Kannada numberplates baffle traffic cops

The City traffic police are having a tough time booking violators for traffic offences following an increase in vehicles with numberplates having Kannada numerals.

According to a senior traffic officer, police personnel are finding it difficult to jot down registration number of vehicles with Kannada numberplates as identifying Kannada numerals is not easy. The offences pertain mainly to jumping signals, speeding and accidents. 

In 2013, as many as 55,666 cases were booked against vehicles with defective numberplates. A majority of such vehicles were found to have registration numbers in Kannada numerals. 

Rule 50, sub-rule 2 and provision-D of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, specifically states that letters on numberplates should be in English and numerals in Indo-Arabic. 

“A circular was issued in this regard by the department which said those affixing numberplates written in regional languages such as Kannada should also mandatorily put a numberplate in English as per the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. The rules also specified the size and font of letters and numerals,” a police officer said.

The ones in a regional language are a major cause of concern as there is trouble tracing the offender unless the person noting down the number is well versed in that particular language, he added.

B Dayananda, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said the exact number of offenders cannot be quantified since there was no category under which such vehicles could be booked.It is a serious issue considering various cases of hit-and-run or other accidents, as it becomes difficult for the victim or onlookers to note down the registration number of the vehicle involved, he added.