New number plates for SA still under discussion
The Department of Transport has issued a statement on the amendments to the regulation on number plates.
RECENT media reports around the proposed new new number plates the Department of Transport will be implementing in the near future has led to much confusion. After initial media reports detailing the new number plates which were to come into effect in 2017, the Department of Transport issued a statement saying that number plates were not changing.
However, the department issued a release today explaining that as part of regulating and commissioning of motorised vehicle number plates in South Africa, the Department of Transport embarked on a process to standardise as well as improve the security features of the South African motor vehicle number plate.
According to the Department, on 28 January 2015, it published in the Government Gazette draft Regulation Amendments intending to effect changes to the motor vehicle number plates. Through the notice, the South African public was invited to make objections, inputs and comments as part of the public consultation process.
A spokesperson for the department said that it, through MinMec, was considering inputs informed by the public consultation process as well as research and expert submissions to the Department. “To this end, the Department’s internal discussions and consultation process on the matter are ongoing. At the end of the Departmental consultation process, the matter will be presented to Cabinet,” he said.
The representative said that the operability of the current South African number plate is prone to abuse by unregistered number plate manufacturers, and equally, in its current form is also taken advantage of by criminals who clone vehicles and commit other forms of crime.
“As part of the new improvements to our number plates, the regulations will ensure that manufacturers are regulated to ensure that we can account for every motor vehicle number plate that is issued through coding. On the issue of standardisation, MinMec is currently considering various options including the use of the national flag as well Provincial Coat of Arms to improve on road safety. The security features of the numbers plates are also part of the broad road safety strategy, which will ensure that the Department has the right vehicles on the roads, which to a larger extent contribute to the road fatalities and carnages on our roads,” said the representative.
According to reports it is believed the proposed new number plates will also have to be renewed every five years.
Number plates will also come in different colours. Blue plates to indicate personalised number plates and general vehicles; black for public transport vehicles; green for diplomatic vehicles and red for government vehicles.
