I have always thought that vehicles inthe category L5 for motor cycles and motor tricycles must only carry a rear number plate. The category L5 seems now to have disappeared and so I have taken the issue up with the DVLA and after some deliberation they have sent me the following statement:-
The primary purpose of a number plate is to display a vehicles registration number making a vehicle readily identifiable for the purpose of law enforcement, road safety and the collection of Vehicle Excise Duty.
The display of vehicle registration numbers is governed by the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 (Amended). Regulation 6 specifies that a number plate must be fixed to the front of any vehicle registered after 01/10/38. Paragraph 5 contains an exemption for ‘a motor cycle or a motor tricycle which does not have a body of a type which is characteristic of the body of a four-wheeled vehicle.’ The Morgan 3-Wheeler has a fixed body; it is therefore our view that the vehicle is legally required to display a front number plate.
Now then, where did I put those little plastic screws???
