Imagine having your vehicle’s illegal number plates confiscated at one police roadblock, only to have the vehicle impounded at the next roadblock for being driven without the plates.
That is the risk motorists face if they fit their vehicles with illegal number plates.
The offence attracts a penalty fee of R500, but having the plates confiscated exposes the driver to the additional difficulty of the vehicle itself being confiscated down the line.
The Eastern Cape transport department yesterday said it was concerned about the growing number of illegal number plates in the province as drivers copied a Gauteng trend where the vehicle licensing protocol provided for spaces between characters and numbers on number plates.
Spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca said the department could no longer sit back and do nothing, and now planned roadblocks targeting illegal plates.
After confiscation of the plates, the driver will be issued with a fine and released from the roadblock, but if the same driver is stopped at another roadblock further down the road, the driver risks having the car impounded for not displaying licence plates.
Kumbaca said driving without number plates carried a criminal charge of defeating the ends of justice.
“The use of such a vehicle should also be suspended (impounded) on a Section 44 Notice,” Kumbaca said.
Kumbaca said station commanders and supervisors in all 21 traffic stations were advised to crack down on the illegal plates.
“Station commanders should ensure illegal number plates are properly recorded and stored in a safe room at their various stations. The plates should only be released back to their owners when they produce legal number plates fitted to the vehicle.” — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Officials to crack down on illegal plates
That is the risk motorists face if they fit their vehicles with illegal number plates.
The offence attracts a penalty fee of R500, but having the plates confiscated exposes the driver to the additional difficulty of the vehicle itself being confiscated down the line.
The Eastern Cape transport department yesterday said it was concerned about the growing number of illegal number plates in the province as drivers copied a Gauteng trend where the vehicle licensing protocol provided for spaces between characters and numbers on number plates.
Spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca said the department could no longer sit back and do nothing, and now planned roadblocks targeting illegal plates.
After confiscation of the plates, the driver will be issued with a fine and released from the roadblock, but if the same driver is stopped at another roadblock further down the road, the driver risks having the car impounded for not displaying licence plates.
Kumbaca said driving without number plates carried a criminal charge of defeating the ends of justice.
“The use of such a vehicle should also be suspended (impounded) on a Section 44 Notice,” Kumbaca said.
Kumbaca said station commanders and supervisors in all 21 traffic stations were advised to crack down on the illegal plates.
“Station commanders should ensure illegal number plates are properly recorded and stored in a safe room at their various stations. The plates should only be released back to their owners when they produce legal number plates fitted to the vehicle.” — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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