Why blank out numberplates?

Anyone who's actually had their car cloned (as I have) will know the aggro it can cause, with proving that you were/were not in a specific location at a specific time. It takes 10 seconds to blank the plate, so I would always try and do it.

And to those who say "someone could just walk down the high road and get your plate" - yes, they could - except my car would also have to be in the high road at the same time as them.

Depending on what car you have - it may actually be quite difficult to find one in the same colour, with the correct engine type etc.

However, I realise that there are some people who simply don't care, so it's horses for courses really.
 
Now let me see I wonder how long it will take to find a silver BMW 3 series :D

I suspect car thefts fall into a few categories, the hot hatch genre nicked by joyriders, cars with easy access by opportunists, and high end motors probably by specialist gangs.
 
if you were putting the photos on autotrader, or on a flickr group for 'blue Peugeot 206 cars' then yes, it might be a worthwhile precaution just to stop the rare thief who had managed to pick his knuckles off the floor and mastered the art of googling for something.

otherwise, unless it was something specifically controversial - eg key activists, then no, no point whatsoever...
 
I used to work for an estate agent photographing houses,and the instructions were very little PP ( don't clone out telegraph poles outside houses ) but if there was a car in the drive mask the number plate!

Chris
 
Its fine by me if all those who dont see the point in taking an easy security step carry on, their car has a very slightly higher chance of being involved in criminality than mine so fill your boots.
 
Chr1stof said:
Its fine by me if all those who dont see the point in taking an easy security step carry on, their car has a very slightly higher chance of being involved in criminality than mine so fill your boots.
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none of the cars I've ever shot have been involved in any crime
 
POAH said:
none of the cars I've ever shot have been involved in any crime
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Havent seen the shots but Im guessing they are not your typical bread and butter subject of crime?

Im just saying that putting that extra info out there is making you a little bit more vulnerable. Why make it easier?
 
Chr1stof said:
Havent seen the shots but Im guessing they are not your typical bread and butter subject of crime?

Im just saying that putting that extra info out there is making you a little bit more vulnerable. Why make it easier?
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I own a vectra and I've shot a fair few standard cars as well as modified hot hatches.
 
POAH said:
I own a vectra and I've shot a fair few standard cars as well as modified hot hatches.
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If I were the owner of the cars featured, my personal preference would be to request to have plates replaced with the name of the magazine or whatever rather than just removed or edited out.
 
POAH said:
none of the cars I've ever shot have been involved in any crime
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Just as an aside, how would you know whether or not the reg numbers have been used etc after the shoot was done? Do you keep in regular contact with the Police regarding every car you have ever shot? Dont mean to sound pedantic, just wondering how you would know?
 
Circuit Hero said:
That said, I've never blanked out number plates. I'd like to see some substantial proof that cars etc have been stolen as a result of images of them being posted online, otherwise I'm keeping the viewpoint that it's essentially futile scare-mongering.
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It's not so much stealing the actual car - but simply theives will steal a car, then replace the plates with those of a similar model - which obviously hasn't been stolen. This means that they run a much lower risk of being stopped and also means they can run red lights, get speeding tickets etc etc without having to worry about it.
 
Chr1stof said:
Just as an aside, how would you know whether or not the reg numbers have been used etc after the shoot was done? Do you keep in regular contact with the Police regarding every car you have ever shot? Dont mean to sound pedantic, just wondering how you would know?
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the people that owned the car would know about it
 
POAH said:
the people that owned the car would know about it
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not necessarily - I could clone your car, put the false plates on a nicked one, forge a log book and sell it on or export it and you wouldnt be any the wiser unless the buyer got a speeding ticket, or drove off from a petrol station, or otherwise used it in the commision of a crime.
 
you can say the same for any car on the street today though. There is no extra risk in leaving number plates on.



big soft moose said:
not necessarily - I could clone your car, put the false plates on a nicked one, forge a log book and sell it on or export it and you wouldnt be any the wiser unless the buyer got a speeding ticket, or drove off from a petrol station, or otherwise used it in the commision of a crime.
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POAH said:
you can say the same for any car on the street today though. There is no extra risk in leaving number plates on.
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Agreed - except in order to see what plates were on a specific car, I would need to be standing in front or behind it, rather than just searching for it online from the comfort of my armchair at home.
 
POAH said:
you can say the same for any car on the street today though. There is no extra risk in leaving number plates on.
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I think thats where we differ on this, I would say leaving plates in photos does inrease risk in lots of ways. If I wanted a picture of a vehicle I owned published on the internet and I had a choice of plates visible/not visible I know which I would choose.
 
whitewash said:
yet you read car magazines with much wider appeal to those who may have ulterior motives yet I very rarely see number plates blanked out on them,
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Its editorally required to blank-out number plates on TV/newspapers/etc of any vehicles that can be connected to anyone vaguely celeb/noteworthy - because its pretty easy to then find out their home address and stalk them (or worse...!).

And you don't have to be a z-list celeb - I remember having the same discussion years ago about motorbike pictures - for the simple reason its easy to then target who you are going to break into - far far easier than following someone home!
 
DannyDMR said:
because i can find out where you live through your reg plate.
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Unless you are a police officer I find this difficult to believe, this is covered by the DPA. And even if you are a police officer there are restrictions - they aren't even allowed to check on PNC without valid reason.

Then again, you could be a spook... ;)
 
Call it paranoia, or just courtesy, but I think blanking number plates is pretty pointless.

It's actually not easy to trace a person's address from a number plate, if only to stop people that have been cut up on the road going round to the other driver's house and lobbing a brick. But of course it can be done, for those in authority or with the necessary 'connections'. Then again, the fact that my car is parked outside my house most of the time is a bit of a clue.

If I wanted to clone a number plate, I'd go on AutoTrader, use their very efficient search facility to find numerous examples of exactly the right make/model/colour, and read the number plate off the picture.
 
DannyDMR said:
because i can find out where you live through your reg plate.
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You could also find out where I live from the electoral register. As far as I'm concerned it's another unnecessary paranoia. Next thing we know people will be blurring the faces of people taken in street photography in case anyone recognises them.
 
HoppyUK said:
It's actually not easy to trace a person's address from a number plate, if only to stop people that have been cut up on the road going round to the other driver's house and lobbing a brick.
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or vindictive ex-spouses, etc.

If I wanted to clone a number plate, I'd go on AutoTrader, use their very efficient search facility to find numerous examples of exactly the right make/model/colour, and read the number plate off the picture.
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Quite.
 
Chr1stof said:
It costs £2.50 from the DVLA. This is how private car park companies issue charges for overstaying etc.
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quite - from the dvla website

Release of another vehicle’s keeper details
You can obtain the name and address of the registered keeper of another vehicle if you can demonstrate ‘reasonable cause’ for needing the information. Before information is released the DVLA must consider the reasons for your request and how the information will be used. Failure to provide the necessary evidence or incomplete application forms will result in your application being rejected.

More about 'reasonable cause'

Note; it’s an offence to unlawfully obtain personal data that’s contrary to Section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998. Unlimited fines in the Crown Court (or to a maximum of £5,000 in the Magistrates Court) exist as penalties in respect of these offences.

There are three forms that can be used to request information. You should use the appropriate form depending on who you are and your reasons for asking for information and also read the notes for guidance carefully before answering all the necessary questions:

•the V888 - for members of the public
•the V888/2 - for companies (all circumstances, except where a penalty charge notice is issued)
•the V888/3 - for companies (only if the keeper details are required to issue a penalty charge notice or reminder)
•Example of format for mulitple applications-companies
•the minimum evidence needed to demonstrate reasonable cause

Using the V888/2 and V888/3
All companies that request vehicle keeper information using the forms V888/2 and V888/3 must complete all sections. Failure to provide sufficient information can lead to your application being rejected.

When using the V888/3 you must also produce evidence that a penalty charge scheme is in operation. Enforcement companies don’t have to provide contracts but should supply a letter from the landlord (on headed paper) confirming that they’re acting with the approval of the landlord in enforcing parking restrictions. Letters should also include the start and end date of the contract, the locations of sites and if CCTV or manual ticketing is in operation.

If enforcement companies have to send copies of contracts they should only send the relevant pages that confirm dates, site locations and ticketing arrangements.

The required fee
The fee for vehicle keeper information at a specific date of event is £2.50. If further information is required eg a copy of a document or additional keeper information, a fee of £5.00 is required per vehicle. The fee is payable to cover the costs of providing the information.
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you do have to show 'reasonable cause' but given the long list of reasonable cause circumstances here http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/data/rc.aspx its esy to se how you could plausibly invent one well enough to convince an overworked and underpaid clerk at the dvla
 
big soft moose said:
you do have to show 'reasonable cause' but given the long list of reasonable cause circumstances here http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/data/rc.aspx its esy to se how you could plausibly invent one well enough to convince an overworked and underpaid clerk at the dvla
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True - though the word "invent" does rather leave you open if this is followed up at a later date.
 
I do, and always have done..

Maybe I am paranoid about it, bit my car features on a few forums and websites... So I wouldn't be surprised to see it cone up on google images! The less info on the outside of it the better!

I attend a few car shows a year and there are always loads of people taking photos at these... Whose to say they aren't taking photos for more sinister reasons?!?

I have since had show plates made up, which display my forum name, so I now don't really need to blank my own out anymore. but any photos I take at shows I will blank out the plates.

It doesn't take long and makes me feel a little bit happier.
 
Mike Jackson said:
You could also find out where I live from the electoral register. As far as I'm concerned it's another unnecessary paranoia. Next thing we know people will be blurring the faces of people taken in street photography in case anyone recognises them.
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Slightly ot but there was a brilliant photo on the BBC Scotland news a few days back of one of those arrested in Neil Lennon mail bomb incident. They showed a photo from the guy's wedding of him, his bride and the best man, but they had completely blurred out the best man and bride and for legal reasons couldn't broadcast an image of the accused's face, so all it was was a shot of a torso in a suit and tie :lol:
 
Bythesea said:
True - though the word "invent" does rather leave you open if this is followed up at a later date.
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a lot of the dodgy geezers out there chopping or ringing cars are running garages or dealerships as a front anyway - so they'd probably get away with giving an ownership/credit check as a valid reason.

its a relatively recent problem because they mostly used to take the identity off a scrapped one so that they could use the ViN plates and V5 as well - but as the govt has tightened up on recording cars as scrapped , they have had to move more to cloning instead
 
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surely the DVLA would keep a record of people who request data on a particular vehicle, therefore if this vehicle then rocks up as stolen, or cloned then they can trace people who have 'gained' information on that vehicle and use that as a lead
 
Why blank out numberplate? a better question may be why not? it takes approx 30-60 seconds to do......


I see the reasons behind cloning vehicles which I think would be the main risk not someone finding your address and nicking your car but if I was in the business of cloning cars a photography forum would be one of the last places I would look when surely autotrader would be a lot easier to search for a black 09 plate Range Rover Sport to clone for example.

Paul.
 
PaulF said:
Why blank out numberplate? a better question may be why not? it takes approx 30-60 seconds to do......


I see the reasons behind cloning vehicles which I think would be the main risk not someone finding your address and nicking your car but if I was in the business of cloning cars a photography forum would be one of the last places I would look when surely autotrader would be a lot easier to search for a black 09 plate Range Rover Sport to clone for example.

Paul.
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a lot of autotrader ads have the numberplate blanked out for that reason, I see what you are saying about a photoforum being an unlikely place for car ringers to look - but presumably most of those who shoot cars dont only put their images on here..
 
Whenever vehicles appear in shots I take I blank them out or replace them with the clients logo as a courtesy more than anything.
 
OutLore said:
Anyone who's actually had their car cloned (as I have) will know the aggro it can cause, with proving that you were/were not in a specific location at a specific time. It takes 10 seconds to blank the plate, so I would always try and do it.

And to those who say "someone could just walk down the high road and get your plate" - yes, they could - except my car would also have to be in the high road at the same time as them.

Depending on what car you have - it may actually be quite difficult to find one in the same colour, with the correct engine type etc.

However, I realise that there are some people who simply don't care, so it's horses for courses really.
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I've had a plate cloned. Our Espace plate was cloned onto a ford escort so they didn't pay congestion charge, that was chosen as it was close to the original plate and we'd parked in the same car park once.
 
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