Come le persone che conosci potrebbero utilizzare “targa fantasma” per evitare multe per eccesso di velocità
How people you know could be using ‘ghost plates’ to dodge speeding tickets
di robhastings
Come le persone che conosci potrebbero utilizzare “targa fantasma” per evitare multe per eccesso di velocità
How people you know could be using ‘ghost plates’ to dodge speeding tickets
di robhastings
15 commenti
It is the noisy problem that keeps residents across the country awake late at night, as engines roar and tyres screech – leading to fatal crashes tragically often.
Illegal street racing is a menace on many British roads, leading people to question why speed cameras cannot prevent its dangers.
That is what Labour MP Sarah Coombes asked police last year when she visited Kenrick Way, a notorious racing hotspot in her constituency of West Bromwich.
“The police said to me: ‘Sarah, all these racers have got ‘ghost plates’ now, so there’s no point’,” she recalls. It was the first time she’d heard that phrase.
Officers explained how it was becoming increasingly common for people to spray their cars’ number plates or place a plastic film over them, making them unreadable by most automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
These infrared cameras work by distinguishing black lettering against a number plate’s white reflective background. If the characters are also made reflective, they become invisible to sensors, even if they still appear normal to the human eye.
It means it is incredibly simple to evade not just speeding fines but also road tax, insurance claims, parking fees, and charges for congestion zones or airport drop-offs. Plus, criminals can avoid being tracked.
Coombes was outraged to hear how weak the penalties are. “If you are caught with a ghost plate – which is vanishingly unlikely – the fine is only £100, with no points on your licence,” says the MP.
Given that speeding penalties range from £100 to £2,500, plus three points, “it’s absolutely in your interest to get yourself a ghost plate” if you are intent on racing, she explains.
It is not just aspiring Formula 1 drivers who are exploiting this weakness in ANPR, however.
It has previously been estimated that one in 15 drivers are using ghost plates. Dr Michael Rhead, a former government adviser on ANPR, suspects the number is now far higher and requires urgent action.
No surprise. Just look at the number of illegal plates are on the road. The Police aren’t interested.
I tell you what is criminal, £10.20 for parking at a hospital – after spending two consecutive weekends in one, I think I’m going to get myself a ghost plate to clip on.
It’s likely the law is about to change on number plates – cloning is a huge problem, as are ghost plates. 4D number plates are also going to be outlawed. Currently there is an [inquiry ongoing.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0ex1nvvgpzo?app-referrer=deep-link)
The penalty for having an illegal plate including cloned misspelt & ghost plates (the police are about to get kit that will enable them to spot ghost plates easily when following the car) will be hugely increased (6 points and up to £2500 fine).
Not that it will make a difference. People just don’t give a shit any more. Part of the whole ‘cult of selfish’ happening in the U.K.
A clampdown on illegal plates could bring in a serious bit of cash.
Anecdotally 1 in 10 cars I see on the road seem to have dodgy plates on, and one in 100 seem to have no front plate on, with the “plausible deniability” of putting it on the dash.
Hire a bunch of uni students to do a sweep of residential streets and council car parks, and you’d probably cover costs at least.
wow i wish i knew about these plates earlier, save so much money
6 points and up to 2500 is not much of a deterrent
I mean now you can cover your number plates with dirt and in the 1/1000 chance you get pulled over it is a £100 fine with no points. They can’t do the whole ‘perverting course of justice’ thing as it is impossible to prove it was intentional such as with those flip plates on bikes. Keep in mind 25 in a 20 is the same fine but also 3 points?
Making money from speeding tickets sounds like a business worthy of massive investment.
Certainly more worthy than crackdowns by *real policemen* on the actual problem.
Dunno about ghost plates but I’ve seen people abusing the hell out of trade plates and reported them a fair few times to DVLA. A new family moved in and suddenly cars were just appearing with trade plates, disappearing for a week or 2 then reappearing. Often the cars would be parked up with trade plates on up the road, 5-6 in a row, and just left there for a couple of weeks.
The entire road started reporting them, it stopped for a while then restarted. At one point I saw a guy pull over next to 3 blokes, pull out a stack of about 12 trade plates and hand them 1 each
Surely if they’re illegal, then they void your MOT thus you’re driving a car that isn’t roadworthy..?
Penalty for wrong plates and no MOT should be £3k upwards
I mean if you’re going to that much trouble why not simply learn to drive
Problem is police don’t have enough resources to monitor plates. There’s hundreds and thousands of illegal plates with 4D text and incorrect spacing. Nothing gets done.
My dad got a parking fine a few years ago in a completely different city. Queried it with the city council who sent a picture of a van with his number plate on (he had a car). Explained to the council that this black transit clearly wasn’t a fucking silver saloon.
Reported it to the police and they basically just said “cool don’t worry about it”.
I work on various ANPR systems and I’m surprised by this – surely their ANPR can process images using visible light as well, not just IR? 4D plates shouldn’t present a problem for reading and actually if you spray them, the relief pattern is going to negate the coating and make it easier to make out.
Also you can enhance the contrast in post.