Car Tax Evasion Triples After Discs Removed

typical government lackof thought, I am a bit surprised though that they are not using digital recognition cameras to detect the illegal use of cars.Apaprently they are set up on a lot of main roads, and I cannot see why they could not be adjusted to check for valid road tax. Probably use a lot more computing power, but nowadays that is relatively cheap

I thought the cameras were checking for everything, including road tax.
The trouble is all they do is photograph and identify the car. The DVLA already know what the car looks like and what it's registration number is, what they don't know is where it lives.
Unless there are squadrons of police ready to take off after rogue vehicles then the whole exercise is fruitless.

But surely the cameras record where the photo was taken. If there waas a computerised list of legal vehicles, then the computer could check if it was legal, and otherwise provide phot of its use at a specific time , and this could be used as evidence, in the same way as cameras work to check speeding. The only problem would be crooked solicitors trying to stir the waters

The cameras must record where the photo is taken but they don't know where it is going, and as there is no one on the spot to stop the car it gets away.
The evidence aspect is only useful in court but I doubt it ever gets that far. The DVLA already have all they need for prosecution and yet non payment is increasing.
They know the car exists, it isn't supposed to be possible to have a car that's off the radar anymore. Buying, selling and scrapping are all regulated and documented.
If you sell a car without doing the proper paperwork you remain responsible for it. Insurance, MOT Test and Road Tax computers are all linked and cross checked.
Failure to respond to a V11 reminder is an offence. The V11 asks that you either pay up or declare the vehicle as SORN and apply for a Statutory Off Road Notice.

So yes, the photo is evidence but all it can really demonstrate is that a SORN vehicle was on the road when it should have been at a given address on private land.
It's a likely that the untaxed vehicles are driving around with impunity, either because they gave false address details or know they are unlikely to get caught.


It still needs the DVLA to take action and I suspect they do nothing except make empty threats at honest motorists.

With the usual Austerity craze there are probably far less DVLA staff to pay with this system. After of course a boat load of redundancy payments.

Fair point volty and very true. Dont think the false address bti should be an obstacle though, as if the vehicle is registered to an address (and must therefore have insurance paid from that address then it should be easy to just automatically fine the owner (preferably about 5 times the road tax missed). Surely It would be difficult for an average person (other than a crook such as a solicitor or accountant) to register ,and insure from a false address. If they have sold on without informing the authorities then that's their look out and they should be liable. As you say though, this would all depend on the authorities wanting to enforce the law properly.

Hi Mike I can't help noticing that you are not very keen on Solicitors and Accountants.

No SB, they are both professions, bit like prostitution, where the operators are deliberately trained to, much of the time, obscure the truth on behalf of those who pay them, irrespective of the actual truth

I remember when solicitors, lawyers and the like, couldn't solicit or advertise, let alone cold call strangers, a rule of law which needs to be brought back.
If you need the services of any such "professional" you can go out and find one, there are plenty of them about.

Legal jobs are popular because the fees are high and the work is light, easy and clean, at least in the sense of comparison to manual labour.

Over fifteen years ago I remember being accosted by a character just outside the portal which was once the frontage of wolverhampton rail station . He was dressed in a long dirty mac, reminded me of the sort once seen entering "private" cinemas. He was touting for accident business (real or imaginary) for some solicitors in th e town. so its not just cold calling

You should have introduced him to an accident of his own.