Plate Registrations Abuse Reported

Number plates on vehicles have been turned into mobile canvases by some enterprising artistes and vehicle owners. The work of art may catch the fancy of onlookers but is actually an eyesore and illegal. The motorists are cocking a snook at the rule book brazenly and getting away with it too.

8055 reads as BOSS; 0540 written in a fashion that it reads OSHO; 4137 is written in a manner to look like ‘Bhau’ (in Marathi); 4141 number reads like ‘dada’ and 214 is written in a font making it appear like RAM.

The vehicle owners may have the right registration numbers but they are not in the prescribed format. There are many vehicles plying on the city roads with such numbers plates. Interestingly, using brass some even opt for a colourful number plate.

With no action from both traffic police and regional transport officials, the craze for fancy number plates is catching on in the state’s second capital.

TOI visited many number plates’ shops in the city. They are blatantly flouting the rules and selling illegal plates even though they are fully aware of the legalities.

Sellers particularly emphasize scripted fonts and Marathi numerals which are extremely difficult to read. This is of particular concern as plates need to be clearly visible in the event of crime or accidents. These plates cost a mere Rs 300.

“Many motorists in the city are altering the appearance of their number plates and they are increasingly becoming indecipherable,” said Rohit Shirvastav, a motorist.

TOI reader Ravi Rao, who clicked a car with a fancy number plate, said that it defies the very purpose of having it. “The font used is difficult to decipher and impossible for anyone to identify the vehicle during an accident or during traffic rules violation,” he added.

General secretary of the Rashtriya Berojgar Yuvak Forum and traffic expert Amul Sakure said the Motor Vehicles Act has laid down the rules for display of vehicle registration plates. It clearly states that the alphabets should be in English and numerals in Arabic, and no other regional languages.