Idle musings from someone who doesn't know much ..

[zcacogp]

Chaps,

These may well have been covered elsewhere (indeed, there is a thread about unlicensed drivers doing the rounds as well at the moment which has a degree of overlap.)

But it occurs to me that much of the driving prosecution in this country revolves around nunmberplates, and people displaying the correct ones and having their car registered in their name. I park in the wrong place/run a red light/go through a Gatso too quick/run over a pedestrian and drive off/abuse the congestion charge/whatever, and essentially my numberplate is noted and the address to which this numberplate is registered recieves a visit from the BiB and we go from there. Non?

I appreciate that there are new laws (12 months old or so) to prevent me having any numberplate I choose made up for my car, but what is there forcing me to have my car registered in my name and address when I first buy it? If I don't, what happens next? Or, indeed, to fill in my current V5 saying that I have sold the car to someone, filling in a name and address I know to be either real or false? Have I just dropped out of the system, and therefore can I do as I choose? If it really is this easy to get around it, then any system which relies on people registering and displaying their numberplate correctly is only going to catch people who willingly submit to this system. The law is only applicable to those who want to obey it.

What proportion of numberplates recorded on Gatso's/congestion charge cameras/traffic wardens computers actually turn up a non-existant owner as a result of the above?

I live in an area with a large immigrant proportion (don't get me started). What proportion of these people have no idea of the road laws in the UK, not appreciate the need for insurance, MOT's and Tax, and buy a cheap car, not register it in their name and drive as they choose (namely, dangerously.) What is there in place to pick up people like this?

Just some musings ... I am curious to know whether the system really is as riddled with holes as it appears.


Oli.

>>> Edited by zcacogp on Thursday 18th December 14:05

[forever_driving]

You, like many people here, have noticed the large problem we have when the whole road policing system is almost total automated via SPECS, Gatsos and Talivans.

Sorry I can't answer your main question

[d-man]

Down the bottom of this article

www.thisislondon.co.uk/traffic/articles/8083263?source=Evening%20Standard

It says that of 500,000 they hope to catch on speed cameras next year only around 170,000 are expected to pay up. Interesting huh?

EDIT - can't get the damn URL tag to work right



>> Edited by d-man on Thursday 18th December 15:32

>> Edited by d-man on Thursday 18th December 15:33

[regmolehusband]

If the details on the V5 were fictitious then the reminder to tax the vehicle would disappear into the ether. Is it possible to tax the vehicle at a P.O. without providing your name and address and not having the V5 with you?

Fortunately I don't now travel the 50,000 miles pa I used to otherwise I would have to be considering such strategies.

[flat in fifth]

I hear about the Swiss system where a driver has a number plate for life.
ie there is similar to a phone directory you can look up and there it is

eg AB-123-ZF Mr Gnome of Zurich, flat 3 etc etc.

Anyone know how this really works? ie what about one car families with multiple drivers, or hire cars for example.

Would this be of any use?

[Mr2Mike]

regmolehusband said:

Is it possible to tax the vehicle at a P.O. without providing your name and address and not having the V5 with you?

Not any more, you can't get road tax without a V5. However, someone driving around in an unregistered car is unlikely to be worried by such a piffling little thing as tax (or insurance or MOT come that that).

I have noticed that they have recently changed the design of tax disks to make them considerably more difficult to forge via a colour photocopier or scanner/printer etc. (not that I've tried you understand!)

[5ltr-chim]

Well here's some statistics for a starting point :

There are about 23 Million License holders in the UK

There is an estimated 1.5 Million vehicles driven without 1 or more of the following: MOT,Tax,Insurance.

[Dwight VanDriver]

>>Just some musings ... I am curious to know whether the system really is as riddled with holes as it appears.<<

There is no system that is infallible.

Bladdy big ones if you want to chance your arm. BUT at the end of the day there will be a calling through intelligence, a pull or APNR (false plates,No Tax, No Insurance, No MOT(soon), unpaid fines etc.)

Ton of bricks then comes to mind.

DVD
(Gutten God Fif - Crime UK?)