GIVING a car a Continental touch with a number plate design imported from the European Union (EU) might be all the rage, but it is in fact illegal.

At least two number plate manufacturers have been importing the moulds for these plates directly from Europe, fonts and all, at a cost of up to $80,000.

But the EU number plates use letter and number fonts that are smaller than those required by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Their colours might be against the rules too.

For instance, letters and numbers on the licence plates of Singapore registered cars must be 70mm high and 50mm wide.

But the letters and numbers on many of the EU-inspired plates here are 10mm narrower, said Mr Winson Ng, a branch supervisor for MRS Sign, one of the biggest manufacturers of such plates.

That might make the plates harder to read when a car is in motion: for example, if there is a hit-and-run accident. This is one of the reasons why they are not allowed.

Motorists driving vehicles with these EU-type number plates were among the more than 8,600 caught between 2005 and last year with licence plates that failed to meet the LTA's requirements.

Those caught with plates that do not conform to the LTA's requirements face a fine of up to $1,000 or a jail term of up to three months. This is doubled for repeat offenders: a maximum fine of $2,000 or six months' jail.

But despite the penalties and the fact that they cost between $20 and $30 more than the $60 charged for regular ones, EU plates are still flying off the shelves.

The two companies that make the plates here told The Straits Times that they sold at least 100 sets each month.

Soh Motors' Johnson Soh, 38, said the plates were bought both by walk-in customers and by other car workshops. They were particularly popular with owners of Continental cars.

"We always tell the drivers who come in that the Euro plates are not approved... But if they want to take the risk, then we will install it for them," he said.

Stock trader Ian Teo, 40, said it was all about image, making his BMW 5 Series "stand out in a crowd". He was going to take his chances with the plates for now, he added.

But others are reconsidering their choices. A 31-year-old who identified himself as Daniel C is thinking about ditching the plates on his Honda Accord.

He does have another option: The LTA has said that the EU logo, with its 12 signature stars, can be displayed on the side of a number plate using Singapore's approved fonts, sizes and spacings.

Doing this does not make the licence plate more difficult to read or distinguish, said an LTA spokesman.

But not all decorations may get the go-ahead as the LTA decides on what is acceptable on a case-by-case basis, "depending on how elaborate the decorative elements are and whether they are deemed to be distracting", the spokesman said.

This story was first published in The Straits Times on Feb 22, 2008.