Nov 27, 2007 7:33 pm US/Eastern
Congestion Pricing Flaw: Cloned License Plates
Bloomberg Wants To Bring Flawed London Plan To NYC
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Traffic cameras such as these could soon be part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan in Manhattan. The problem, as CBS 2 HD, has uncovered is the model for the mayor's plan, London, is flawed.
AP
Mayor Michael Bloomberg touts London's congestion pricing plan as a model for New York City.
But as Britain is learning, no plan is perfect.
There's an unintended consequence. License plate counterfeiting and thefts are increasing.
And has CBS 2 HD has discovered it could happen here.
You can beat London's congestion pricing plan.
"Some guy got in an accident and I got a lot of headaches and paperwork to fill out to prove it wasn't even me," one man said.
He's just one victim. Londoners are now cloning license plates to avoid congestion fees.
"I was surprised at just how easy it was," Parliament Roads Minister Robert Goodwill said. "All I did was I spotted the Prime Minister's car coming out of Downing Street across the road. I jotted down the number, I went on the Internet."
For $40, a parliament member scored a copy of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's license plate
"This is the Prime Minister's plate," Goodwill said, showing us a copy.
Traffic cameras enforce congestion fees in London. A computer matches plates and registrations and sends bills to the home address.
If you get a cloned plate you ride for free.
A serious flaw in the system and it's very similar to the plan proposed by Bloomberg for New York City. His plans calls for 1,000 cameras to snap people's license plates.
Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Westchester, is the head of the Congestion Mitigation Commission. He
"These are not surprises that there are technological failures in the way in which the system works in London," Brodsky said. "We know about some of them. Channel 2 has uncovered a new one. We're going to continue to look at that stuff."
You can get a set of fake New York plates on a web site for $25. It, and others, could do a booming business if congestion pricing is enacted here.
Last year alone, almost 10,000 license plates were stolen or cloned in London.
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