Illegal number plates, 'criminal mischief' & London's expanding ULEZ

As the ULEZ (ultra-low emissions zone) expands this summer to take in the whole of Greater London, expect a surge in law breaking by the drivers of non-compliant cars unwilling to pay the charge. We've heard of people going to extreme lengths to avoid the £12.50 daily charge - most of which involve obscuring the number plate to avoid detection from enforcement cameras.

However, these same drivers are running the risk of a £1000 fine and even the possibility that the registration is withdrawn.

According to the DVLA, “It is an offence to alter, rearrange or misrepresent letters or numbers in order to form names or words or in such a way that makes it difficult to read the registration number.”

Taking action against illegal number plates AKA 'Criminal mischief'

The penalties apply as much to drivers who alter the spacing between letters to make words as they do to those obscuring a number plate that would otherwise comply with the law. For example, allowing road grime and mud to build up on the number plate in winter contravenes the law, as does obscuring the plate with a carefully stuck-on leaf.

The 'leaf trick' is one often addressed by Gersh Kuntzman, a New Yorker and editor of StreetsBlog NYC who began to notice the number of cars in his neighbourhood sporting deliberately obscured number plates.

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In response, Gersh began filming himself rectifying the altered plates - a civic-minded endeavour described as 'criminal mischief' by the NYPD, who sought to prosecute him for removing an intentional obstruction from a driver’s registration number plate so it could be read by traffic enforcement cameras. The case was thrown out by the District Attorney.

With regards to enforcement of the London ULEZ scheme, drivers trying to avoid the cameras would do well to remember that licence plates illegible to the ANPR system are passed to a human operator for identification. Those drivers who fall between the gaps may find it harder to escape the roadside spot checks that police plan to introduce once the ULEZ scheme expands.

The mayor, Sadiq Khan has explained that London’s toxic air, and the climate emergency, make expansion of the ULEZ a public health imperative, and that revenue raised would go into public transport.

Announcing the decision earlier this year at Bonus Pastor school in Lewisham, an area with dangerously poor air quality, Khan said: “The latest evidence shows that air pollution is making us sick from cradle to the grave. Londoners are developing life-changing illnesses such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma. And it’s especially dangerous for children.”

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