Car Race Systems

As a hoped-for answer to the growing practice of “car cloning” which involves the theft of car registration plates, the DVLA has begun selling anti-theft car registration plates.  Currently, many people are experiencing the theft of their legitimate registration plates by people who wish to pass their car off as someone else’s in order to commit crimes, drive away from petrol stations without paying, or sell stolen vehicles to unsuspecting buyers.  Vehicle cloning has also been found to be a problem in mailing citations for speeding or running red lights.

The new plates are designed to break into pieces and become unusable when prised off a car.  Not only that, but removing them from the car is designed to take at least three minutes, much longer than the average thief wants to spend committing such a crime.  That alone should deter most incidents if the pilot scheme runs well and the plates come into wider circulation.

The cost of the plates will be slightly higher, by about £10, but authorities predict they will still be very popular, especially in congested areas or locations with high car crime.  One prime reason for number plate theft is to avoid the London Congestion Charge, and so these new plates should sell quite well in that area. 

With more than 33,000 cases per year of registration plate theft reported, the new anti-theft plates should help the police catch criminals as well as keep unsuspecting and innocent vehicle owners from receiving surprise fines in the mail.  As many Brits can attest, the time and aggravation they spend dealing with a false charge is worth the extra £10 for an anti-theft plate. 

The DLVA will announce when the plates are available for general purchase.