Good point - I also liked how he admitted that he likes to modify his cars as well. A nice informative video from a policeman who was neither condescending nor patronising.
Really refreshing to see an officer explaining what is/isn’t legal and giving the reasons. With mods it’s a bit of a grey area and you may be breaking the law without intending too. This is great - hope every officer has the same knowledge and is prepared to explain/understand. Love it
Makes me laugh how us car enthusiasts have to declare all our mods on our pride and joys we look after yet, Joe Bloggs can throw a set of linglong budget tyres on his 2 tonne touareg and slide into the back of someone at a set of red lights with no consequences
This isn’t mentioned enough if everybody had a matching set of decent brand tyres. Would be more effective at saving lives then speed cameras ten fold. Also I think the mot should look at tracking and the same as tyres when it comes to discs and pads they should be checked for glazing as I’ve had brakes that look fine and legal but have glazed so bad that it doubled the braking distance of the car.
@@dreamcrusher112 not really. Its all down to the driver. Ive always had the cheapest tyres on every turbo car ive owned and never had a crash or ding since i been driving for nearly 13 years. Eliimate all the driver distractions and you will only have to worry about every other sod on the road.
You find these fecking contrarians everywhere, don't you? "Ah I use a couple of sticks of gum wrapped around my alloys and never had a problem." Of course good tyres make a difference. If you don't notice then you're clearly a crap driver.
@@philup4947 on a country road if the pillar gauges blocked the view then that would be on the drivers side, the pedestrian would have needed to be well into the road before contact could occur, in a town with traffic and parked vehicles it would be far more likely, whilst the gauges may have been a contributory factor I would still say the main factor was the pedestrian not paying attention.
I assume it will be because the speed camera is on the same side as your car so can see the offset plate, but a police car with anpr would be on the other side of the road making it hard to see the plate. 👍
@@skylined5534 By having a triangular ish kind of shape backing piece that straightens the plate to face forward correctly, allowing it to be read by the authorities as required.
The first question I have for the police is this; What can I do to prevent them from claiming to smell cannabis whenever I get stopped, even though I've never used it and never had it in my car? Follow-up questions would be, why do the police seem to think they have a right to confiscate my keys during a traffic stop, why do they think they have the right to arbitrarily handcuff people, why do they assume a driver is being "uncooperative" when they're simply asserting their legal rights and, finally, why don't the police spend more time learning what the actual limits of their powers are before being assigned to traffic duty?
So does the insurance need to know if you use a different brand of spark plugs, oil filter, a slightly better battery? What if a seat has been repaired? What if you fit better tyres? What if you use a different brand of brake pads, or discs? All of these are changes to the car. With old cars you can’t always get OEM parts. Where are you going to draw the line?
I had this issue . They got funny with me fitting back on a factory spoiler that was repaired as they see it as a ‘ mod ‘ so I asked them about repairing seats as the fabric won’t be ‘ oem’ but they claim it’s different. It’s a tricky one but technically everything is a mod nowadays
Yea but being sensible, it matters if you get a write off.. They will pay for the book version of the car you said you had. You won't get paid for all the changes. Service parts are irrelevant unless it's performance parts. Note how they ask what's the bhp of the car? Whereas years back they ask what's the CC of the engine... So I could say its just a 2.0... But didn't mention the supercharger... By asking bhp they get round it. You should try insuring a kit car! The question "have you modified the car from the manufacturers spec" errrr I made it.... So does that mean I can do anything? Total minefield
@@terrybrown6057 if you want to add a splitter spoiler ect to your car , woudnt it be cheaper to just declare it as a body kit because that covers everything on the outside ?
This was a 19 minute video telling us car guys to sell our pride and joys and become depressed as doing the slightest modification is Now illegal or doesn’t comply with DVLA standards. This country is a absolute shambles, and it seems to be getting worse and worse day by day.
It's not going to get better my friend, as proof of that look at the anti tamper bill that the government has been trying to put through parliament, anything which affects the emissions or safety of the vehicle is not allowed, but the question is why decides what is 'safe'
Jesus, 80% of the people asking questions sum up the UK car scene. Pops and bags, plates in windscreens.. clearly a bunch of tan bed boys looking for answers to make sure their 1.2l corsas are road legal 😂
i want to know why declaring mods cost an arm and a leg when if you were to get into an accident they'd most likely write your car off, give you fuck all for it or let you buy it back for a stupid price.
Don't go with a shit bog standard insurer and you can get stuff like agreed value policies. I've never paid much more than usual declaring mods, although TBF I've only ever done cosmetic!
Someone like Adrian Flux who have been insuring modified cars all the way back to the 70s, the really radically modded cars that featured in CustomCar magazine (when it was fun) stuff like “Pinball Wizard “ a v8 powered Ford Popular.
I think alot of the issue people have with declaring mods is ridiculous price hikes from their insurance. "Oh you've got a black wrapped roof sir? That'll be an extra £200+£70 admin fee". Our insurance doesn't charge for any mods that doesn't increase BHP "considerably" so it's much easier just to list everything. Part of the solution would be regulating insurance more when it comes to declaring mods on a car.
@@WeAreThePeople1690 stay off the Bucky mate, do you not walk anywhere? What part of your insurance goes towards roads? Rfl is based on co2 and pedestrians produce none so don’t need to pay. And Celtic all the way.
Agree in the sunstrip with advice on a old ST i owned had to put my head down forward to see when the traffic lights changed and was so annoying and not happy with it, so had it cut back higher
I replaced my filament bulbs with LEDs in their reflector housing and they passed the MOT with flying colours. The mechanic mentioned it and said because the beam pattern is perfect, there’s no problem. He thought they were fantastic and asked where they were from cuz he wanted a set 😂
These videos are just propaganda because we can’t have no more car pride in the UK no more. LED is much brighter and has full bright beams than halogen bulbs. 😂🤦♂️
@@jerometyrone9255I believe this police officer tries to make money off from people, I’ve replaced most of my car light bulbs to LED including headlamps including high beam in LED and passed 2 MOTs with LEDs without any problems😂😂
Hey folks, just figured I'd chime in on the insurance declarations. This applies for virtually any policy, be it comp, third party etc. Vehicle modification is a factor insurers use to calculate risk in terms of your likelihood to have a collision. Broadly speaking, more mods will increase the risk to an insurer in terms of their liability to pay out on claims. For comp policies, a key thing for an insurer to consider is their duty to "indemnify" you for any losses subject to your t's and c's. That means they have to put you back in the same position you were in prior to collision (again, subject to various definitions of what that actually means). In simple terms if you modify your car, the insurer is on the hook for replacing any mods damaged, which will typically be less available or more expensive than standard and therefore impacts the risk and the premium they'd charge. In the event of a claim for undeclared mods, its pretty unusual for a claim to be declined outright unless you give cause (being a dick to the dude on the phone will make them less likely to help you and could get policy cancelled for abuse by itself for example). More likely you'd be given a recalculation of your premium(to account for any changes not yet declared) before they agree to pay out. In more extreme cases where there's been a major underwriting violation (dui being the easiest example) your insurer will have to pay for damages to any third parties, declining any comp cover for your vehicle and then chasing you for any costs they've paid out as a result. Usually having lowered your car isn't going to trigger that by itself but if its a culmination of things you may still be declined cover and have your policy cancelled even if you're not being pursued directly for costs they've incurred
I suspect you're talking about the US market. In the UK, if an insurer realises you lied when answering the "Has the vehicle been modified since it left the factory" question, your cover will be terminated and it'll be recorded on a central register that you've had your cover terminated and the reason why. If this happens, the person is looking at a huge future premium to insure anything i.e. a £300 20 year old banger might end up being £3.5K a year and most insurers will flat out refuse to even offer a quote.
I got a tow bar on my fabia vrs and after market 17 inch alloy that dropped my insurance 100 pounds the mods cost more but declaring on ya insurance can be cheaper carnt see the point of lowering a car the wet weather we get lower the car deeper the water.keep up the good work Owen and George
Read up on the laws. Go on the GOV website and lookup Road Traffic Act 1988, The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, and finally The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (AKA - PACE) - It's all explained in there, and if you enjoy ready or simply learning new things, give them a read. A nice place to read them is on an APP, something like Pocket Sergeant.
no different to motorbikes. why should car owners be persecuted and not bikes (which per 'driver' are far more likely to break speeding laws, have no tax/insurance etc as they have more chance of getting away)
The hypercar/supercars are (usually) exempt from front plates due to no place to actually mount them safely and securely, sticker plates are illegal in the UK and import countries like the UAE or US aren’t regulated by their laws to even display a front plate
@@petelattimer6808 you definitely don’t own a motorbike if you’ve said that, bikes are reliant on aerodynamics to stay stable at speed, sticking a giant rectangle on the front will cause untold about of issues
My car failed MOT on 30th Jan due to 3D effect plates (fitted by dealer 12+ years ago and in line with the spec) so warning to you guys, MOT testers are already applying the new regs and 3D/4D are a fail!
MOT testers are not allowed to dismantle anything like bulbs whatever it’s E marked or not. All they do is check if the beam pattern is correct by using the headlamp analyser and the aim is adjusted correctly.
My suggestion for people who have pop and bang map or straight pipped exhausts. Keep it calm in build up areas city's and busy shopping centers. Let it lose on B roads outside city's and residential areas. As some people who have epilepsy loud exhaust can trigger their seizure.
I think that unfortunately the majority of people with loud pop and bang maps have little consideration for things like epilepsy or veterans who may have PTSD.
A pillar issues.....in zafira tourer because of the way it was designed it hides people and bikes you physically have to move your head to see round the pillar..❤🏴🏴🏴🦄thanks to the officer that gives guidelines on car mods...
Modern car windscreens are raked so far back and the the a pillars are massive, i imagine thats been a contributing factor in far more incidents than some gauges has been
Excellent video and an absolutely brilliant idea, great source of info for young car enthusiasts to enjoy their car and stay legal. Are you aware that Surrey police are claiming any 3D/4D plate is illegal and they're discrediting this video saying it's not correct🤔
This. A lot of the measurements have been taken out too, for example how long a crack can be before it's a fail. TBH, in today's litigious society, these MOT changes are baffling. I've seen so many things that one tester would fail that another would pass. Leaving things open to interpretation is dangerous.
LED error free canbus headlights will not fail an mot for majority of cars which are less than 15 years old as they actually have the xenon led lights as a factory option so when you do change it, it looks standard 👍
"will pops & bangs, or flame tunes get me stopped" uhhh, kinda like straight up telling them you removed your cat lmao, ofcourse it's more likely to get you stopped
Yet more confusion surrounding vehicle number plates. It would be far, far simpler if the DVSA, DVLA and Vehicle Regs. got together and told what we CAN have instead of all the confusion around what we can't.
@@elliot438bcfcVTEC hate that as well, same with when people glue screw caps on as well to make a letter look like something else 🤦🏻♂️ just leave it how it is
When you mentioned about wheel spacers and widening the wheels to move outwards, you missed the huge safety issue... The front wheels pivot on the king pin, moving them outwards on spacers hugely alters wheel geometry when turning the steering wheel. Which becomes more dangerous the more you turn... If it doesn't hit the wheel arches. I think you need to reiterate this... Also if using spacers they MUST be wheel centric [with small lips on that the wheel rests on and not the studs!]. I've seen people use spacers which then means A. The studs are not long enough B. The wheel is supported only by the threads of the stud and not the hub itself [the small lip]. So important this is specified as its dangerous
I had some Hubcentric ones fitted on my Skyline r33 and 2 of the lug studs of one spacer had broke. Luckily the wheel stayed on and the main hub was undamaged but wasn't a good experience
As a licence holder of a car, hgv 1 and a motorcycle...and passed my test back in 1979...let me just say the driving standard of these kids that own these little cars is shocking they treat the streets like a race track and nothing happens to them until they kill someone
@@Luckyjo21 Why would he have to declare it to his insurer, he stated that the Mini came from the factory like that. Only modifications made AFTER the car left the factory need to be declared to the insurer (in the UK at least). Admittedly a "pop and bang" map if used in a built up area is going to draw attention and if there happens to be an traffic officer about, you're probably going to get pulled over and have your documents checked.
you will be able to switch the pops and bangs off by taking the car out of 'sport' mode or similar, usually. or the pops and bangs will be very quiet by comparison of aftermarket mapped ones
The new British Standard for number plates (BSau145e) will only apply to vehicles first registered on or after 1st September 2021. This means that as long as your plates are currently legal, you will not have to change them.
I read that 4D is fine, but they need to be comprised of solid black digits. Hopefully they can clarify this sooner as I was going to buy some 4D plates
Agree re tyres- always fit the best you can for the conditions you'll be using them in. Countless number of expensively modified cars out there connected to the road surface by the equivalent of x 4 size 10 footprints of cheap rubber. Added sat navs & mobiles- how many do you see stuck front and centre, slap bang in the driver's vision..... extrapolate that to a hundred metres in front of you and your blocked vision is metres wide...
watched this all the way through trying to find the reason why I keep getting harassed by the police over my GTI. Couldn't find anything..... maybe it's because I'm 25 (but look 18) and worked hard to get it. Been pulled and questioned multiple times about insurance yet when the officer double checks all of sudden, there I am on the policy.
ANPR is bs since I got notified my plate was seen on the Motorway driving in the hardshoulder at like 3am like I got 3 notices of fines about them. I had to contact Both Dvla and police. They wouldn’t even send me a photo of proof what it was since I know I wasn’t my vehicle as it’s on CCTV each time they were trying to say I was on the motorway making violations.
Bit odd that the 4D number plate were "not an issue" on George's car 🤔 Yet now he's saying some are illegal? What about sticker plates? My mate got pulled with 4D plated and fined £250! Interesting videos though keep up the good work.
From my interpretation of the new number plate standard's, it's to stop the 3D style 2D plates (black with grey shadows to create the illusion of 3D). Similarly, the hi-line plates and carbon plates. The new law just states they must be solid black. Gel raised and 4D ones are solid black so should be okay. Will await the DVLA advice when they make a statement on it
That was my read on the new standard when I bought quality 4D plates for it from an Irish company. As you say, it's the 3D plates that won't be allowed. Key change is that the reflective backing must be more resilient than before to avoid degradation. A lot of aftermarket plates have a film layer on top rather than the soon to be needed hard acrylic.
They won’t make a statement. They will refer to bsauXXXX which joe public cannot access. It will come down to whether you fail plods attitude test if you get a word, rectification notice or referred upwards.
@@ColinDyckes that doesn’t give the specific requirements of bsau just an info graphic made by a plate maker.. Those documents are not readily available. There was an inf leaflet as well. It’s a bit like how the Highway Code referees to the trafffic act but isn’t the law in its own right.
Regarding the colission, the main cause WAS NOT the A pillar gauges obstructing the view of the pedestrian walking out infront of the car. The main cause WAS THE PEDESTRIAN WALKING OUT INFRONT OF THE CAR! Darwen Award.
The Alfa 156’s offset number plate mounts definitely curved the plate slightly. I drove around with my plate in the front window of my VW for about 6 months after a minor bump knocked it off. Didn’t get pulled once! 😂
On Sunstrips, when there is the 'what about the sun visor' question, don't forget a sun visor that doesn't stay up and out of the way of the drivers vision, is an MOT fail.
They will only know if you do something stupid to get pulled then you get asked about mods on the policy then they check your paperwork from insurance or ring them
As far as I know, the police computer only is able to tell whether or not the car is insured, information further than this is personal data, which must remain private and protected by the insurance companies in accordance with the UKs Data Protection Act 2018 which is the UKs version of Europe's General Data Protection Regulations. GDPR covers how data for a person can be accessed, tracked and used. The police computer also as access to the named driver on the V5C, as well as if it is taxed and has a valid MOT. So unless you give them permission, no they cannot see whether your insurance policy has modifications listed. I speak from experience having been stopped a few times for a "routine check" without declaring mods, and when they have asked if they're declared I have just said yes without being questioned further, but do so at your own risk. You risk your policy being cancelled if the insurance company finds out you haven't declared everything, and if that happens whilst you are stopped by police, you'll be immediately arrested for driving without a valid policy.
@@BkSMedia not 100% accurate. You wont get arrested for no insurance. I had a revoked license so the car was technically not insured and I was let go. Now for declaring mods they can ask for proof and if you cant provide it then they can seize the car but then to get it back you obviously need to declare abd also need to pay to get it out and need to tell your insurer than the car is impounded which then the insurer just wont cover you no matter what which I know from experience from when I got my license back. Car was insured but was pulled that night and because I wasnt sent documents and it was after hours they just taken the car and was crushed because not insurer would cover me to get it back even though the car was insured
Go thought when the guy started that st I was concerned the guy was gonna say that’s illegal but surprisingly he said that’s sound that’s pretty decent because that’s what I’d choose for my car I’d be happy to drive that I don’t really care for a flame or a bang
Tinted plates are not road legal and should only be used for show purposes (say it on purchase websites) and yet I see so many in devon and Cornwall. Explain that ?
So to sum this video up, you cannot change your headlight bulbs or tint them, you can’t change your wheels or add spacers without claiming them in your insurance, even if you have stickers they need to be claimed on your insurance, but it’s off for your exhaust to pop and bang and shoot flames... I am a young driver who lives in the UK, my insurance cost more than my car I couldn’t even think about putting my car on my insurance as ‘modified’ luckily I don’t have the money to modify my car and loose my insurance
Problem is the Police and MOT testers are two completely different people with completely different aims, I'll let you guess who's professional opinion I'd rather believe
As long as we aren't just being served the Plod's interpretations of legislation. Most often they know nothing about car mods and what's legal. They are often clueless, but act as if they know everything. Try asking a Plod about 3D/4D plates. He won't be happy to say they are legal, as long as they use the correct font and correct spacing around the characters.
On numberplates, the plate must be displayed 'on the front' of the vehicle. Laying on the dash, whether leant or upright, is NOT on the front of the vehicle.
