Craze for fancy number plates

Along with the rise in the number of vehicles in the City comes the issue relating to improper number plates. This happens despite instructions issued by the Regional Transport Office and its regular campaigns and drives.

The improper number plates in the City include those which are entirely in Kannada letters and numbers, with stylish fonts and those which have a mix of Kannada and English letters and numbers.

RTO official, Maruthi Sambrani, joint commissioner (enforcement south) says that regular drives and campaigns are done by the authority to keep a check on this issue. “In a campaign that we did a few months back, around 9,083 vehicles were checked, of which 497 cases of faulty number plates were booked and the fine collected was Rs 71,300,” he details.

Some Bangaloreans say that the purpose of the number plate is gone when the rules are not followed. Sreeja, an assistant manager, says that the authorities speak a lot about women’s safety and measures against eve-teasing. But if a crime is committed by a motorist or there’s an accident involving a vehicle and the number plate is a misleading one, a formal complaint can’t be registered.

“I’ve seen number plates in Kannada, a mix of Kannada and English alphabets and weird fonts, where one cannot figure out whether it a number or a letter,” she says. She adds that though Kannada fonts can be added to English number plates, an all-Kannada number plate is not allowed. “Not all times, when an untoward incident happens, can one click a picture of a vehicle. When a person who cannot read Kannada wants to note down a vehicle number, it becomes impossible to do so when the number plate is entirely in Kannada,” says Sreeja.

Others agree that like any other fashion accessory, stylish fonts on number plates are considered a style statement. Asif Uttanwala, a production manager at a garment store, says that when a rule is made, everyone should abide by it.

“People love to get fancy numbers like 8055, which can be read as ‘BOSS’ when written in a weird font. Also, often people have extra writing on their number plates, which adds to the confusion,” she says.

So what can be done to avoid this? Srivatsa, a business manager, says that the IND gold number plates that are now being issued should be made mandatory as they have letters embossed into them. “Also, to block those who use stickers or paint the numbers, the RTO should issue the number plates too,” he says.

People who make number plates should also explain the dos and don’ts to the customers. Jinu, who makes number plates at his shop in Nagarbhavi, says that he advises his customers about the specifications, but if the customer still insists, he goes ahead. “For four wheelers, the number plates range from Rs 1500 onwards and for two wheelers, it starts from Rs 800. Number plates do add to the total look of the vehicle and this could be why people love stylising that too,” he explains.

Listing the issues that traffic policemen face, B Dayananda, additional commissioner of police (traffic), says that there have been times when cases were booked wrongly or people were fined because the traffic policemen weren’t able to note down the number of the vehicle correctly. “The government has issued rules on this and a fine of Rs 100 is levied on defaulters but such vehicles continue to be on the roads,” he wraps up.