Resistance to bending test

Bending plates cause problems on vehicles.

Plates that fail the bend test can detach from the vehicle or stay bent once removed from a curved surface.

How are plates tested?

The resistance to bending test puts plates in a clamp at room temperature and attaches a 3kg weight for 2 hours or more.

What makes a fail?

• The plate stays bent by more than 25mm away from its original shape.

Test for yourself!

Get an empty fizzy drinks bottle and bend it out of shape. You’ll see that it will only partly return to its original shape. Bottles like this are made out of PET, a similar plastic to many European plates.

European plates don’t usually pass the British Standard test because when they’re bent they don’t spring back.

So next time you have some pop out-and-about, you can be your very own tester!