Number Plates In The Digital Era

Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 8:34 am

In case you haven’t heard, the Gauteng Department of Transport is introducing fancy new “intelligent” number plates. These were originally announced back in 2006, when someone noticed that they were running out of numbers. The idea is that the new “intelligent” plates will be easily identifiably by the police, and it will make it much more difficult to copy number plates.

A number validation label will be placed on the rear window of the vehicle, with a bar code which can be scanned by the authorities. The new plates will be fitted to the car by an accredited number plate manufacturer, and will be bolted on with tamper proof screws. The plates will incorporate an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, which apparently is designed to be read from no more than three metres away.

The new plates will be phased in over a two year period.

The “tamper proof” approach will, at least, reduce the problem of “number plate hijacking” where the hijackers swipe one of your plates while you’re parked somewhere, then chase after you waving the number plate as if it’s “fallen off”. When you stop to get your number plate back, your car gets hijacked. Road Safety Blog

There have been numerous setbacks in the process of getting the new number plate system implemented. The DA last year claimed that the way the RFID tag would be fitted to the new plates would violate the protocols laid down by the SABS, rendering any vehicle which used the new plates illegal. Wheels 24 – New GP number plates ‘illegal’

Many Wheels24 commenters were enthusiastically opposed to the new plates – some complained that drilling holes in a car was a sure way to reduce its value; others were concerned about the privacy and security issues involved – for instance, one commenter said “Imagine every criminal with access through a police buddy knowing you are not home. What an opportunity for house breaking!”

The new plates were supposed to have been officially introduced in January 2009, but in March it was announced that the implementation had yet to begin.

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