Sake

Clearly, what that OP isn't telling us, it that he got caught riding said gardas daughter, because I cannot fathom why any member of the force would set themselves up for the arse kicking they'd get from a judge if this landed up in court.

Stainless_Steel

Jaysus...you try to look after your car/safety by giving the windscreen a good clean and this is what ya get.

Bet your car is mint if you go to the bother of doing such a deep clean.

galwaytt

pudzey101 wrote: »

did ya get the guards name ? go into the station with your documents and look for the super, tell em ur story straight out ,they might tell ya clear off then worst comes to worst its a easy day in court for ya

.. and get the Super to come out and look at it while you're at it.