Ghost Plates

[Puddenchucker]

I wasn't aware 'Ghost Plates' were so prevalent:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq9860162dj2o

How do law enforcement tackle this?
Why isn't supplying or owning a ghost plate illegal? What reason can there be for owning one other than evasion?

[davek_964]

I don't own a ghost plate because I didn't think they really worked. If they do, maybe I should order one......

[reddiesel]

Their increasing prevalence is probably in line with the immigration numbers . I have an instance on one of my sites where a bloke is currently turning up each morning to labour in a car bearing Trade Plates ??
This has gone on for 4 months now and because of this I have been noticing these Trade Plates being abused on a regular basis . Two recent instances have been a Rolls Royce Phantom being used for a wedding in Luton and a Mercedes complete with wife and children being loaded up with toilet rolls at Costco .

[nordboy]

reddiesel said:

Their increasing prevalence is probably in line with the immigration numbers . I have an instance on one of my sites where a bloke is currently turning up each morning to labour in a car bearing Trade Plates ??
This has gone on for 4 months now and because of this I have been noticing these Trade Plates being abused on a regular basis . Two recent instances have been a Rolls Royce Phantom being used for a wedding in Luton and a Mercedes complete with wife and children being loaded up with toilet rolls at Costco .

I think getting immigration in to a thread about ghost plates really is an impressive feat. That's quite a leap?

[_Rodders_]

Especially as they're clearly here legally or he's admitting to illegally employing them.

[_Rodders_]

It does seem to be an admission they work then.

Not as big an issue as cloned plates.

[reddiesel]

Much of the Country have never sat a British Driving Test , are you accusing me of advancing an anti immigration argument for stating that reality too ?

[Jamescrs]

Puddenchucker said:

I wasn't aware 'Ghost Plates' were so prevalent:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq9860162dj2o

How do law enforcement tackle this?
Why isn't supplying or owning a ghost plate illegal? What reason can there be for owning one other than evasion?

Owning one is illegal.

As far as supply goes they are usually sold under the guise of “show plates” which circumnavigates the law and even if they banned that they would just come from abroad.

As for enforcement- well every time they do anything against motorists it’s shouted as “a war on motorists” and “why can’t they deal with real criminals”.

[scenario8]

I don’t think any roar of disapproval for tackling ghost (and cloned) plates would be particularly loud. Not many would see that as a war on motorists.

[mcdjl]

You don't need a clever camera to spot ghost or cloned plates, just drive through an average speed camera section of motor way and spot the cars that fly though way over the limit.

[mooseracer]

reddiesel said:

Their increasing prevalence is probably in line with the immigration numbers . I have an instance on one of my sites where a bloke is currently turning up each morning to labour in a car bearing Trade Plates ??
This has gone on for 4 months now and because of this I have been noticing these Trade Plates being abused on a regular basis . Two recent instances have been a Rolls Royce Phantom being used for a wedding in Luton and a Mercedes complete with wife and children being loaded up with toilet rolls at Costco .

Why let him, if it's your site and it annoys/offends you?

[Undirection]

There are 3 things here though

• Ghost plates
• Hidden plates
• Cloned plate

IMO the ghost and hidden ones are mostly to avoid speed cameras. I have considered them each time I get caught doing '4mph' over the limit, etc. I'm sick of stupid speed limits that I need to adhere to despite them being totally over the top. A few weeks ago a friend got done for 80mph on a lovely clear bit of motorway with light traffic, I've had the same in the past. It's this type of thing that just pisses the average motorist off.

The number of people with them does surprise me but social media is full of these adverts.

Cloned plates are much harder to identify as they will show a perfectly legal vehicle in ANPR and they do appear to be more related to crime.

The news article talking about road deaths was ridiculous and had nothing to do with plates, it just happened that the drivers responsible had them, but it does make for a more impactful story.

[Undirection]

Jamescrs said:

Owning one is illegal.

Not illegal to own one.

[james6546]

reddiesel said:

Much of the Country have never sat a British Driving Test , are you accusing me of advancing an anti immigration argument for stating that reality too ?

Jeeze, this is why I stopped going on Facebook

[Simpo Two]

Just for clarity, do 'ghost plates' include the ones with a black screw cover strategically placed to make a 0 into an 8, and wky spacing so it looks like 'GARY' etc?

[davek_964]

Simpo Two said:

Just for clarity, do 'ghost plates' include the ones with a black screw cover strategically placed to make a 0 into an 8, and wky spacing so it looks like 'GARY' etc?

No.

Plus, in your example I'm pretty sure it would be trying to make a 4 look like an A.......

[Simpo Two]

james6546 said:

reddiesel said:

Much of the Country have never sat a British Driving Test , are you accusing me of advancing an anti immigration argument for stating that reality too ?

Jeeze, this is why I stopped going on Facebook

Google AI and The Telegraph:
'There is no official or exact figure for how many drivers in the UK have never passed a UK driving test, as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not track or hold data on the total number of motorists operating legally on foreign or international licenses. However, available data and estimates provide some context on specific groups: Exchanged Foreign Licences: Over 1.1 million drivers have swapped their qualifying foreign licenses for British equivalents under reciprocal agreements since 1997 without taking a UK test. More recent figures from the Department for Transport show that over 1.3 million foreign drivers were issued UK licenses via exchange arrangements since 2016.Temporary Foreign License Holders: Non-UK residents and new arrivals from designated and non-designated countries can legally drive on British roads for up to 12 months on their home license without passing a UK driving test. The DVLA keeps no running register or estimate of how many active motorists fall under this temporary category at any given time'

So at least 2.4 million drivers in the UK have never passed a UK driving test - and that's only the known foreign ones.

[nordboy]

Simpo Two said:

james6546 said:

reddiesel said:

Much of the Country have never sat a British Driving Test , are you accusing me of advancing an anti immigration argument for stating that reality too ?

Jeeze, this is why I stopped going on Facebook

Google AI and The Telegraph:
'There is no official or exact figure for how many drivers in the UK have never passed a UK driving test, as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not track or hold data on the total number of motorists operating legally on foreign or international licenses. However, available data and estimates provide some context on specific groups: Exchanged Foreign Licences: Over 1.1 million drivers have swapped their qualifying foreign licenses for British equivalents under reciprocal agreements since 1997 without taking a UK test. More recent figures from the Department for Transport show that over 1.3 million foreign drivers were issued UK licenses via exchange arrangements since 2016.Temporary Foreign License Holders: Non-UK residents and new arrivals from designated and non-designated countries can legally drive on British roads for up to 12 months on their home license without passing a UK driving test. The DVLA keeps no running register or estimate of how many active motorists fall under this temporary category at any given time'

So at least 2.4 million drivers in the UK have never passed a UK driving test - and that's only the known foreign ones.

So less than 5% of drivers then?

[WTDMM]

reddiesel said:

Much of the Country have never sat a British Driving Test ,

Mathmatically impossible, there are roughly 43m license holders, of which no more than 3m are driving without taking a UK test.

Group currently in GB Approximate number never having taken GB test
Current GB licence holders whose licence originated through foreign exchange ~1.0 1.5m
EU/EEA residents still driving on EU/EEA licences ~0.5 1.0m
Other foreign licence holders within permitted driving period ~0.1 0.3m
Visitors temporarily driving variable; probably tens/hundreds of thousands at a given time
Likely resident-driver total ~1.6 2.8m


even if you then add in the number of adults in the uk who fall outside the 43m (which would be 27m and include those who are too old, too ill, disabled etc) then your statement is utter bollcoks.

Edited by WTDMM on Monday 28th September 12:13

[Simpo Two]

nordboy said:

So less than 5% of drivers then?

You can choose whichever figure suits your view. If 2.4 million drivers is acceptable, why should the other 95% bother?