CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh

help identifying number plate

(25 posts)

  1. algo
    Member

    Hello all,

    I had a recent very scary incident with a taxi on Princes Street described in the bad taxi driving thread, where I very nearly came to grief at the hands of an undertaking taxi. I would normally shrug this off but I had my daughter on the wee ride and the taxi driver would have been well aware of this. I tried to take a picture as we caught up further on but the quality is terrible from my phone - it's very blurred. The picture is here:

    Taxi driver

    I reported the incident to the taxi licensing address, and they have responded to say the registration I gave (EH10 EJS) is incorrect. I wondered if anyone had any ideas what it might be, or some clever way of deblurring the image? I'd be very grateful for any help - it seriously was a mad bit of driving.

    thanks a lot in advance for any help

    Posted 11 years ago #

  2. SRD
    Moderator

    first thing i saw was SN 19 (or SN10)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  3. algo
    Member

    thanks SRD - yes sorry I meant SN10 EJS - (not a postcode as I initially wrote!)

    It has to be SN10 I think - SN19 has come about yet! Thanks for looking...

    Posted 11 years ago #

  4. steveo
    Member

    One of the Photoshop guru's (wingpig) might be able to help. Massive amount of sharpening and converting to very high contrast b&w might get you an image.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  5. algo
    Member

    thanks a lot - I had a go in gimp (linux version of photoshop) but failed miserably, but that is because I am hopeless with such things... I'll try again with your suggestions

    Posted 11 years ago #

  6. Darkerside
    Member

    Take it the vehicle was a black cab? SN10 PJS turns out a vauxhall meriva, which looks kind-of taxi-like.

    My gut feel was SN10/3 FJS, but neither work.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  7. EddieD
    Member

    SN19 doesn't appear on http://www.vregs.com but SN10 EJS does, registered in Edinburgh.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  8. algo
    Member

    thanks Darkerside and EddieD - I wrote SN10 EJS to the licensing people and they tell me it's not a taxi licensed with them... it was definitely a black cab

    This registration number does not relate to a taxi licensed by City of Edinburgh Council.

    is what they said....

    Posted 11 years ago #

  9. SRD
    Moderator

    could it be an out of town taxi? eg midlothian?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  10. algo
    Member

    good question - the lesson here is to try and get the taxi plate number.... if only the lights had been red or I wasn't such a numpty with my phone...

    Posted 11 years ago #

  11. Murun Buchstansangur
    Member

    SN10 EJS SN10CJS is a Kia something-or-other, not a black cab.

    Sorry, got that wrong 1st time

    Posted 11 years ago #

  12. wingpig
    Member

    Hmmm. Keep an eye on taxis in ranks for possible valid suffixes to SN10 rounded-back black cabs. Is the linked picture the unamended original or a GIMPed version? Try fiddling with the HSV or channel mixer to see if a different set of hues makes the numbers clearer. I don't have anything on my work machine for such procedures.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  13. algo
    Member

    thanks for that - that's the original image - I had a go in gimp with HSV but it really does look like SN10 EJS - I think SRD might be right about it being non-Edinburgh.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  14. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I had a go in Photoshop, but I think it would really need the Shake Reduction filter for better results.


    (click)

    The first letter of the suffix has a diagonal artifact so although it looks like a K or an R or a Z, I think it's more like an L. But I can't find any matching registrations.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  15. algo
    Member

    thanks very much for trying with photoshop - much appreciated. I'm wondering if it's in fact SN13 EJS (getting close to what Darkerside thought) - it's registered in Edinburgh

    Posted 11 years ago #

  16. Radgeworks
    Member

    deblur freeware

    Hi algo

    i cant DL this here at work but i can assure you it does work, very useful bit of free software.
    Hope it clarifies the muppet in the taxi for you.

    RJ

    Posted 11 years ago #

  17. algo
    Member

    thanks a lot RonnieJ - I don't have a windows machine unfortunately, but I'll try later with wine if I can remember how to do it!

    Posted 11 years ago #

  18. BenN
    Member

    @algo - I hardly think drinking will help the situation!

    (yes, I know, Windows emu for Linux...)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  19. algo
    Member

    :-)

    I hardly think drinking will help the situation!

    I'm going to give it a good go anyway...

    (yes, I know, Windows emu for Linux...)

    is it?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  20. Focus
    Member

    Like Arellcat, I'm swaying towards SN10 L**

    I tied various things in Photoshop. Greyscale didn't help much but applying the yellow photo filter increased the contrast a little.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  21. wee folding bike
    Member

    Wine Is Not an Emmulator.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  22. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Certainly SN10 or SN13, I wager last letter is an S.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  23. slowcoach
    Member

    If it's from out of town would its taxi plate be different from an Edinburgh one? eg different colour from different area.
    Also the vregs.com number check seems to accept numbers that nationaltyres/autotrader/kwikfit sites say can't be found - maybe vregs.com isn't checking properly?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  24. viper1tyme
    Member

    Algo - i tried a few edits but failed miserably. best to report it what you think was a case of dangerous driving or without due care etc to Lothian's finest with note of the time (see pic. properties) and location etc. There is

    Also ask them to request CCTV coverage from Council - only police can make this request and its worth noting that images are kept for 14 days before being destroyed.

    A list of CCTV locations in Embra can be seen here http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/7868/cctv_cameras_by_neighbourhood

    or even better http://edinbuzz.org.uk/edinburgh-cctv-map/

    its not so much bad thing when its just you on the bike but drivers should be even more considerate when you have kids on your bike.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  25. algo
    Member

    Thanks slowcoach for those ideas, and viper1tyme for having a go at the image. I also tried but failed miserably. I'll do what you say and report it to the police - they might be able to confirm the number plate from cctv if they can see the incident - it looks to me like they should be able to. I'll report back if I get anywhere.

    Posted 11 years ago #

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