Motorists dodging speed cameras by using ‘ghost plates’

The illegal plates bounce back camera flashes

14:07, 08 Sep 2025Updated 14:09, 08 Sep 2025

Motorists[1] are dodging speed cameras by using 'ghost plates' that render their vehicles undetectable to legal detection, council leaders have warned. These illegal plates[2], which reflect camera flashes, obstruct identification by speed and bus lane cameras and are also known as 3D or 4D plates.

Efforts are now being stepped up by authorities to close this loophole. Two years ago, those in charge of the UK's Automatic Number Plate Recognition system revealed that a surprising number of drivers - about one in 15 - can easily trick the system.

Upon his departure, Professor Fraser Sampson wrote a letter to Transport Secretary Mark Harper expressing disappointment at the lack of action against these simple yet clever tactics.

In an attempt to combat the issue, councils have been equipped with new cameras capable of detecting these elusive number plates.

In Wolverhampton, local wardens were furnished with this advanced technology as part of a rigorous enforcement campaign last year.

Offenders can expect a GBP100 fine for such violations.

In his letter to Mark Harper, Prof Sampson detailed how individuals were avoiding fines by cloning number plates, using reflective tape, and buying 'stealth plates', thereby evading penalties for speeding or entering low-emission zones, reports Chronicle Live[3].

He emphasised that number plate readings are only 97% accurate, leading to a staggering 2.4 million incorrect readings daily, which subsequently results in innocent motorists receiving unwarranted fines.

He observed that roughly 15,400 traffic lanes overseen by cameras generate between 75 and 80 million readings each day, with certain days surpassing 80 million.

Prof Sampson also highlighted the possibility of reaching 100 million readings per day by the end of 2024.

While recognising the ANPR system's technological capabilities, Prof Sampson emphasised its susceptibility, stating: "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 expanded on how straightforward it is to undermine the system: "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."

Prof Sampson added: "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 approximation suggests that one in fifteen drivers might already be utilising anti-ANPR technology; it's plausible to anticipate this behaviour escalating as the dependence on ANPR for new traffic management schemes persists."

References

1. ^ Motorists (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
2. ^ illegal plates (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
3. ^ Chronicle Live (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)