'Invisible car' crackdown as cops target 'illegal' method drivers use to con speed cameras

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An issue has arisen with drivers making their cars 'invisible' to speed and bus lane cameras to avoid getting fines forcing traffic cops to think outside of the box to catch them.Increasing numbers of motorists are using special reflective number plates that cannot be read by speed and bus lane cameras and are illegal.Around one in 15 drivers reportedly use the 3D and 4D plates with police now equipping themselves with special cameras to detect people flouting the law.

Last year the man in charge of the nation’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition system technology spoke about one in 15 drivers ‘gaming’ the system which he described as ‘staggeringly simple’ and easy to fool, reports Wales Online.Professor Fraser Sampson wrote to Transport Secretary Mark Harper as he left his role as Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner complaining that nothing was being done to sort the problem out.Now councils are getting access to new cameras which can ‘see’ the plates Council wardens in Wolverhampton are among those who have been handed the cameras as part of the crackdown.

Anyone caught using the illegal plates has been warned they face a £100 fine.Councillor Craig Collingswood, cabinet member for environment and climate change at Wolverhampton City Council, told BirminghamLive: “Wolverhampton is leading the way as the first council investing in this state-of-the-art technology to deter and detect offenders.“Bus lanes are essential for the public transport network to operate efficiently and speed cameras help to keep the public safe from speeding vehicles and reduce the likelihood of a crash."All motorists can expect to pay a fine if found to be using these illegal methods to avoid cameras and taxi drivers licensed by