How drivers are trying to beat speed vans by becoming 'undetectable'

Extra.ie​

30-04-2025

Drivers in the UK have been warned about using 'ghost plates' to become undetectable against speed vans.
The licence plates, also known as 3D or 4D licence plates, were causing headaches for authorities on the road as they were undetectable over their lack of legibility and ability to reflect camera flashes — like from a speed van.
Professor Fraser Sampson, who was in charge of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition in the UK found that one in 15 drivers were using the plates to outsmart speed cameras, and wrote to then Transport Secretary Mark Harper to highlight the issue and the government's lack of action. Average-speed cameras on the M3 Motorway in the UK. Pic: Gary Perkin/Shutterstock
He also wrote that speed cameras at the time only had a 97% accuracy rate meaning that hundreds of thousands of innocent people were receiving fines for doing nothing wrong.
The government have since upgraded the equipment that are capable of detecting the plates, with fines of up to £100 (€117) for those who are caught with the illegal plates. Licence plates have a stringent set of guidelines, and must look like these. However, 3D/4D plates can kind of be legal. Pic: Getty
Kinda — there are some requirements that the plates have to go through to be street legal.
To be easily readable and recognisable by the RSA, the plates must be made from a reflective material, with a white background and blue IRL/EU logo on the left hand side of the plate, with black characters.
The font must also be standard Irish font that you'd see on most cars when you buy them — but hyphens aren't a requirement. The height and width of the plates must be 70x36mm. 3D Licence plates are raised against the plate themselves, but are a bit sticky legally. Pic: Getty
As for a 3D/4D plate, while you may think they look cool, the legality of the plates are hinging on if they meet the standards. They must also be readable by humans and the aforementioned speed cameras, and must be reflective to ensure that they're legible under all lighting conditions.
Even if they're legal for the most part on the streets (i.e. if you're just let off with a warning), you may still also need to re-attach your original plates ahead of the NCT.