Motorists with illegal licence plates are facing a crackdown after Transport Minister Ewart Brown acted on complaints by Police that they cannot be read.

Police Inspector Chris Spencer has announced that the Police, in conjunction with TCD, will be cracking down on car and motor bike owners whose licence plates deviate in any way from the criterion set out by the Minister of Transport - that they should be white plates with standard vertical black numbers and letters.

In the near future TCD will fine all motorists who insist on altering the regulation white plate with black letters, said Insp. Spencer. But motorists who currently use these plates need not worry just yet. They will be able to replace the illegal plates before TCD starts implementing the $25 fine on each plate.

Not included in this crackdown will be the recently introduced personalised American style plates which have letters instead of numbers and are issued by TCD.

"As best we can we are going to try to educate the public. Our course of action will include press releases and then there will be a sort of grace period." said Insp. Spencer, who acknowledges that most people who buy the plates do not know they are illegal.

"Police will start reporting people who have illegal plates to TCD. TCD is then going to send out letters to them, telling them they have to bring in their vehicle. If they're found with an illegal license they will have ten days to change it," said Insp. Spencer. As to when Police would start actually reporting offenders Insp. Spencer said simply: "It'll be sooner rather than later."

According to the Motor Car Regulations Act of 1952, all Bermuda motor vehicle licenses must fulfil the following criteria:

No letters or numbers can be detachable from plate, but if the numbers are made separately from the plate they must be wielded or firmly riveted to the plate surface.

The figures and numbers cannot be less than three inches high, with every part of the letter or number being at least seven-sixteenths of an inch wide.

With the exception of the number `1', the total space taken up by any letter or number must be at least one and seven-sixteenths inches.

The spacing between any two letters or numbers must be three-eighths of an inch. But when separating a letter (or group of letters) from the numbers on a plate there must be a larger space of one and five-eighths inches between them.

There must be a margin of at least half an inch between the nearest part of any letter or number and all sides of the plate.

Yet the legislation does not actually mention that motorists are not allowed to advertise a certain car model on their license plate or have the numbers at a slant, but it does say: "The letters and figures of the plate shall be of such dimension as the Minister may determine."

"All responsibility falls into the lap of the Transport Minister," said Insp. Spencer.

According to Insp. Spencer, the Minister of Transport, Dr. Ewart Brown, decided recently that some motorists have simply gone too far in the name of style who altered their plates had gone too far in the name of vehicular vanity.

"It wasn't frowned upon until people started getting too fancy with their license plates - those few just ruined it for everyone, " said Insp. Spencer. "You have to be able to be read the license plates from 90 ft and it was becoming more and more difficult from a law enforcement point of view."