There has been a lot of talk recently about ‘car cloning’ and ‘number plate theft’. A senior Police officer recently commented on his lack of confidence in the registration plate system and his views were widely reported in the press. Supt John Wake explained: “The registration plate is the first form of identification of the vehicle to the general public. I don’t have confidence that beyond that you can identify that that vehicle is the legitimate vehicle for that plate.” So the question is – are registration plates still a good investment? If you’ve just splashed out a small fortune on your perfect cherished number then don’t worry. The DVLA are simply looking at new ways of protecting registration plates (such as anti-theft plates and screws) and are currently trialling plates featuring electronic tags. In addition the RNPS scheme launched by the DVLA requires that all registration plate manufacturers register with the scheme and imprint their membership number on any plates they produce. This allows the DVLA to track where and when a particular plate was produced. These measures and all others under consideration are based around the current registration plate system. Possibly more import is the fact that the DVLA generate a lot of income from personalised number plates and that amount is set to rise this year with more and more combinations being withheld for sale at DVLA auction (WE57 HAM anyone?). Also, the DVLA know better than anyone the amount of money invested in number plates (and the industry & jobs based around them) – so they would not want to face the outcry that changing the system would cause. So in short, personalised number plates are here to stay and will no doubt prove even more popular in the years to come. The only problem you face will be finding an available combination! Rick Williams is a self-confessed personalised number plates nut. He also admits thats a bit of a mouth full. Feel free to visit his website at http://www.acrylicplates.co.uk Tags: DVLA, Personalized, Private Registrations Related PostsPost a comment
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