Only in the UK could 'ghost' car number plates be a huge problem

It’s been announced that authorities are deploying new AI-aided camera technology and funding specialised police coordination to crack down on illegal ghost plates, which are now thought to be so prevalent in the UK that as many as one in 15 vehicles have them. However, I’m not confident this is going to solve the issue.

Ghost, stealth and cloned plates, which help avoid detection from automated cameras, are a very British problem. They aren’t nearly as common in other European nations, so why aren’t we learning from them? In Germany and France, for instance, it’s a requirement to use strict state-issued, stamped metal number plates manufactured directly by government authorities, or by a small number of highly restricted, state-vetted contractors. Enforcement is taken seriously.

The UK, in comparison, is like the wild west, with nearly 35,000 DVLA-registered number plate suppliers currently operating, and no background checks required for the individuals who set up and run these businesses, creating a serious and very obvious security loophole. 

Then there’s the fact that basically anyone with an internet connection can order 3D acrylic digits, obscuring gels, infra-red-distorting covers and whatever else they need to modify a number plate from unregulated online suppliers.

Many European countries don’t allow for custom text or vanity modifications to number plates either. But here, the DVLA generates in the region of £300 million a year in revenue from selling cherished personalised number plates (a large majority of which need to be illegally spaced to spell out what the DVLA suggests they might say). 

Consider, too, the penalties given out for being caught using an illegal ghost plate. In the UK, it’s a £100 fixed penalty notice, potential prosecution with fines up to £1,000 and an automatic MoT failure. In France, however, the standard fine is 135 euros (around £115), but using completely false or manipulated plates to evade detection can result in fines of up to 30,000 euros (£25,545), cancellation of your driving licence and even prison time.

Some will say that harsh a punishment maybe too extreme if drivers are only using ghost plates and other tactics to dodge speeding fines, toll fees and clean air zone charges. But ghost plates and other tactics also shield car thieves and violent criminals from police, and for those emboldened by their ability to beat the automated cameras heavily relied on for traffic enforcement, more dangerous driving inevitably follows.  

I don’t want to sound like a controversy theorist, but I’m sceptical that the Government would want to jeopardise the tidy revenue stream it gets from the DVLA with any sudden, seriously tight new regulations around number plates. However, it feels like systemic changes of the laws regarding number plates and how they’re distributed are now necessary. 

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