A major new report, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety (APPGTS), is blaming an outdated and poorly regulated number plate system for widespread illegality.
It has created a rapidly growing crisis that enables criminals and organised crime groups to operate undetected on UK roads, lets dangerous drivers off the hook, poses serious safety concerns, and leads to a significant loss of public funds, it says.
The report follows a cross-party inquiry into vehicle registration plates, with new technology recently revealing that more than 4,000 non-compliant plates identified in a single location in Birmingham in just two weeks.
Ghost plates look normal to the naked eye but are rendered unreadable to ANPR cameras by a transparent film or raised digits made of non-compliant materials, or the careful altering of specific characters.
Cloned plates are also a growing worry with data from Transport for London (TfL) reporting that plate-cloning cases have surged in the capital by 64% in the past three years.
More than 18,000 ANPR cameras in the UK are now capturing around 90 million reads each day, but the APPGTS report says that this is being critically undermined by weak regulation of number plate production, supply and a lack of enforcement.
It suggests that as many as one-in-15 vehicles may carry modified, non-compliant plates including ‘ghost’ and stealth plates designed to evade ANPR detection.
These plates, often sold openly online by unregulated suppliers, enable drivers to avoid paying road charges, tolls, congestion fees and fines.
But the problem extends far beyond traffic offences. Criminals are using ANPR-evasive plates to facilitate activities including rogue trading, drug dealing and organised crime such as human trafficking and people smuggling.
The inquiry heard from National Trading Standards that “ghost plates pose a serious threat to counter-terrorism operations”.
It reported that “vehicles with stealth plates can bypass surveillance systems around critical infrastructure such as airports, government buildings, and transport hubs”.
“This creates vulnerabilities that could be exploited by terrorist groups planning vehicle-borne attacks,” it added.
The report exposes weaknesses in the number plate manufacturing ecosystem, with some 34,455 suppliers registered with the DVLA to produce UK number plates. Many operate from private homes or small workshops, with no background checks in place.
Some suppliers handling customers’ ID documents were found to have serious criminal convictions, including for violent offences and fraud.
Meanwhile, innocent motorists are increasingly being targeted by criminals who clone their number plates.
Many have found themselves accused of offences they did not commit, facing fines, debt collection, and in some cases, police investigation.
The report concludes that the current registration plate system represents a “gaping hole” in the UK’s security and policing infrastructure, one that can be exploited using nothing more sophisticated than cellophane, leaves or a marker pen.
It advocates for wholesale revision of the registration plate system from production to supply, usage and management.
Self-funding solutions exist that would tackle the flaws in the current system with relative ease - but changes need to be multi-pronged and to include all of the relevant stakeholders.
The implementation of this reform would achieve nothing short of transforming safety and fairness, both on our public roads and far beyond them, it says.
Key recommendations in the report
- Standardise design of registration plates, with security features to bring the UK up to international standards. Ban the use of 3D and 4D plates.
- Significantly restrict the number of licenced sellers via annual fees, regular audits and removal of non-compliant sellers.
- Increase the fine and give offenders points for use of an illegal plate and seize vehicles of repeat offenders.
Further information:
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/mps-warn-one-in-15-vehicles-have-illegal-number-plates