obscured numberplate

[filip]

I got booked the other day because my bike rack and bike 'obscured' the numberplate. No discussion, just a $397 fine.
Happy to have contributed to the safety of our roads.
Worthwile getting a rta approved bike rack numberplate at $38

[Ozkaban]

It's within the law but still a major bummer. How obscured was the number plate?

[RonK]

I got booked the other day because my bike rack and bike 'obscured' the numberplate. No discussion, just a $397 fine.
Happy to have contributed to the safety of our roads.
Worthwile getting a rta approved bike rack numberplate at $38

Not to mention the demerit points. I got a Qld accessory plate for that very reason - they can be ordered online and may you save a lot more than they cost.

BTW, don't be tempted to make your own - that is a more serious offence than having you plate obscured (in Qld at least).

It's also a good idea to attach a white led lamp to illuminate it if you are driving at night.

[WyvernRH]

It only has to be 'obscured' in the opinion of the police officer, If you haven't got a rack plate then one day a copper looking for an easy pinch will get you.
Don't try moving the car plate onto the rack or the old colour printed copy of the plate, this is still illegal (in NSW at least)
If the bikes are 'covering' any of your lights or indicators they can do you for that too.
Cheers
Richard

[birdbrain]

$397 seems a bit harsh when the fine for opening a car door on a cyclist in Victoria is $352.

[gorilla monsoon]

I got booked the other day because my bike rack and bike 'obscured' the numberplate. No discussion, just a $397 fine.
Happy to have contributed to the safety of our roads.
Worthwile getting a rta approved bike rack numberplate at $38

Life's a bitch sometimes.

[biker jk]

$397 seems a bit harsh when the fine for opening a car door on a cyclist in Victoria is $352.

This just reflects the low regard for cyclists. They're expendable.

[wellington_street]

I got booked the other day because my bike rack and bike 'obscured' the numberplate. No discussion, just a $397 fine.
Happy to have contributed to the safety of our roads.
Worthwile getting a rta approved bike rack numberplate at $38

I thought this was fairly common knowledge and/or sense? (might be just the fact that from a young age my family car always had one)

Another thing you might want to be wary of is that it is illegal to have an empty bike rack on the back of your vehicle while driving. If it isn't being used to carry bikes then it must be taken off.

[Ozkaban]

Another thing you might want to be wary of is that it is illegal to have an empty bike rack on the back of your vehicle while driving. If it isn't being used to carry bikes then it must be taken off.

I've wondered about this. How do you transport a bike rack (say to pick up a cyclist) without a bike if *the bike rack* doesn't fit in the car?

Edited for clarity.

[outnabike]

Hi filip,
I just neatly inscribed a piece of white metal with a black texta , drilled a couple of holes and wired it to the out side of the bike. Mind you, that is still only for daylight hours though as it doesn't have a number plate light or any thing. Never had a problem in 20 years.
It's a fair cop really I suppose, but many folk just don't realise they are covering the plate up.

[jcjordan]

Another thing you might want to be wary of is that it is illegal to have an empty bike rack on the back of your vehicle while driving. If it isn't being used to carry bikes then it must be taken off.

Only in Victoria. I would love to know why?

[Mulger bill]

Another thing you might want to be wary of is that it is illegal to have an empty bike rack on the back of your vehicle while driving. If it isn't being used to carry bikes then it must be taken off.

Only in Victoria. I would love to know why?

You know how the Govt views VicPlod traffic section these days, ChaChing...

[wellington_street]

Another thing you might want to be wary of is that it is illegal to have an empty bike rack on the back of your vehicle while driving. If it isn't being used to carry bikes then it must be taken off.

I've wondered about this. How do you transport a bike rack (say to pick up a cyclist) without a bike if it doesn't fit in the car?

Use a trailer? I'm not sure, I've never had that issue myself. They are fairly small so should fit in most cars.

Only in Victoria. I would love to know why?

thanks for clarifying - not sure where OP is from. I assume it is seen as a safety issue in a crash situation? (guessing)

[RonK]

Another thing you might want to be wary of is that it is illegal to have an empty bike rack on the back of your vehicle while driving. If it isn't being used to carry bikes then it must be taken off.

Only in Victoria. I would love to know why?

Nope - in Qld too. I've been given a warning ticket by Qld Police.

And making your own plate is also an offense attracting 40 penalty units.

[il padrone]

Another thing you might want to be wary of is that it is illegal to have an empty bike rack on the back of your vehicle while driving. If it isn't being used to carry bikes then it must be taken off.

Only in Victoria. I would love to know why?

Rule 405 - I'd check your local state rules. It may go beyond Victoria.

405 Vehicles must not be driven with an empty bicycle carrier attached
A person must not drive on a road a motor vehicle that has an empty bicycle carrier attached to the rear of the vehicle.
Penalty: 3 penalty units

I believe this is to avoid more severe damage and possible personal injury occurring in any nose to tail collision. I did believe it was also illegal to park the vehicle with a bike rack attached due to the risk of injury by people unwittingly walking into it. I can relate to this more and would not like to cause some elderly lady to crack her head on my bike rack. I always take my rack off, it's a simple spanner job.

I've wondered about this. How do you transport a bike rack (say to pick up a cyclist) without a bike if it doesn't fit in the car?

Buy yourself a bike rack that does fit in the boot. Most that I have used do. The large Thule et al bumper-style, wheel-supporting racks might be exempted as they are below grill height.

[twowheels]

my father got pinged in about 1970 because his tow ball was obscuring the middle two characters of his number plate.
no i don't have an amazing memory, i still keep hearing about it!

[trailgumby]

my father got pinged in about 1970 because his tow ball was obscuring the middle two characters of his number plate.
no i don't have an amazing memory, i still keep hearing about it!

I hope that's not on a 6 minute rotation - that would be sad.

[find_bruce]

Thanks for sharing, hopefully a few people will benefit from your expensive lesson.

A good tip I heard for night driving was to set your bike light up to shine on the plate- saves wiring up a separate light

[il padrone]

I'd have to keep my front wheel spinning at >5kmh to do that

[coyote]

I'd have to keep my front wheel spinning at >5kmh to do that

Not hard, just mount your bike hanging off the bike rack with the front wheel dragging on ground.

[Howzat]

Well, filip, at least for your $397 you've got a conversation-filler that will be good for the next 40 years.

[oxonabike]

This is most educational. I had a local sign-writer print me up a facsimile of an accessory plate, however after reading above, have just been on the PPQ website ordering the proper thing.

[Big_Red]

Accessory plate from PPQ is $66. Just bought one myself to go on the 4 bike rack just purchased so that there is no chance of a fine. Guy at work bitched about being busted while having the bikes on a rack on holidays in Vic. Zero sympathy from me, as it has been a long standing issue that you must have a number plate visible at all times.

[bychosis]

If i didn't have a bike rack plate (I do now) I would put something on there. On a long trip a wihle back I took the plate off the car and put it on the rack, someone mentioned it as being illegal, but I'm sure its more legal than making your own plate. On this long trip I also had a copy of the receipt for the bike rack plate in the glove box as it hadn't arrived yet. This is a pian for short trips so I used an ice cream lid with texta - there is less chance of being pulled over on the short local trips (in my mind).

I have also seen an empty bike rack with a home made plate on it... that didn't match the car. Just asking for trouble

[Ozkaban]

Buy yourself a bike rack that does fit in the boot. Most that I have used do. The large Thule et al bumper-style, wheel-supporting racks might be exempted as they are below grill height.

I've only just bought a rack that doesn't... It's a Thule 9106 which clips onto the back and has a platform to support two bikes. I think it might fit in the rear hatch (corolla) if nothing else was there and I was patient. One nice thing though is the platform folds up vertically flush with the rack and can be held there with the top tube clamp so if you walked into it you would have to really trying to. The other reason I bought the rack is that it's specifically designed to hold the bikes higher than the numberplate/lights thus not obscuring them. The trade off is wind resistance but it's not that bad.