MP calls for harsher penalties to clamp down on illegal ‘ghost’ licence plates
Drivers caught using illegal “ghost” licence plates which are effectively invisible to speed cameras would face tougher penalties under a proposed change to the law.
The plates, made of reflective material unreadable for police cameras, are being used by some drivers to get away with running red lights, drink driving and ignoring speed limits, a Labour MP claimed.
Sarah Coombes said tougher laws are needed to clamp down on “dodgy plates”.
The ghost or stealth plates can be bought online for as little as £30.
Number plates can also be cloned or made unreadable relatively easily without detection by the authorities.
£100 fine
If drivers are caught using a non-compliant number plate, the fine currently stands at £100, while the minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three driving licence penalty points.
Calling for tougher punishments, the West Bromwich MP said: “There are a select minority of people who think they are above the law.
“They think that by using a ghost plate they can get away with running red lights, drunk driving, ignoring speed limits and much, much worse.
“It can’t be right that these drivers are not being caught by police for creating so much danger on our roads. The punishments need to be tougher.
“Pedestrians and drivers alike deserve to be able to feel safe on the roads.
“The behaviour of a few reckless drivers is putting us all at risk.
“Clamping down on dodgy plates by toughening up the law is the first step we need to take towards ending this road safety crisis for once and for all.”
Ms Coombes is set to put forward her plan to change the law in the Commons on Wednesday using a 10-minute rule motion.
Her proposal stands little chance of becoming law unless it is taken on by the Government as part of its new road safety strategy.
Temptation
Tony Porter, the UK’s former surveillance camera commissioner, said ghost plates offer a “temptation” to drivers who want to “speed, drive without due care or without insurance to evade prosecution”.
“Innocent members of the public are being put at risk,” he added.
The scale of number plate misuse is still being understood but it is estimated that around one in 15 plates could be modified in some way.
A Government spokesperson said: “This Government takes road safety seriously.
“We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.
“Since the general election, the Labour Government has begun work on a new road safety strategy, the first in over a decade. Ministers will share more details of the strategy in due course.”
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“toughening up the law” – Labour MP. How is it possible to make them more illegal than they already are? The problem relates to the current Labour Government not enforcing existing legislation. It’s the loading of police forces with hikes in employers NI contributions means less police interceptors on the roads.
You make it sound as if the previous Tory government were…
Ooooh hang on, weren’t they the ones who saw the largest reduction of policing and the biggest backlog of court cases since time began?
So many minor offences are run up everyday. This needs police to actually do something. Red lights are always run, boxed junctions always blocked, illegal tyres, lights the whole gamut and it happens because the police are not dealing with the little things because their numbers have been decimated. Even a pull over and a chat in the ear of someone running on wide wheels, no need for a ticket first offence, just be nice to see my money put to use. (I know police do loads of other things but numbers cut mean the little thing are ignored, they… Read more »
I’m perfectly sure one of the ghastly outfits the Government use to run prisons, probation services etc would jump at the chance to enforce this, or any number of other motoring offenses.
As for fines? No fines – confiscate and auction the vehicles.
New measures proposed in the Crime Bill will allow Police and Law Enforcement access to all DVLA records, without the need to be investigating a driving offence, I trust it is not the back door facial recognition gathering that was tried before, will this data be used to follow up on other potential crimes?