100,000 licence plates scanned each day

MORE than 100,000 licence plates are scanned by gardaí every day as part of a crackdown on untaxed, uninsured or stolen vehicles.

The move has been welcomed by the Automobile Association of Ireland, which estimates 8% of vehicles, around 160,000, on Irish roads are uninsured. The roll-out of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system to 100 Garda cars is also being used in the investigation of serious crime, including shootings or murders in situations where gardaí have details of cars associated with suspects.

The system also has a “watch list” of cars linked with gangland figures.