Compliance officers are cracking down on drivers who use illegal number plates amid an increase in motorists breaking road rules.
The City of Wolverhampton Council's taxi licencing team is using infrared cameras to target vehicles using so-called "ghost plates".
Local authorities around the country have seen an uptick in the number of vehicles with illegal infrared reflective plates.
Because of how they appear on infrared cameras, they are also referred to as "3D" or "4D" plates, as well as "ghost plates".
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Wolverhampton Council said it would continue to use the infrared camera technology
WOLVERHAMPTON COUNCIL
With these number plates, vehicles would not be visible to infrared cameras used to deal with speeding and bus lane contraventions.
This is even more important given the growing number of Clean Air Zones and Low Emission Zones which use cameras to monitor which vehicles are eligible.
It is illegal for drivers to make changes to any characters or use material which makes the plate retroreflective under the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001.
A nationwide operation has been underway in recent weeks where over 80 vehicles were checked to see whether they had illegal number plates, in addition to other issues.
West Midlands Police and Wolverhampton Council piloted the infrared cameras after they found a private hire vehicle using ghost plates.
The owner of the vehicle was subsequently slapped with a £100 penalty charge notice by police officers.
Councillor Craig Collingswood, cabinet member for environment and climate change, highlighted the importance of such schemes to crack down on drivers deliberately breaking the law.
He said: "Wolverhampton is leading the way as the first council investing in this state-of-the-art technology to deter and detect offenders.
“Bus lanes are essential for the public transport network to operate efficiently and speed cameras help to keep the public safe from speeding vehicles and reduce the likelihood of a crash.
“All motorists can expect to pay a fine if found to be using these illegal methods to avoid cameras and taxi drivers licensed by Wolverhampton may have their licence suspended or revoked."
Infrared cameras have been purchased for each of the compliance teams to be used across Wolverhampton during the operations.
During February and March, 10 notices were issued to drivers for problems regarding their number plates when spotted by regular police checks and patrols.
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Motorists could be fined for altering their number plates
PADrivers can be hit with a £1,000 fine if their vehicle is displaying an illegal or incorrect number plate. The vehicle could also fail its MOT test.