Speed cameras and foreign or unreadable plates

[px1980]

If a car gets caught by an automated camera and has a number plate that’s either foreign, potentially with layout/font unrecognisable by automated systems (think Dubai plates with Arabic digits next to “normal” ones); or a UK plate but one of those tinted/weird font/etc ones, which as I understand people fit to avoid ANPR software being able to read them; what happens?

Is there a human who manually reviews all footage/photos of cars caught speeding, but where ANPR software failed to read the number?

For the record I have perfectly normal UK plates on all cars, and no intention to change that…

[P. ONeill]

Yes, there is human input if the plate cannot be read automatically.

[px1980]

Ok so the people who “invest” in tinted/unreadable by ANPR plates; do they do it for “aesthetic” purposes only? I thought it was done to avoid getting speeding tickets

[Durzel]

They probably think it does, until it doesn't.

[grudas]

people fit tinted plates for looks not to avoid speeding tickets etc. I know quite a few people who run them and it's all about looks and nothing to do with avoiding speeding tickets.. it doesn't work, no clue who came up with the idea that would lol.

if plate is not read correctly it goes to a manual check.

[Turbobanana]

Does the same apply to those whose cars are immaculately detailed, except for the filthy number plate the detailer "forgot" to clean?

[Speed Badger]

I used to be one of those humans. Every safety camera offence is reviewed by an actual living human, at least in the Met Police and Kent Police, I would imagine every police force. With regard to foreign vehicles, they could be mostly read by the ANPR, but a human user would input it correctly if it made a mistake. We couldn't do anything with those unless it had been stopped for something and had a record on PNC. We would send the NIP abroad if that was the case.

In terms of unreadable foreign plates, we had a multiple offender on Dubai plates racking up camera activations all over London. We agreed what to input the registration as on the system so no matter which one of the viewing officers caught him, it would always go down as the same reg. I then produced a Google map of London with location pins of all his offences and times, this enabled officers to lie in wait for him one morning at a regular spot he had been activating and nabbed him. Undoubtedly he was immediately flown to Siberia and imprisoned in a gulag with only wolves for company.

[LordBretSinclair]

So would human intervention pick up an imported vehicle with UK plates like this????
Is there a loophole in the regs that allows "non compliant" font/sizes/wording like this?

[Speed Badger]

LordBretSinclair said:

So would human intervention pick up an imported vehicle with UK plates like this????
Is there a loophole in the regs that allows "non compliant" font/sizes/wording like this?

ANPR would probably do a decent job of recognising the characters, but the human viewer would input them correctly if they were incorrect. However same thing would apply, if there were details of the registered keeper on PNC a NIP would be issued, if not, then it would go in the 'foreign' abstractions and NFA'd.

[Dingu]

LordBretSinclair said:

So would human intervention pick up an imported vehicle with UK plates like this????
Is there a loophole in the regs that allows "non compliant" font/sizes/wording like this?

Why would human intervention not pick that up?

[deggles]

px1980 said:

Ok so the people who “invest” in tinted/unreadable by ANPR plates; do they do it for “aesthetic” purposes only? I thought it was done to avoid getting speeding tickets

ANPR isn't just used for speeding tickets. As above, these can be reviewed by a human when an offence is detected.

What it does defeat is the 'passive' ANPR cameras - there is a nationwide network recording the movements of millions of cars per day, not in relation to any specific offence, just for general surveillance.

[voicey]

Slightly OT question, but what happens with vehicles that are "in the trade"?

If a car is sold to a dealer and the V5 is updated accordingly then the DVLA will have the dealers details. However the car could be traded on multiple times. How on earth are these traced?

[Speed Badger]

If the vehicle showed up as 'in trade' on PNC but had been sold on to a new keepe, we would run another PNC check on the insurance details as these are usually up to date quite soon after the vehicle is insured by the buyer. If it's in trade, as in genuinely still in trade the NIP would go to the trader.

[RizzoTheRat]

Being able to read the plate doesn't necessarily mean the offender can be identified or get a ticket though. I've not tried it myself (Dutch plates) but I'm reliably informed that the Dart crossing won't send anything to foreign registered cars. Is there a replacement now for the Cross Border Enforcement rules that used to let the UK send speeding fines abroad? I've not tested that one yet either

[Boosted LS1]

Speed Badger said:

If the vehicle showed up as 'in trade' on PNC but had been sold on to a new keepe, we would run another PNC check on the insurance details as these are usually up to date quite soon after the vehicle is insured by the buyer. If it's in trade, as in genuinely still in trade the NIP would go to the trader.

Isn't there a flaw here? In that scrotes buy a car from the trade and it then becomes a pool car?

[Speed Badger]

Boosted LS1 said:

Speed Badger said:

If the vehicle showed up as 'in trade' on PNC but had been sold on to a new keepe, we would run another PNC check on the insurance details as these are usually up to date quite soon after the vehicle is insured by the buyer. If it's in trade, as in genuinely still in trade the NIP would go to the trader.

Isn't there a flaw here? In that scrotes buy a car from the trade and it then becomes a pool car?

What you mean if they never registered to themselves and it still shows as in trade?

[Boosted LS1]

They register to themselves using false details.

[Speed Badger]

Boosted LS1 said:

They register to themselves using false details.

Well then eventually if the NIPs are ignored, or sent back not known at this address, or fake new keeper details are given then it will be investigated by the team that deals with that, evidence will be gathered and physical visits made with plod.

[Mr Miata]

grudas said:

people fit tinted plates for looks not to avoid speeding tickets etc. I know quite a few people who run them and it's all about looks and nothing to do with avoiding speeding tickets.. it doesn't work, no clue who came up with the idea that would lol.

if plate is not read correctly it goes to a manual check.

But they don’t even look good.

I don’t think I’ve ever said to myself “the most nicest part of that car isn’t the shape or curvature and lines of the body. But it’s the number plate. What a stunning plate”.