Jeremy Clarkson slams government number plate data

Jeremy Clarkson slams government number plate data

Jeremy Clarkson from “Top Gear” has said that the government plans to link data to number plates would fail if vehicle owners simply altered the number plate or changed a couple of the digits. He was speaking at the Hay Festival in Wales. Where, he admitted driving at 186 mph on a UK road.

His point is valid, by linking car insurance, MOT, car tax and even criminal records to a vehicles number plate is ok, but if the driver wants to avoid detection from the automatic number plate recognition systems that the police are using more and more to check vehicles, all they need to do is either change the number plate or alter the number plate is some way.

At the meeting he said quite a lot about the whole driving experience in the UK as you can imagine, but here are a few selected quotes:

When asked about the fastest that he had driven on a road in the UK he said: "On the public roads...186!"

"I got pulled over the other day for not having insurance but that was just a technicality! I was in a brand new Audi R8 and a policeman pulled me over.

"He said they had checked the number plate and the car were not insured. I didn't even know they could tell that from number plates.

"It was a car I had been provided with for a test drive and it was all a mistake.

"But I haven't been pulled over for speed for 20 years and I have never been pulled over for speed while working on Top Gear. I don't drive very fast!"

"But these days you don't get stopped by the police because they are all filling in health and safety forms and inventing reasons why they can't go and catch a burglar!

"Now the Government is going to pass this new car tax structure and system of crime and punishment and base it all on the number plates of cars. If everybody just switched the number plate by a couple of digits....!"

Being in the spot light like he is, Jeremy Clarkson is always going to be the voice of the silent majority, even when he gets caught using his mobile phone while driving at 70 mph!

Source [Mirror]

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/03062008.htm