The Met have a pretty nifty system. It reads the number plates of all the other cars on the road, checks them against the police and DVLA databases. If they are shown to be stolen, untaxed or un-MOT'd then a beeper goes off and tells them which car to pursue. It was developed to help combat terrorism in London (yes, combatting terrorism was going on pre-2001!).
I saw this TV programme where they drove around with the Metropolitan police. The system was flagging up cars left right and centre. If they had stopped every single car then they would never leave the street the police station is on! The accuracy of this system is pretty good too, not too many false-readings.
The ban thing, I always find that daft. A guy in my class at school was stupid enough to take his dad's Porsche out for a spin on the M25 in the night. He would have got away with it he had turned the headlights on. Police stopped him, no licence or insurance. He got a hefty fine and a 2 year ban if I recall. He had to wait 2 years, then learn to drive, pass the normal test, have it revoked instantly, then pass an extended test.
Back in 1997 the motor insurance industry was running at an overall loss.
I saw this TV programme where they drove around with the Metropolitan police. The system was flagging up cars left right and centre. If they had stopped every single car then they would never leave the street the police station is on! The accuracy of this system is pretty good too, not too many false-readings.
The ban thing, I always find that daft. A guy in my class at school was stupid enough to take his dad's Porsche out for a spin on the M25 in the night. He would have got away with it he had turned the headlights on. Police stopped him, no licence or insurance. He got a hefty fine and a 2 year ban if I recall. He had to wait 2 years, then learn to drive, pass the normal test, have it revoked instantly, then pass an extended test.
Back in 1997 the motor insurance industry was running at an overall loss.