Where are the smart plates?

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 23 Apr 2008

Gauteng transport MEC Ignatius Jacobs last June announced the province would implement a new, secure, number plate system from January.

Ten months after the announcement, and four since New Year, there's still no sign of the new fraud-proof plates that form part of the region's R75 million integrated safety and security system.

Jacobs announced the introduction of the security feature plates in his budget speech last June. In September, his department said a pilot project to test the new "intelligent number plate system" was already under way. A spokesman said: "Full-scale implementation is scheduled for 1 January 2008."

The same spokesman, Alfred Nhlapo, now says the "project is still being pursued and extensive consultation is currently taking place".

He adds this "includes an internal testing of various models of the securitised plate, subject to approval".

According to projections, the permutations of the current number plate system "are only likely to run out in mid-2009, but the project team is looking at finalising it [the secure plate roll-out] within the current financial year [that ends 31 March 2009]".

Not so welcome

The initial announcement was met with uproar as Gauteng motorists were expected to replace their current number plates at their own expense. It was reported that, when introduced, the Gauteng government had neglected to put in place any control measures to prevent fraud, safeguard the uniqueness of each number plate set and guarantee that the correct plates are affixed to the correct car.

As a result, thousands of vehicles have false number plates that allow criminals to evade the law and speedsters to defy paying fines. Johannesburg Metro Police's director for licensing, prosecutions and courts, Gerrie Gernecke, last year estimated that up to 10 000 vehicles in Johannesburg alone had false plates.

The city has since spent R131 million on an "integrated end-to-end infringement management system" to force errant motorists to pay up, which Gernecke said was a success.

According to Nhlapo, a number validation label will be placed on the rear window of vehicles under the new system and will include a bar code that traffic authorities will be able to scan. It will also require number plate manufacturers to be accredited and plates to be bolted onto vehicles with tamper-proof screws.

DA Gauteng leader Jack Bloom notes the province needs to fix the problem before it and the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) can turn most of its highways into automated toll roads.

The e-tag toll

Sanral toll and traffic manager Alex van Niekerk says tolling the N1 between Pretoria and Johannesburg, as well as the ring-road around the latter, would help pay for a R22 billion upgrade to the region's congested roads. He adds that e-tag-enabled tolling would start in late 2010 or early 2011.

DA Gauteng transport spokesman James Swart says the longer the implementation takes the better.

"I'm not convinced the new tags are going to make a significant difference to crime or vehicle registration. It is simply an added expense to the motorist, another scheme that looks all nice in theory, but is not well considered."