Traffic rules: Get proper number plates unless you fancy yourself a fine

The police have started a campaign against vehicles bearing ‘AFR’ or fancy number plates.

KARACHI:

If you are planning to take your plush car for a cruise and it does not have the proper registration plates or required documents, think twice before you take it out of your drive. For the traffic police are waiting just round the corner, ready to slap you a fine of Rs500 or even impound your vehicle for good measure.

Karachi traffic police have launched a crackdown against vehicles bearing fancy number plates. Around 150 vehicles have been fined in the first two days of the crackdown that started on Friday; another 50 were impounded while 22 vehicles’ plates were confiscated. “Roaming around the city with Applied for Registration (AFR) and fancy number plates is illegal and has messed up the law and order situation,” said a traffic police official, seeking anonymity. “The police cannot verify a car bearing fancy or AFR number plates if it is used in any criminal act or even in accidents. Over 50% of these cars are used in crimes in the city,” he said.

The official said that no one was permitted by law to drive a car without legal and proper number plates. The AFR number plates can only be used to take the car from the owner’s home to the Civic Centre to obtain the original number plates from the Sindh Excise and Taxation Department.

“You cannot keep a record of such vehicles if they violate traffic rules because there are chances they will be driving with a different number plate the next day.”

According to Traffic DIG Arif Hanif, illegal number plates are not only a violation of motor vehicle rules but also incur a huge loss to the national exchequer. “During the campaign, we will also check for the motor vehicle tax and the fine may increase depending upon the nature of violations,” said Hanif. He added that the traffic police routinely fine cars with fancy number plates but the three-week drive would pay special emphasis to the particular violation.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2014.