Vehicle owners countrywide will, by law, have to pop rivet or screw their number plates onto the body of their vehicle from January 1 2009.
Collen Msibi, spokesperson for the Department of Transport, said the new measures would make it more difficult for thieves to steal vehicles, and for vehicle owners to drive around with false number plates.
The department would require that every number plate be permanently fixed directly onto the panel of a vehicle with 4mm one-way screws or pop rivets, at all four corners. The screws or pop rivets may not be further than 20mm from the edge of a number plate.
"This will make it a lot more difficult for criminals to remove a vehicle's number plate, and replace it with another. "We believe that these little changes will make a big contribution towards reducing vehicle theft," Msibi said.
"The new regulations are there to help vehicle owners and will be introduced systematically."
"We have given vehicle manufacturers at least a year and a half to meet the new requirements," he said.
Other changes are that no-one may be in possession of a number plate if it does not relate to a vehicle owned by that person, and that only three standard-sized number plates will be allowed on South African roads from January 1 2010.
Published in: Legalbrief Today
Date: Thu 19 July 2007
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