A CRACKDOWN on illegal vehicle number plates has been launched in the Isle of Man.

Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne MHK said non-standard plates were difficult to read – and it appeared they were being used in some cases in a deliberate attempt to disguise the identity of a vehicle.

He said the Isle of Man had its own set of rules but in the past these had not been as rigorously enforced as they could have been.

‘We understand that people like to be individual and stand out from the crowd but we want to retain a consistent, identifiable and legible standard of number plate,’ he said.

‘Shortly, we will be writing to offending vehicle owners advising them of potential problems with their number plates, including the size of letters/numbers, the font, the spacing.’

Mr Gawne also fired off a warning: ‘Individuals violating the law will be given fair warning and afforded the opportunity to correct their plate prior to be being reported from consideration to prosecute.

‘The main source of illegal number plates are from companies selling “show” plates which are intended for off-road when displaying a vehicle.

‘These show plates are readily available over the internet, although there are a number of companies on-Island that make the plates but we advise customers they are illegal for on-road usage.’

Only vehicles registered before February 1, 1990, can use the black and silver style plates. All vehicles registered after this date must have plates with a white background to the front and a yellow background to the rear.

All letters must be solid black or have a black and grey shaded 3D effect.

No italics or fancy fonts can be used.

Numbers and letters must be either 79mm high and between 44mm and 50mm wide with hyphens on a plain style plate, or letters and numbers may be 70mm high but in this case can only be used on an IoM-style emblem plate and must use hyphens.

Separation between numbers and letters must be uniform. The requirements for motorcylces are the same except that the minimum height of the letters and numbers is 64mm.

Source [IOM Today]