Durban - Crafty motorists using high tech devices to block their number plates to dodge speed cameras and e-tolls have been warned: you risk facing criminal charges and having your vehicle impounded.
The devices, which can be bought for between R1300 and R1400 at retailers and flea markets, use either a ‘curtain’ or ‘hood’ to cover the number plates – at the flip of a switch.
Private forensic investigator Warren Lamont of Intelligence Bureau SA said: “I caught a guy with one and he said that every time he goes through a gantry he uses it. He uses it to get away from the gantries and keep incognito.
“People have this preconceived thing that e-tolls are bad. But that’s almost saying we are against criminals so let’s keep an illegal gun. They are saying it’s only a number plate blocker for tolls, but they are going against the Road Traffic Act, which says that nothing must obscure or cover up your number plate.”
Lamont said one variation of a number plate blocker was a number plate holder with a digital device powered by a motor that opens and closes a solid “curtain” to cover the number plate at the push of a button. The button is similar to a gate remote but with a switch to pull down the curtain and another to pull it up again.
Intelligence Bureau SA posted a video of how the device works on its Facebook Page recently.
Gauteng BMW has disappearing plates
But Lamont warned motorists they could face criminal charges of contravening the Road Traffic Act and defeating the ends of justice as well as the possibility of their vehicles being impounded and police officers removing the devices.
Lamont said another type of blocker was an L-shaped device.
“They call it a hood for your number plate. It’s a little roof that sticks out over your number plate like a cap and the guys in Durban and Joburg put a sticker on top that says ‘gangsta’,” he said.
Lamont explained that e-toll cameras situated over gantries at elevated positions captured only the top of the L-shaped “hood”, obscuring the number plate in the photograph - much like the way criminals wear caps so that their faces are not visible to CCTV cameras.
However, he said the number plate was only obscured to the cameras but remained clearly visible to the naked eye.
“It’s very clever,” he said. “If you had a good legal eagle you could get into a good argument. It’s the same as blue flashing lights on your car; you can have them, but just don’t get caught using them because you will be charged with impersonating a police officer.”
ILLEGAL
KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate spokeswoman Zinhle Mngomezulu said any device that obscured a number plate was illegal in terms of Regulation 35 of the Road Traffic Act of 1996. Mngomezulu said penalties for contravening the law varied between districts.
“A number plate must not be obstructed and must comply with specifications in terms of thickness and the size of the words, and the make of the plate must be SABS approved.”
Asked whether fitted devices not in use were acceptable, she added: “According to the legislation, if the number plate is obscured, whatever the technology, if it has got something to do with obstructing the number plate, it is illegal.”
Johannesburg Metro Police Department spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane said motorists would be charged under the act for obstructing their number plate and could also face charges of defeating the ends of justice and face a fine or imprisonment.
Mamonyane said using the devices was a serious offence as criminals would not only use the devices to avoid e-tolls but to evade the police when committing crimes such as house robbery.
Autostyle Motorsport director Mohamed Mayat said stores had received a few calls from motorists asking about number plate curtains but the business did not stock the devices.
“We brought in a sample a few years ago just to check it out, but we never sold it. It’s not right,” he said. Mayat added that motorists who used the devices also placed themselves at risk during a hijacking as criminals could use them to evade the police.
The Post