ANPR

The Doctor's site of geek stuff and general shite.

Baaaaarrrrrk boc boc etc etc.

Who read your number-plate today?

Just how many databases do you think you can get yourself on just driving a few miles? I drive about 1000 miles a week and estimate that my car's location is logged about 800 times a week on numerous databases.

What do they do with all this?

In the UK we're used to being the most spied on nation on earth. Do you realise that on an average journey your number-plate will be read every few miles, by 4000+ Trafficmaster cameras, 1000+ Highways agency cameras and a multitude of private and government based electronic eyeballs.

Do you also know what the really really stupid thing is? despite all this technology, all the car criminal has to do is to copy or steal plates from some granny in a similar car and they will happily cruise past all of this hi-tech wizardry unnoticed. It doesn't even have to be a similar car, ANPR only reads plates and checks against a database, it has no way of 'seeing' that the car is the wrong model for the plate. You could have a plate from a combine harvester on your Escort, as long as Farmer Twat has insured and taxed it you're fine! The 'motoring underclass', (these half-wit morons you see with no licence, MOT or insurance on TV shows like Police Stop Kill) will soon realise this and start nicking clean plates so they can be invisible. The government have put absolutely millions into these flawed systems that rely on reading a bit of rectangular plastic with numbers on. The Police rely on it almost entirely and can't be bothered to get their arses out of their cars to do spot-checks any more.

As a normal heavily-taxed and already spied on member of the law-abiding public, how do you feel about your every move going on some database somewhere?

You can bet your life that most of these databases are available to the security forces, so be good or swap your plates!

DVLA tax checking. These pop up anywhere. They are fond of motorway bridges.
The congestion charge cameras. Obviously interested in you.
Motorway Services. Get ripped off for a dodgy pastie full of lips and arseholes and get your numberplate read as well.
Highways agency. 1000+ cameras. Drive any distance on the motorway or A road and these will be logging your whereabouts.
Vans disguised as workmen's vehicles. (Camera top left). God knows who these guys are, bit there must be some thick people around to miss this sort of cynical setup.
Hotels, Shopping centres, all desperate to read your reg.
The plods. Most plod cars now have mobile ANPR front and back and your details are checked and logged on yet another database.
SPECS cameras. The horrible average speed cameras are also linked to the police database to spot cars 'of interest'.
My local B&Q car park. When I go to B&Q for a packet of overpriced nails, and to wonder why there are 20 tills and one checkout operator, why on earth do they feel the need to record my number-plate?
Traffic Master. (4000+ sites). Wherever you go in the country, these little blue fella's are logging your numberplate and transmitting it back to their central computer.