05 Dec 2013
Posted by Joe Langan 
The UK government have today announced plans to phase out car tax discs, which they say are no longer necessary given that the licencing authority and police rely more on an electronic register to detect non-payers than the physical disc on the windscreen.
Number plate recognition technology is now used by most UK police forces. It consists of a unit on a police car’s windscreen that works very much like a mobile version of the M50’s overhead toll gantry. Hundreds of passing motorist number plates can be scanned and checked against the central register as the police vehicle drives around (this can be during their normal day’s driving, so it saves police time too). The owner of any car found on the road but not the register is found to be in breach of the law and proceedings can be undertaken immediately.
With such advanced systems in use, it seems rather pointless to insist on motorists also displaying a paper disc on their windscreen, which, like all discs, costs a huge amount of time and money in administration – so the British government will remove this obligation towards the end of 2014.
Here in Ireland, we not only have to display a motor tax disc but also insurance and NCT discs (if applicable) – a foot-long strip of paper that’s easily copied or stolen in any case. Motor tax discs could be replaced by number plate recognition technology (already being used by some Gardaí) and a central car insurance database could also be used to detect uninsured cars on the road in a similar manner. NCT discs, which are being stolen by criminal gangs, could be part of such an initiative too, keeping our windscreens clear and non-payers even more detectable with a much-reduced opportunity for fraud or misrepresentation.
In the meantime, if you’re buying a car, you can check if it’s been taxed or NCT’d using the AA Car History Check on http://www.theaa.ie/AA/Vehicle-checks/Car-Data-Checks.aspx. From just €10, you can enter a car registration number and find out when it was taxed, when it went for its NCTs and if there’s any gaps in cover. In our experience, cars that have been left untaxed or without a NCT are often not very well-maintained, so it’s important to know a car’s history as well as its condition.
We also recommend an AA Vehicle Inspection; mention “AA Blog” and we’ll do a full inspection on any car under 2.0 litres for just €229. That includes a 3 hour, bumper-to-bumper inspection by an AA Engineer, a verbal report that evening and written report emailed to your inbox the next working day. Call 1890 456 555 for more information or to book.
