Drivers warned as action taken to close ‘ghost plate’ speed camera loophole

Ghost number plates - which are illegal - reflect camera flashes and can make cars invisible to speed cameras and bus lane cameras. They are also referred to as 3D or 4D plates

12:00, 13 May 2025

Council bosses have issued a stark warning about rogue motorists[1] using 'ghost plates' to dodge speed cameras. These illegal plates, which reflect camera flashes, render cars[2] invisible to speed and bus lane cameras.

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Also referred to as 3D or 4D plates, authorities are now ramping up efforts to close this loophole.

Two years ago, the head of our national Automatic Number Plate Recognition system revealed that a shocking number of drivers - roughly one in 15 - can easily fool the system. On his departure Professor Fraser Sampson wrote a letter to Transport Secretary Mark Harper expressing his disappointment at the lack of action against these simple yet effective tactics.

To tackle this problem, councils have been given new cameras capable of identifying these elusive number plates. In Wolverhampton, local wardens were equipped with this advanced technology[4] as part of a strict enforcement campaign last year.

Offenders can anticipate a GBP100 fine for such violations, reports Wales Online[5].

In his letter to Mark Harper, Prof Sampson detailed how individuals were dodging fines by cloning number plates, using reflective tape and purchasing 'stealth plates', thereby evading charges for speeding or entering low-emission zones.

According to Prof Sampson, the system boasts a 97% accuracy rate in reading number plates but can still generate 2.4 million incorrect readings daily.

This could lead to innocent drivers being erroneously fined.

Prof Sampson has raised concerns about the vulnerability of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system, which despite its technological sophistication, still depends on a vehicle's number plate.

He remarked: "For all its technological advancement and operational indispensability, the ANPR system still relies ultimately on a piece of plastic affixed to either end of a vehicle.

"Served by a wholly unregulated market, what my predecessor termed the humble number plate represents a single and readily assailable point of failure with the ANPR network being easily defeated by the manufacture and sale of stealth plates, cloned registration marks and other rudimentary obscurant tactics."

He further warned: "The result is that the ability to frustrate the ANPR system remains staggeringly simple at a time when proper reliance on it for key public services such as policing, law enforcement and traffic management is increasing daily."

Additionally, he pointed out the potential for abuse, saying: "Emission zones and other strategic traffic enforcement schemes put motorists in situations where they have to make significant financial choices and it is at least arguable that the incentives for some to 'game' the ANPR systems have never been greater."

Prof Sampson pointed out straightforward evasion strategies: "Merely by applying reflective tape to distort part of a registration plate or purchasing stealth plates from online vendors, motorists can confuse and confound current number plate recognition technology and both of these are easily obtainable."

A recent estimate suggested that one in fifteen drivers may already be using anti-ANPR technology; it is reasonable to expect this behaviour to increase as the reliance on ANPR for new traffic management schemes continues."

References

1. ^ motorists (www.mirror.co.uk)
2. ^ cars (www.mirror.co.uk)
3. ^ Mum-of-two loses more than 11 stone doing 'wall pilates' at home (www.mirror.co.uk)
4. ^ technology (www.mirror.co.uk)
5. ^ Wales Online (www.walesonline.co.uk)