In Vietnam standardised number plates is a must, this is how drivers are avoiding surveillance

Now that Vietnam has introduced a new camera surveillance system on one of their highways, drivers are doing their best to avoid getting caught by masking their number plates or even using fake ones to cover up their original license plates.

The new surveillance system was installed on the Noi Bai – Lao Cai Expressway, the system is similar to that of the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera system in China.

Unlike in Malaysia, Vietnam has a standardised number plate system so it is easy for the cameras to quickly detect any wrongdoers on the highway. But drivers are doing their best to escape the cameras by either covering up their number plates or using a fake number plate.

Major Dao Hong Minh, Deputy Head of the Expressway Patrol and Control Team said that the most common car brands that are usually spotted trying to escape surveillance consist of mostly more expensive cars like Toyota, Ford, and Mazda, remember this is Vietnam we’re talking about.

Unfortunately for the highway authorities, there is no way to flag down these violators either. By the time these cars with covered or fake number plates arrive at the toll booth that marks the end of the expressway, they would have already removed the covers and reverted to their original plates.

It doesn’t help that the expressway is very long with many intersections in between making it difficult for authorities to chase down these violators.

Those trying to avoid surveillance took advantage of the length of the highway and that there are only 2 patrol groups stationed at each end of the highway.

As such, the highway patrol has reported the issue to the leaders of the Traffic Police Department to carry out more aggressive measures. They will also be increasing patrols on the highway as an effort to weed out any cars with covered number plates.

In Vietnam, driving a vehicle with incorrectly mounted number plate, plates with unknown numbers, bent, obscured, damaged, painted, or even the use of stickers to modify the characters on a number plate will incur a fine of 800,000 – 1 million VND (about RM 140 – RM 170).

As the fine is very low, many drivers tend to ignore the law and conceal their number plates. This has made identifying stolen cars and getaway cars more difficult for authorities in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development announced that the Ministry of Transport will be tabling a bill to introduce a new number plate system for persons with disabilities.

Source: Autopro