Number plate recognition system to tackle MOT-dodgers

The government will introduce an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system next month to clamp down on unlicensed lorries and buses in an effort to boost road safety.

The £1m system will be operated by the newly created Vehicle Operator and Services Agency (VOSA), formed last month out of the Vehicle Inspectorate and the Traffic Area Network Division of the Department for Transport.

A digital image of every number plate that is scanned is checked against 12 databases of target vehicles that do not have the necessary licences or MOTs.

Kevin James, ANPR project manager at VOSA, told silicon.com: “We have targeted databases of vehicles we have specific interest in and basically when those ANPR vehicles are out on operation, should any of those number plates trigger, we carry out further investigations of the vehicle.” Initially only HGV and Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) will be monitored by eight VOSA teams around the country equipped with ANPR but the agency said it wants to be able to monitor all 24 million private vehicles in the UK once the MOT computerisation project has been completed in 2004.

“Once the MOT computerisation system goes live all vehicles, when they have MOT tests, will be on a common database. Vehicles that haven’t had their test or have been scrapped can then come onto our target database.”

By linking up the ANPR technology with road cameras and CCTV from other agencies, VOSA said it could run blanket monitoring for illegal vehicles in the UK.

It will also push the Home Office for legislation that will allow it to prosecute vehicle owners and drivers solely based on a captured digital image taken by the ANPR system, similar to the way speed cameras operate.

James explained: “Phase two is linking all our targeted databases to all other agencies' cameras including the police. That will give us nationwide coverage. Last we’ll be looking for Home Office-type approval to enable us to carry out direct prosecution on digital evidence.”

There is future scope for agencies such as the DVLA to pass its details of things like untaxed vehicles which can then be targeted by the ANPR system, said James.

“The whole road safety is our issue. Anything that could violate road safety is on our target databases. There is a facility to do specific targeting but at the moment we are running with a generalistic view.”