Number plate system must be overhauled

 

Congratulations to transport minister Loke Siew Fook for coming out with a plan for special number plates for electric vehicles.

It’s not just EVs that should have special number plates. The entire vehicle number plate system must be overhauled.

There has hardly been any progress from the black and white number plate format when Malaya’s first registered number plate was issued in 1903 to a De Dion Bouton owned by Sir John Anderson, the governor of the Straits Settlement.

Malaysia is one of the few remaining countries in the world still using plastic number plates. Why?

Most countries use reflective number plates to improve visibility in low-light conditions. Only Malaysia and a few other countries continue to employ non-reflective plates.

Most countries have switched to aluminum embossed number plates, while Malaysia still uses plastic plates

In most countries, number plates are issued by the authorities. In Malaysia, however, one can pay RM70 to a car accessory shop to get a number plate made in as little as half an hour, with no questions asked.

Number plates in Malaysia come in all shapes and sizes, sometimes with fancy letters and numbers to create vanity plates.

Since the transport ministry has come out with a proposal for special plates for EV vehicles, it is a good opportunity for the government to modernise the system and use reflective number plates for all vehicles.

It’s also time for the road transport department (JPJ) to join the world trend, where motor vehicle licence plates are manufactured only by authorised entities. Such a system will help reduce car thefts as one cannot readily walk into a shop and buy a number plate without the proper documents.

For easier identification of EV vehicles, a reflective green background with white reflective numerals will be a good proposal.

When the JPJ requested 11 companies to propose a new number plate system for EVS last November, it encouraged the bidders to include connectivity technology for vehicle number plates that would network with Malaysia’s intelligent transportation system.

In China, electric and new-energy vehicles are often identified by special plates that are distinct from those used for combustion-engine vehicles. These special plates typically have unique colors or formats that distinguish them from standard plates.

This system helps authorities and first responders to easily identify electric vehicles on the road.

In some European countries, there are similar initiatives to distinguish electric vehicles through special number plates. Electric vehicles in Norway are identified by plates that start with the letter “EL” to indicate their electric nature.

In some states in the US, the manufacturing of vehicle licence plates, including standard and vanity plates, is done by prisoners as part of vocational training and income-generating work programmes.

Essentially, in most parts of the developed world, the process of making number plates for vehicles, including special plates for electric vehicles, is typically regulated by the government.

The process involves approved manufacturers who operate under legal guidelines to ensure the plates meet official requirements in terms of design, symbols, materials, and security features.

Perhaps the transport minister’s statement last Wednesday (June 5) reveals that he has more in mind than a new number plate system to distinguish EVs for first responders.

I trust that he will modernise the vehicle number plate system across the board, with the first step being embossed aluminium plates to minimise car identity theft and reflective plates to improve night driving safety. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.