Spend any time at all on the road and you’ll notice the number of vehicles sporting non-standard number plates – most of which are illegal.
The law sets out in precise detail what a vehicle number plate should look like for good reason. Motorists displaying tinted plates, elaborate fonts, undersized letters and unusual spacing risk a £100 fine, but more seriously they contribute towards road danger by making it harder for automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to read plates as well as more challenging other road users to take a note of a vehicle’s details in the event they need to.
However, the increasingly widespread use of dashcams means the tables may be about to turn against the use of illegal number plates. According to the Roads Policing and Road Safety Teams of Avon and Somerset Police, footage submitted by the public in their areas now forms the basis of the majority of prosecutions.
Dashcam footage and the law
The Metropolitan Police is one of a number of forces that allows road users to upload camera footage when reporting a road traffic incident. The Met has already received well over 20,000 submissions and around two thirds lead to action being taken. Such systems are a game changer for cyclists. Evidence of close passes, abusive drivers and collisions can all be passed to the police with the click of a mouse. One imagines the thousands of drivers who have already received penalty points following an online submission of camera footage will become more considerate and careful road users as a result.
An increasing number of cyclists are using cameras to record dangerous driving
Aside from these police portals designed specifically for the purpose, there is no reason why footage cannot be admitted as evidence in the same way as CCTV is used. It is likely that a witness statement would have to accompany the camera footage and it would have to be downloaded to a CD with a certificate (countersigned by a solicitor) stating that it had not been altered in any way from its original digital format.
The ethical choice
The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance (covers cargo bikes), breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.
The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.
Brian
Yes please
Clive Jones
Shame they can’t put the same effort into catching bike thrives who steal hundreds of bikes from the same fixed locations every year. I am far more traumatised by the bike crime and linked drug abuse and supply than I am by Mr B16DIK in his BMW.
Alan
Mr B16DIK has other corrupted numbers like “NAD INE” which does not exist & also “GOL IN” with the G messed with to look like a C. ” UK CADDY” these are all currently being used on the road. I think you will be .far more traumatised by the police telling you your bike was knocked over in a hit and run but the witness was confused by an illegal.or cloned plate. Its zero tolerance to all. False plates usually lead to other crimes being uncovered so are vital. Well done plod