🚗🔍 Did you know some crafty drivers are dodging speed cameras with ‘ghost plates’? These sneaky illegal number plates, also called 3D or 4D plates, reflect camera flashes, preventing identification by speed and bus lane cameras. 🕵️♂️🚦
Local councils have sounded the alarm about these tricks and are determined to close the loophole. A couple of years back, it was uncovered that nearly 1 in 15 drivers have been playing this sneaky game with the UK’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system. 😲
In response, councils have started to roll out new cameras that can catch these elusive plates in the act. Last year, Wolverhampton got a tech upgrade to stomp out these stealthy offenders. Anyone caught faces a £100 fine. 💷📸
Professor Fraser Sampson points out that dodging fines using reflective tape, cloned plates, or stealth plates is all too easy and results in unfair penalties for many innocent drivers. With a staggering 2.4 million mistaken readings daily, the room for error is massive, leading to unjust fines. 📈🚗
Despite advancements, the ANPR system is still vulnerable, easily outsmarted by cheap tricks. With everyday reliance on it increasing, especially for clean air zones and other enforcement schemes, the temptation for some drivers to game the system is at an all-time high. 🌿⚠️
Whether it’s reflective tape or stealthy online buys, avoiding detection is simple, but the crackdown is coming as councils get smarter. How will this affect future traffic management? Only time will tell, but authorities are stepping up their efforts! 🚨🔧
What do you think about this sneaky trend? Should authorities do more to clamp down on it? Let us know in the comments! ⬇️💬