I went to the fabricating and welding show at the NEC yesterday, and was reminded of how impressive welding masks are that are clear until you strike an arc, then darken instantly. It must be at the speed of light as you cannot see the flash. Motoring bit: if a sheet of this were placed over your numberplates, then a flash from a camera would instantly render the plate unreadable. Game set and match.
Mike
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Mike
Don't these have a sensor and a battery pack that drives the colour change - like a LCD? I don't believe it is just the glass. It'd work, but the sensor/power supply would be a bit obvious if checked.
Regards
John
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I bought one of these welding visors years ago that do not even have a battery but have sensor arrays that produce the minor amount of electricity required from available light. Mine was easily adjustable from shading 9 to 13 I think. Far better than the ordinary welding visor.
Regretfully your eyes take about 1/10 sec to see an image but the camera can take a picture in the much shorter flash. So I would reckon the LCD screen would not darken in time. There is really no alternative to getting your number plate covered in greasy dirt!
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Andrew,
Another alternative is the plethora of car-boot bike-racks we see with no bikes attached but "what is the number of that car, he'll get done for sure"
I am informed that the penalty for an obscured plate is £20 with no points.
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The max fine for a obscured plate is £1000 , unless i misread the article in the paper
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20 quid no points for
dirty or obscured plate
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Andrew, I'm informed that the reaction time is nanoseconds, and as digital imigary cannot be used in evidence, film is used with an exposure time say of 1/500th second. Much too slow to beat the shift. The only problem I see is following headlamps or similar flashes of light. Not insurmountable though.
Mike
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Mike,
The shutter speed may indeed be 1/500th of a second, but the exposure is almost entirely defined by the length of the flash...probably 1/10000th of a second. That is why flash photographs are so sharp even with a slow shutter speed.
Ian L.
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Or a trailer with an incorrect number plate which obscures the towing car plate.
"Sorry, Officer, I borrowed it from my mate but forgot to switch plates" OR "Couldn't get a new plate made up on a Sunday afternoon with these new regulations"
BTW, is it illegal to drive a vehicle with an L plate on if you have a full licence for that class?. I ask because I once got stopped on a motorway when wearing an L.
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driver with full licence showing L plates is not guilty of anything
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Brian
No
That Perfectly Loveable Old Devil thought you were prohibited Traffic i.e. a learner Driver on a Motorway.
DVD
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DVD
That confirms what I thought.
It is just that my wife usually uses my scooter to go to work, with L plates, but occasionally I use it including 3 miles motorway, but can't be bothered to take the plates off and put them back on!
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I expect that the fine for having self-obscuring no. plates is rather higher (although, of course, they'd have to catch you first)...
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