Penalty points for no registration plate

LorcanJ

Hi,

The front Registration plate fell off my car while driving to Galway a day after the recent storms and I was stopped the next day (a Sunday) in the middle of Connemara by a Garda who issued me an on the spot penalty point for the offence. I have evidence from a toll bridge that the reg plate was on the car earlier in the week and I fixed it the next day, but the local guard was obnoxious and wouldnt listen to me. Now I want to take it to court and object, mostly becuase his treatment was unfair.
Has anybody experienced something similar or would you recommend I suck this up and just pay?

Thanks

CalamariFritti

If your plate was missing how is it unfair?

Besides that if it was me in this situation id suck it up. It’s not a battle I’d pick. Because it’s gonna cause you headache, money and you gonna lose that battle anyway.
I may feel I’m in the right and that may anger me and I might want to fight it on principle.... but it’s not worth it.

LorcanJ

The offence is exactly that - no front registration plate on the car - 3 fixed penalty points and a 80 Euro fine

LorcanJ

Unfair because it fell off on the road on a Saturday without me knowing and I had no way to fix it in the middle of Connemara the next day, a Sunday .... I have evidence it was on the car on the previous Thursday and I fixed it the next day (Monday)

Doddles88

It just shows you how lucky or unlucky you can be. Similar situation with my Dad a while back, registration plate came loose or something and fell off. My Dad didn't notice at all, guard pulled him over and he explained that he hadn't a clue it was missing. Guard showed discretion and let him go. Got a replacement registration the next day. No consistency at all shown comparing the two situations.

Del2005

LorcanJ wrote: »

The offence is exactly that - no front registration plate on the car - 3 fixed penalty points and a 80 Euro fine

So you could have got a plate on the Saturday but it's the Garda's fault that you didn't. The law requires a licence plate to the front and rear, when you had one doesn't matter if you are driving without one.

beechwood55

OSI wrote: »

But that's not a penalty point offence.

It is.

tringle

Our plate fell off in a city ( a bystander saw it and madly waved at us to give it to us) and 10 minutes later we got pulled over for it. We showed it to the Garda and told him exactly were it fell off. He directed us to a garage telling us to get it fixed immediately, nor letting us drive 2 hours home to fix it.
You knew it was off, you knew you had a long journey, you should have fixed it before you went.
But I have no idea if it is an offence.
If it were me I'd pay.

LorcanJ

It is an actual offence, or at least this is what the notice says

Using vehicle in a public place without an authorisation plate - 3 penalty points and fine

beechwood55

And if you take it to court you risk getting 5 points.

beechwood55

It is. It's no 9 on that list. Authorisation plate means registration plate.

davo2001

LorcanJ wrote: »

Using vehicle in a public place without an authorisation plate - 3 penalty points and fine

Which is exactly what you were doing, hence the fine and points you got.

Seems a bit harse TBH, my guess is that you were stopped, the Guard told you about it, you gave him some lip about it only coming off the day before and now he is "teaching you a lesson".

But again, this is only an assumption.

beechwood55

Having googled it seems that an authorisation plate is not a registration plate.

exaisle

davo2001 wrote: »

Which is exactly what you were doing, hence the fine and points you got.

Seems a bit harse TBH, my guess is that you were stopped, the Guard told you about it, you gave him some lip about it only coming off the day before and now he is "teaching you a lesson".

But again, this is only an assumption.

If he was from the traffic corps he would issue the penalty regardless without as much as a trace of lip.

LorcanJ

Not Fair because there was no possible opportunity to fix it because of when and where this happened (in the middle of connemara on a Sunday). I had no idea this plate was loose before I took the journey and I still believe I should not be penalized for this especially because I can prove it was on the car 3 days previously and I did fix it at the very next opportunity, the next day. The Garda was obnoxious, wouldnt let me explain and instead he insinuated I was trying to lie and I want to re-tell my story in Court and bring him to account

Kimbot

LorcanJ wrote: »

Not Fair because there was no possible opportunity to fix it because of when and where this happened (in the middle of connemara on a Sunday). I had no idea this plate was loose before I took the journey and I still believe I should not be penalized for this especially because I can prove it was on the car 3 days previously and I did fix it at the very next opportunity, the next day. The Garda was obnoxious, wouldnt let me explain and instead he insinuated I was trying to lie and I want to re-tell my story in Court and bring him to account

Make up your mind, it either happened on the saturday or the sunday... in your OP you state it fell off on the way to galway and the next day (Sunday) you were caught and now you are saying it fell off on Sunday.

davo2001

LorcanJ wrote: »

Not Fair because there was no possible opportunity to fix it because of when and where this happened (in the middle of connemara on a Sunday). I had no idea this plate was loose before I took the journey and I still believe I should not be penalized for this especially because I can prove it was on the car 3 days previously and I did fix it at the very next opportunity, the next day. The Garda was obnoxious, wouldnt let me explain and instead he insinuated I was trying to lie and I want to re-tell my story in Court and bring him to account

Official line:

It's up to you to check the condition of the car before you take it out on the public roads.

Unofficial line:

Bit of a ****ty decision but I think there might be more to this than you're saying, IE, you pissed the Garda off or gave him some guff.

If this goes to court, you haven't got a leg to stand on I'm afraid.

amcalester

LorcanJ wrote: »

Not Fair because there was no possible opportunity to fix it because of when and where this happened (in the middle of connemara on a Sunday). I had no idea this plate was loose before I took the journey and I still believe I should not be penalized for this especially because I can prove it was on the car 3 days previously and I did fix it at the very next opportunity, the next day. The Garda was obnoxious, wouldnt let me explain and instead he insinuated I was trying to lie and I want to re-tell my story in Court and bring him to account

I was done for speeding once, should I have claimed that because I wasn't speeding at other times I should be let off?

Get Real

Yeah it's number 9 on the list above. 3 points and 60euro fine if paid within 28days.

It's up to you and you only OP if you want to pay or wait for court. If you can provide the evidence that you had it the other day eye the judge might side with you. Then again the judge may not. It's really up to the judge as an individual and opinion varies from person to person.

That's even seen in this forum, some say it's unfair as it only came off recently and you were going to get it fixed, others say the offence is for driving without one and you were driving without one. It'll vary between judges too.

I'd forget about focussing on the guard and not take it too personally. The ticket has been issued now and it's out of his hands, he probably doesn't care if you get away with it, his part of the job is done and you'll either pay it or a judge will decide.

ohnonotgmail

LorcanJ wrote: »

The offence is exactly that - no front registration plate on the car - 3 fixed penalty points and a 80 Euro fine

LorcanJ wrote: »

It is an actual offence, or at least this is what the notice says

Using vehicle in a public place without an authorisation plate - 3 penalty points and fine

you need to tell us what it actually says onthe FCPN. an authorisation plate is not a registration plate.

ION08

Sounds like you were just unfortunate enough to meet a d*ckhead Gard - who from my experiences thankfully seem to be in the minority.

Let us know what the actual charge on the notice is.

GM228

beechwood55 wrote: »

It is. It's no 9 on that list. Authorisation plate means registration plate.

Authorisation plates are not registration plates. They are the information plates on large buses, HGVs, trailers etc which show manufacturer, type approval number etc.

Missing registration plates is not a penalty points offence.

Dia1988

Why didn’t you get a bit of 2 blank a4 pages, a marker and sellotape and write your registration clearly visible across these 2 blank A4 pages then sellotape this inside your windscreen.

Then if you were stopped by a Garda he’d see you were temporarily remedying the problem!

mrs.doubt.fire

I'm sorry for your troubles but I'd suck it up and just pay it. After all...the law is you are in charge of the vehicle and it's up to you (the driver - regardless if you own it or not, but your driving it) to make sure everything is in working order and that includes the reg plate, basically you have to be like an airline pilot and do a walk around your vehicle to make sure everything is in order and working. I know it's not what you want to hear...but hey ho that's the way it goes.
As for 3 penalty points....yah, that's a bit steep alright. I think a fine should be enough and yes reg plates do fall off. **** happens.

Peatys

I'd check that out, authorisation plate and reg are different.
Ring a station and ask them (not your local one, he sounds like a bit of a jobsworth)

CalamariFritti

LorcanJ wrote: »

Unfair because it fell off on the road on a Saturday without me knowing and I had no way to fix it in the middle of Connemara the next day, a Sunday .... I have evidence it was on the car on the previous Thursday and I fixed it the next day (Monday)

Unfair or unlucky. I'd feel a little hard done by too, but I still wouldn't take it on. Your chances are too slim in this. Ultimately there was no plate when you were stopped and thats what they're going to tell you.

CalamariFritti

LorcanJ wrote: »

Not Fair because there was no possible opportunity to fix it because of when and where this happened (in the middle of connemara on a Sunday). I had no idea this plate was loose before I took the journey and I still believe I should not be penalized for this especially because I can prove it was on the car 3 days previously and I did fix it at the very next opportunity, the next day. The Garda was obnoxious, wouldnt let me explain and instead he insinuated I was trying to lie and I want to re-tell my story in Court and bring him to account

If there was no good spirit between yourself and the guard I would definitely not take it on.

extra-ordinary_

If you have the free time to go to court then I'd go and let the garda make a fool of himself giving testimony about a missing registration plate while the FCPN is for something entirely different.


"Not guilty your honour"

JohnBoy26

mrs.doubt.fire wrote: »

I'm sorry for your troubles but I'd suck it up and just pay it. After all...the law is you are in charge of the vehicle and it's up to you (the driver - regardless if you own it or not, but your driving it) to make sure everything is in working order and that includes the reg plate, basically you have to be like an airline pilot and do a walk around your vehicle to make sure everything is in order and working. I know it's not what you want to hear...but hey ho that's the way it goes.
As for 3 penalty points....yah, that's a bit steep alright. I think a fine should be enough and yes reg plates do fall off. **** happens.

If I was the op and I had been given penalty points for something that carries no penalty points then there's no way id be sucking it up. This is something that could have an effect on their insurance. Believe it or not gards don't know everything about the law and sometimes get it wrong.

colm_mcm

Hi Lorcan. Just wondering car do you drive and is it standard.

Isambard

thing is , it's a requirement to have the plate fixed to the vehicle, it can't fall off in reality. If one screw fell out, it would still be dangling from the other. So maybe it was tampered with or maybe it was taped on or maybe it was on the dashboard all along.