Cape MEC welcomes licence plate plan

Format of the proposed new licence number plates

Format of the proposed new licence number plates

Published Apr 24, 2014

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Cape Town - Transport MEC Robin Carlisle has welcomed the national transport department’s proposal to standardise the look of licence plates as a security measure.

Transport minister Dipuo Peters announced earlier this week that the new system “would not be too costly” for motorists.

Proposed amendments to the National Road Traffic Act were published in the Government Gazette on 9 April.

Carlisle said on Wednesday: “The aim of any system is visibility; readability and avoidance of fraud. None of these characteristics are affected by whether you use a provincial/municipal approach (as in the case of this province) or a provincial-only approach as in the case of Gauteng (which has provincial number plates).

NATIONAL STANDARD

One of the changes would see licence plates standardised across the country and remove the power provincial MECs have to decide on the style of plates in their respective provinces.

Carlisle said: “Long before my time, the decision was taken to stay with the existing system. I have no doubt that it was the right thing to do. Our number plates are no more or less standardised than the other provinces, and the same will apply under any new system.”

Transport department spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso said the standardisation of number plates would reduce security problems and allow for centralised control of the manufacturing of plates.

“This would include the issue of duplicate, cloning and non-compliant number plates,” Rikhotso said.

Security features on the new plates would also indicate the name of the manufacturers and embossers.

“There will be ample time given to people to change to the new set of plates,” Rikhotso said.

Cape Times

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