Think you can dodge VED? Think again.

[Jimmy Recard]

Mr2Mike said:

paintman said:

If you want to get away with it for longer look for a similar car - make, model, colour - & make up & fit a set of identical number plates. Plenty will do 'show plates' so no need to produce the i.d that's required for plates from your local motor factor etc.

You'd be reamed if/when you got stopped.

I thought about it the other day (not with the intention of trying it!)

But I think you could do this for years without being detected. If you just wanted to drive around calmly and anonymously, there would be no reason to stop you or suspect you of anything. In the meantime, you're not paying tax or insurance or bothering with an MOT (keep the car at least visibly roadworthy though, or you'll attract attention)

This would work even better if it's an anonymous and popular car (I'm thinking mid range silver Ford Focus/Vauxhall Astra/similar)

I bet there are people who do it and get away with it for years and years, never getting caught. Just check online regularly to make sure the car carrying your plates has insurance, MOT and tax

[LuS1fer]

Jimmy Recard said:

I thought about it the other day (not with the intention of trying it!)

But I think you could do this for years without being detected. If you just wanted to drive around calmly and anonymously, there would be no reason to stop you or suspect you of anything. In the meantime, you're not paying tax or insurance or bothering with an MOT (keep the car at least visibly roadworthy though, or you'll attract attention)

This would work even better if it's an anonymous and popular car (I'm thinking mid range silver Ford Focus/Vauxhall Astra/similar)

I bet there are people who do it and get away with it for years and years, never getting caught. Just check online regularly to make sure the car carrying your plates has insurance, MOT and tax

ANPR cameras I think pick up duplicate plates in different locations, especially at the same time.
If you do get stopped, however, you're immediately going to the Crown Court on an indictable only attempt to pervert the course of justice so it's a considerable risk.

[2Btoo]

Jimmy Recard said:

I thought about it the other day (not with the intention of trying it!)

But I think you could do this for years without being detected. If you just wanted to drive around calmly and anonymously, there would be no reason to stop you or suspect you of anything. In the meantime, you're not paying tax or insurance or bothering with an MOT (keep the car at least visibly roadworthy though, or you'll attract attention)

This would work even better if it's an anonymous and popular car (I'm thinking mid range silver Ford Focus/Vauxhall Astra/similar)

I bet there are people who do it and get away with it for years and years, never getting caught. Just check online regularly to make sure the car carrying your plates has insurance, MOT and tax

My thoughts exactly. In theory there are ANPR vans with 'catch squads' to pull over people whose numberplates come back as lacking insurance/tax/MOT, but I don't think I have ever seen one. Couple this with the decline of police on the roads and someone doing as you suggest could probably get away with their money-saving exercise for quite literally years. Yes, if you are caught then you will be for the high jump (although how high, I wonder? It may be little more than a few hundred quid fine and some points on the licence, and you may not care about this) but this is vanishingly unlikely.

[njw1]

Jimmy Recard said:

I bet there are people who do it and get away with it for years and years, never getting caught. Just check online regularly to make sure the car carrying your plates has insurance, MOT and tax

I know of someone who has been driving for over 30 years, and has never actually passed a driving test.

[Notreallymeeither]

njw1 said:

Jimmy Recard said:

I bet there are people who do it and get away with it for years and years, never getting caught. Just check online regularly to make sure the car carrying your plates has insurance, MOT and tax

I know of someone who has been driving for over 30 years, and has never actually passed a driving test.

Presumably therefore uninsured as well?

[untakenname]

I went two months accidentally without paying tax due to usually have MOT and Tax due at the same time, changed car and the MOT was two months after the tax was due.
Shame the tax disc has gone as it was an easy visual reminder to get it done.

2Btoo said:

My thoughts exactly. In theory there are ANPR vans with 'catch squads' to pull over people whose numberplates come back as lacking insurance/tax/MOT, but I don't think I have ever seen one.

Crackdown operations happen quite often near me (S/E London) as it causes quite a few tailbacks, noticeable one in Crystal palace a couple of years back had so many cars flagged that they had to park them down a sideroad then remove them later.

[505diff]

I had a van delivered on trade plates by a dealer from the other end of the country, I'd asked to inspect it before purchasing as it was a demo, agreeing to buy it if it was in stated condition, in the 10 minutes the delivery guy was in my house while I phoned the dealer to confirm the sale and for him to tax it, a DVLA contractor was outside getting ready to clamp it. Fortunately once explained to them and showing the trade plates they left it alone, the road it was parked on see lees than 30 cars a day, just goes to show you luck will run out if you try and beat the system and you don't have be on a main road!

[Pica-Pica]

Cupramax said:

So you said 5 mins ago

Only a single press, and you get double!

[FakeConcern]

My daughter somehow managed not to tax, insure or MOT her car for a few months by accident. During that time she got lost on a journey and drove a complete circuit of the M25. Nothing came of it!

[GTI16V]

I travel around a fair bit for work and I see a fair few cars clamped like this.
You'd imagine it'd be stty old Fiesta's and Astra's on a council estates.
Yet I'm amazed at the number of nice motors in affluent areas that get clamped, the highlight of which was a Bentley Flying Spur in Hampstead.

Edited by GTI16V on Friday 16th November 21:16

[ARHarh]

Someone I know has driven cars with no tax or mot for years. He drives it 5 miles to work and back again every day. Done it for the 5 years I have known him. He has had 3 cars in that time, each costing about £300,. He has never had an issue. I guess it must be e9asy to get away with.

[Gareth79]

They have vans with ANPR cameras on all four corners, like this:
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/08/27/1409100...

I haven't seen one driving around for years, but earlier in the year about ten cars in the estate on my route to work were clamped, three outside a single house.... I assume the contractor churns a lot of data and weights the driving routes according to the areas which have previous high numbers caught, and DVLA SORN/untaxed data out of the ordinary.

[lawrencec]

They are round here alot with the amount of car sales places catching the odd one

They did get a 7.5 tom lorry but have as of yet been unable to remove it

They also go in to the local BCA car park and clamp amd remove vehicles which i think is a bit unfair

[ESOG]

At first I thought this was in the wrong forum... You know because I read the thread title and instantly thought it was referring to an STD.... LOL j/k