Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) fines vintage tractor twice!

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) fines vintage tractor twice!

As the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is being used by councils, the police and other enforcement agencies to read the number plates of vehicles which break the law in one way or another. But sometimes it goes wrong as a farmer found out.

Farmer, Eric Smart, 74, actually visited London once, but that was forty five years ago, however according to the data that the Transport for London (TFL) have he visited London on at least two occasions and parked illegally as his number plate popped up in the system.

The problem is that the number plate actually belongs to a vintage tractor that has been stored in a barn for the past fourteen years! The Massey Ferguson tractor with the registration number SWA 525 is supposed to have been unloading in Sloane Square and parked illegally in Wandsworth too.

But even if the tractor was on the road, with a maximum speed of 15 mph, it would probably have taken him over two days to get to London and back. But despite all of this he has still had to spend around £30 on phone calls to try and right the situation.

Mr Smart said: "I've run up £30 in phone bills trying to explain to Transport for London that my tractor only has a speed of 15mph and it would take me the best part of two days to get there and back."

"The first time it happened there was only one thing I could think of - that the tractor was delivering a bale of hay to Queen's horses and if it got there on time she didn't have to feed them sawdust," he said.

"This time I just can't think - I don't even know where Wandsworth is."

Kensington and Chelsea council apologised to Mr Smart and said: "If a penalty charge notice is not paid or contested within 14 days of issue the council will send an enquiry to the DVLA to find out the name and address of the registered keeper of the vehicle.

"In this case, your name and address was notified to us and that is why a notice to owner was posted to you.

"However, it is clear from further investigation that due to a system error your address details were added incorrectly and as you state your vehicle was not parked in the Royal Borough area at the relevant time."

ANPR is a good system, but sometimes the system is not always correct and it is about time that there was some easier way for victims of number plate cloning to explain the situation and resolve the matter.

Source [Daily Mail]

Personallyyours.co.uk who is registered with the DVLA has been in the personalised number plate industry for twenty years. They provide private number plates, rare number plates, attend number plate auctions and buy cherished number plates.

http://www.personallyyours.co.uk/blog/16062008.htm