Rise of ‘Ghost Owners’ in UK Vehicle Records
More than 18,000 vehicles are currently being used in the UK without proper records of their owners’ addresses, revealing a growing issue of so-called “ghost owners” who evade accountability for their driving, according to a recent freedom of information (FoI) request.
The request, submitted to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), uncovered that 18,260 vehicles are registered to the DVLA’s own address, indicating that the actual owners’ locations are unknown.
Labour MP Calls for Urgent DVLA Action
Labour MP Sarah Coombes, representing West Bromwich, has been campaigning against what she describes as overly lax regulations that allow individuals to easily obtain cloned or untraceable number plates. She has urged the DVLA to take immediate measures to address the issue. Coombes was scheduled to participate in a debate concerning the DVLA in the House of Commons on Thursday.
While the DVLA states that many vehicles without a registered address belong to car traders and thus do not pose a significant problem, the British Parking Association (BPA), which filed the FoI request, suggests the actual scale of the problem is likely much larger.
The BPA reports that between 10% and 20% of requests made to the DVLA for vehicle ownership data yield no results. This is partly due to vehicles being registered without an address, but also because of related issues such as cloned plates registered to different vehicles.
Concerns Over Number Plate Suppliers and Cloned Plates
Coombes has called for stricter regulation of the number plate supply industry. Currently, there are over 34,000 official number plate suppliers registered with the DVLA. Registration requires a single payment of £40 and does not involve any criminal background checks or other vetting procedures.
Last year, an investigation by government advisers revealed that more than 130 registered number plate suppliers admitted willingness to sell cloned plates.
Another method increasingly used to avoid driving penalties involves “ghost plates,” which are coated with reflective material that prevents police cameras from reading them.
MP Highlights Consequences of Failing Systems
“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.
“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.”
DVLA Enforcement and Accountability
According to information obtained by Coombes, the DVLA has not issued any fines in the past five years for failing to update address details on driving records.
The DVLA was contacted for comment regarding these findings and concerns.
