More than 18,000 vehicles are currently being used on UK roads without proper records of their owners' addresses, according to a freedom of information request to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). This phenomenon, described as 'ghost owners' by Labour MP Sarah Coombes, means that drivers cannot be held accountable for offenses such as speeding, hit-and-runs, and other crimes.
Ghost Owners and Cloned Plates
The DVLA's records show that 18,260 vehicles are registered to the agency's own address, indicating that the owner's location is unknown. Coombes, who represents West Bromwich, has been campaigning against what she calls excessively lax regulations that allow the easy purchase of cloned or untraceable number plates. She is expected to speak in a Commons debate on the DVLA on Thursday.
The British Parking Association, which submitted the FoI request, argues that the real problem is likely far greater than the figures suggest. Its members report that between 10% and 20% of requests for ownership data yield no results, partly due to vehicles registered without an address and partly due to cloned plates linked to other cars.
Crackdown on Number Plate Suppliers
Coombes has called for a reduction in the number of official number plate suppliers, which currently exceeds 34,000. These suppliers are registered with the DVLA for a one-time fee of £40, with no criminal or background checks required. Last year, an investigation by government advisers found that more than 130 registered suppliers were willing to sell cloned plates.
Another growing method to evade driving penalties is the use of 'ghost plates', which have a reflective coating that makes them unreadable by police cameras. Coombes stated: 'Failing DVLA systems are allowing dangerous driving and criminality to flourish unchecked on our roads. The UK’s woeful vehicle number plate regulation is leading to ghost and cloned plates being used in everything from car racing to drug dealing and even murders.'
She added: 'We are also seeing an epidemic of “ghost owners”, where a vehicle has no registered keeper, which means speeding, hit and runs and worse are going completely unpunished as the driver cannot be found. We are all paying the price for these untraceable drivers through higher car insurance premiums. This failing roads regulation is undermining trust and safety and the DVLA must act urgently to sort this out.'
According to a parliamentary question from Coombes, the DVLA has not fined a single person in the last five years for failing to update their address. A Department for Transport spokesperson said: 'Our road safety strategy takes direct action to crack down on illegal plates that help criminals evade detection. This includes proposals for tougher penalties for driving with illegal plates, reviewing the standards for number plates and stricter checks during MOT testing.'
