The Gauteng provincial government this week launched a new high-tech, tamper-proof and crime-fighting number plate system to be piloted over the next six months on its fleet before being publicly rolled out.
According to the provincial Roads and Transport Department, the new intelligent number plate system represents a giant leap as it is a secure, traceable, and smart solution, incorporating tamper-evident decals, forensic QR (quick response) codes, and a fully digitised back-end portal.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Roads and Transport MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela officially unveiled the new system on Thursday in Johannesburg.
The system’s features include the ability to drastically improve the credibility of number plates and to enable license plate tracking within the value chain, from manufacturer to the vehicle owner.
“These technological enhancements are designed to combat vehicle theft, fraud, and cloning, while improving road safety and empowering traffic law enforcement across the province,” the department explained this week.
For the next six months, the system will be piloted using g-Fleet vehicles affixed with the technologically advanced new number plates as part of the stress testing project before the provincial rollout.
“This system is set to drastically improve the credibility of number plates and to enable license plate tracking within the value chain, from manufacturer to end user (vehicle owner),” stated the department.
In addition, it is hoped that the system will also address longstanding challenges in vehicle registration and the law enforcement framework, tackling cloned or fraudulent license plates, lack of interoperability with Southern African Development Community systems, and inadequate data traceability.
Lesufi said his administration, assisted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, is now deploying a digital system that ensures the ability to account for every vehicle on the province’s roads.
He warned that those using fraudulent or duplicate number plates will have no space or time to drive in Gauteng.
Diale-Tlabela said the smart number plates will significantly reduce vehicle cloning, trafficking of stolen vehicles, and the use of falsified plates in criminal activities, as well as disrupt criminal networks and improve road safety.
The Gauteng provincial legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Transport and Logistics welcomed the strategic introduction of the number plates as an intervention towards safer roads.
In the past, the committee raised concerns about the widespread use of falsified number plates on vehicles by people with intentions to commit various kinds of crimes or used as getaway cars and motorists driving vehicles affixed with expired vehicle registration permits and false or no number plates.
It believes that the system is a major step in improving road safety and in the fight against criminality in general.
The committee is hopeful that the production of the new number plate system will unlock and boost the local economy by empowering technology-driven small and medium enterprises.
