Autos use stolen No plates

Chennai: Do not be surprised if you get challans for overspeeding on routes you have never traversed in the city. Auto drivers seem to have employed a gleeful way of getting away by using stolen number plates. In the last four months, 200 such cases surfaced when RTO officials were on checking drivers with faulty meters. The practice seems to be old and happening.

The RTO officials say that “Often, such number plates belong to two-whe­elers. Auto drivers use the plate to get away from bei­ng caught for various offe­n­ces. People usually take do­wn the number and inform us and we subseque­ntly inform the area RTO and catch the offender.”

But in case the offender changes the stolen number, there is no way to get hold of him. The officials maintain that there are no gangs involved neither its a syndicate but rather the work of individuals.

High security registration plates (HSRP) which could help in stopping this crime is yet to be implemented in the city with problems dogging the issue. Social activist ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy says, “There are many cases of omnibuses using such fake plates. The HSRP is definitely a move that will help in curbing the illegal activity.”

An amendment of the central motor vehicles rules in 2001 made it mandatory to fix HSRP in the front and rear side of all motor vehicles. This was done mainly to discourage criminals from altering the number plates of the vehicles used for committing crimes.

HSRP has a unique snap lock which ensures that the number plate is destroyed automatically when it is tampered with or forcibly removed and are visible over a relatively long distance.

The state transport authority’s website says, ‘The Government of Tamil Nadu has decided to implement the project. The existing vehicles have been given two years’ time to fix HSRPs’.

But none of the RTO offices is issuing the plates, nor are private vendors allowed to do so. Ramaswamy says, “There is a clear lack of will power. All other states are implementing it.”