By Jane Haynes
Drivers who are fixing illegal ‘ghost plates’ on their cars to evade police, parking and speed cameras are being targeted in a new clampdown by West Midlands Police, backed by road safety activists and MPs. Eight were caught in a single morning blitz in the centre of West Bromwich , Friday July 4 – among 27 motorists in all who were snagged in an operation involving police, councils, the DVLA and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in and around High Street, Providence Place and New Square Shopping Centre. They will all now face prosecution or fixed penalties and potentially points on their licences. READ MORE: Midlands road named as street racing and speeding hotspot The initiative was backed by West Bromwich MP Sarah Coombes, who is pressing for tougher regulations around the sale and use of the so-called stealth plates. While visible to the naked eye and appearing to meet regulations, the plates are specially coated so the digits and letters show up white on infrared and other technology typically used in roadside cameras. Their use is strongly connected to criminal activity and allow motorists to become ‘invisible’. It is feared potentially thousands of the so-called ‘stealth’ plates are on the region’s roads. Coombes is spearheading calls for the law to change fast to ban the sale of the plates and increase penalties for using them to help remove a major obstacle to enforcement and to get dodgy drivers off the roads. She was inspired to press for change after seeing the horrific impact and danger of street racing meet-ups in Kenrick Way, West Bromwich, which has been a blackspot for years. Fifty or more drivers at a time would gather in the street late at weekends to test their nerve and speed in head-to-head races, to the fury of residents. They continued doing so even after two young peple died at a different location in the area while watching a street race. She said: “I was stood on that street six months ago with the police, and could not understand why they couldn’t just put up speed cameras and deter the gatherings that way. “One police officer said it would make no difference because all the cars had ghost plates. It was the first I had heard of them and the more I looked into the issue, the clearer it became that this was a major obstacle to proper enforcement. Drivers could just ignore speed limits and red lights because they know their plates could not be picked up. “It was eye opening and is why we need to act on this.” The issue is undoubtedly repeated across Birmingham and the Black Country. Some 27 drivers were prosecuted during the three hour vehicle checks initiative, Friday. The aim of the operations is to educate motorists who are unwittingly or deliberately breaking the law. Of the 27, 12 were prosecuted for number plate offences, including eight for having ghost plates. Other offenders had number plates that were embellished or had letters edged in white, were 3D or had been altered to push letters or digits closer than regulations permit. Seven more were prosecuted and fined for having too heavily tinted windows, two failed document checks and five had vehicle defects. One van stopped had a cracked front window, faulty brakes and bald tyres. One was weighed down with too much metal junk. One vehicle was seized for having no insurance. Five Sandwell Council licensed taxis were also stopped for checks, with none prosecuted. Leading the event was PC Paul Styler from the road harm reduction team at West Midlands Police , who said it was one of the regular operations held every week across the force area. Local councillor Keith Allcock, cabinet member for highways and environment for Sandwell Council, said too many motorists appeared addicted to speed, with driving standards poor. But he said there was a commitment to act by reducing speed limits and redesigning roads to cut speed. By the time I’d spent 15 minutes in the back of a West Midlands Police traffic officer’s car, I couldn’t resist joining in the operation. “There’s one, that number plate definitely doesn’t look right,” I volunteered. In just 20 minutes three motorists were pulled over and politely asked to follow our police car back to Paradise Place off West Bromwich high street for ‘checks on their vehicle’. Waiting in the car park were a team of officers and officials representing multiple agencies who then proceeded to check over the driver’s documents and give the vehicle a thorough check for defects and potential hazards. Officers in marked and unmarked cars and on motorbikes took part in the operation. They were not only relying on visual checks. They were also receiving regular ‘pings’ on mobile devices inside their cars alerting them to problematic passing vehicles that had been picked up on roadside and car mounted APNR (Automatic Police Number Recognition) cameras. The pings alerted that a nearby car appeared to have out of date insurance or tax, does not have a registered owner, or was somehow implicated in criminal investigations – but only cars with regulation number plates could be picked up. During our short drive, the pings were constant. It highlights the scale of the casual flouting of road laws. The rapid rollout of APNR cameras as a means to check on vehicles has triggered a huge growth in the number of firms and outlets selling number plates that manage to evade existing technology. There are currently more than 40,000 licensed number plate sales outlets, and thought to be thousands more operating in the black market. Having ghost plates means a motorist can most likely avoid speeding fines, red light warnings and charges for clean air zones, like the one that operates in Birmingham. At present the regulations are so lax that sellers are unlikely to face punishment, and motorists can expect limited fines and points penalties – neither a deterrent to the practice. Technology is rapidly evolving however to help the police – but in the meantime a clampdown is vital. Do you have personal experience of being involved in a local road incident, as a victim, relative or behind the wheel, and would you be willing to discuss your experience? We are currently seeking case studies to support our planned investigation into why our roads remain so unsafe and what can be done about it. Alternatively, if you have expert insight into road safety law and regulations, we’d love to hear from you. Email jane.haynes@reachplc.com in the first instance, thanks so much.