Political opinion: MP's campaign to ban ghost number plates has been victorious – here’s why it matters
It all started last January on Kenrick Way, a long straight road in West Bromwich that’s a hotspot for car racers. When I asked the police officer why we couldn’t get a speed camera he told me it would be no use. ‘All the racers have got ghost plates,’ he said, ‘they won’t be caught,’ writes Sarah Coombes MP.
This was the first time I had ever heard about ghost plates: number plates that are unreadable to the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras that are used to police our roads and keep us safe. Criminals use these plates to carry out crimes undetected, but also many drivers are using them to speed and jump red lights with immunity.
And there’s a financial cost. Too many crashes that happen on our roads involve a car that can’t be traced. This is leading to higher insurance premiums for all of us, as we foot the bill for the selfish behaviour of other drivers who don’t want to play by the rules. There is no good reason to have a ghost plate.
Now, a year on, the government has been listening. After months of campaigning in parliament for harsher penalties if a driver is caught with a ghost plate, the government is going to crack down on illegal number plates. They have announced today that drivers will face penalty points and have their vehicles seized if they use a ghost plate. They will also bring in rules that address the sale and supply of dodgy plates too.
One of the Labour party’s promises at the general election was to take back our streets to keep us safe. This is exactly what this new strategy does: crack down on the racers and drunk and uninsured drivers who put the rest of us at risk.
Everyone in the Black Country knows that dangerous driving poses a huge risk to our area: whether it’s the noise, the pollution, or the feeling that you’re not safe when you go about your day. And that’s exactly why I have been standing up for these changes and pushing the government to act. I want people to feel like they can drop their kids off at school safely, drive to work without feeling under threat, and go about their day. I’m delighted to see this campaign get the attention it’s deserved, and that the government has acted.
