The younger, vigorous, Chief Executive of Ghana’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Julius Neequaye Kotey, has long past to lengths on TV to coach the general public in regards to the structure and security measures of the brand new automobile licence plates the DVLA plans to introduce in 2026.

The new licence plates could have the next on it:

1. The area wherein the automobile is registered can be inscribed on the best of the automobile registration plate’. eg. Greater-Accra.
2. ii. At the ground of the plate, the slogan of the area can be written.
3. iii. In the center of the plate would be the automobile quantity, which levels from 1 to 9999 adopted by way of two letters which constitute the area wherein the automobile used to be registered, eg GR for Greater Accra, CR for Central Region.

Next to the 2 letters representing the area is a two letter code representing the DVLA administrative center at which the automobile used to be registered. So a normal plate would seem like this: 3648-GRXY or 5285-CRTD. iv. Finally, the map of the area wherein the registration plate is issued will function within the background.

More importantly, the brand new quantity plates can be manufactured and issued by way of the DVLA and is probably not outsourced to non-public corporations. They could have complex security measures embedded in them to make certain that automobiles can also be promptly scanned and traced by way of the safety businesses.

Mr. Kotey says those security measures will make the method of figuring out whether or not automobiles are correctly licenced, stolen, customs tasks paid on them or whether or not automobiles been desirous about crime and so forth. extra environment friendly. These are nice enhancements over the quantity plates these days in use.

Mr. Kotey has unshaken trust within the new earnings encumbered quantity plates’ talent to assist the safety businesses download fast knowledge on, scan and observe automobiles and their homeowners in actual time and a great deal help the battle in opposition to crimes dedicated with automobiles, hint highway visitors offenders, customs responsibility evaders and so forth. These, plus the truth that the plates can be manufactured by way of DVLA and entered into DVLA’s database makes for a bombproof regime in keeping with Mr. Kotey. Bravo…

I feel the safety of our quantity plates and their position in serving to to apprehend crime is dependent a lot more than in area issuance of those plates and the safety options put in in them.

My first quarrel with the quantity plate is its visible look. I feel it has an excessive amount of unrequired knowledge. The regional identity, regional slogan and regional map which is able to function at the quantity plate are main points that don’t instantly assist in figuring out a automobile desirous about hit and run incidents, or automobiles desirous about crime. Most of our roads are unlit and can stay so for the following two decades.

If one runs over an outdated woman on Adjiriganno’s poorly lit roads at evening, no scanner or digital camera will stumble on his automobile if he makes use of the again roads the entire approach to Abokobi. The subsequent day he can move to a workshop, say he struck a goat and feature it repaired. No questions requested. Case closed. That is the truth.

Inscribing the area of registration at the best of the quantity plate of a automobile, is not going to assist the police or DVLA hint a automobile. The registration code quantity will. In Ghana we don’t educate quantity plate recognizing. Let’s scale back the volume of element folks can memorize. The regional slogans are a pleasant contact, however they’re only a gimmick. If we delete those two pieces and the regional map, we’re going to have much less litter at the quantity plate.

My 2d factor is with the numbering structure of the quantity plate. Gone are the 2 alphabets we’re used to which get started the numbering. Instead we’ve got a bunch eg 1317 or 4790 after which the area, GR or BA after which a code representing the purpose of registration of the automobile, equivalent to XY or CJ. What use is the purpose of registration of a automobile, equivalent to Adenta or Winneba on a bunch plate? That knowledge must be to be had to regulation enforcement on the click on of a button. To take away the 12 months of registration as DVLA seeks to do and substitute it with the purpose of registration is to recreate the issue.

The addition of the 12 months of registration to our automobile quantity plate knowledge begun in 2009. Prior to that, in or about 1991, we have been forced to re-register our automobiles. The 1991 re-registration workout concerned the addition of an alphabet after the numeric identity. Before 1991 a automobile used to be registered as GM 3648 or GX 4790. In 1991 a automobile used to be re-registered as GR-1050-A or GN-333-A. When the collection of alphabets ended with Z in 2008, DVLA changed the alphabet on the finish of the registration quantity with the 12 months of registration. For 2009, a automobile used to be registered as GR 6070-09 or GR-7256-09. Both those “re- registration workouts” have now not made our automobile license plates extra safe or more uncomplicated to spot.

Mr. Kotey’s religion within the impregnability of the quantity plates to be offered subsequent 12 months however, the deployment of scanners, cameras, gadgets: sales strategy; and the potency of our safety products and services and his outfit, I daresay, very many, if now not maximum, hit and run automobiles and different crimes involving automobiles are recognized and tracked ‘manually’ with the assistance of the general public. The public is helping the police by way of giving them knowledge on quantity plates.

A bunch plate with an excessive amount of knowledge will confuse even probably the most diligent and observant passerby. It is just a little a lot to learn temporarily and memorize. Ghanaians are most often inattentive and unobservant relating to automobile quantity plates. Many automobile homeowners have no idea their licence plate numbers. At purposes, automobile numbers are introduced by way of MC’s for lengthy classes with out their homeowners reacting. As children, memorizing and reeling off our neigbours automobile numbers have been a part of our video games. They have been easy and simple to be informed. Compare memorizing the AZ 3299 of fifty years in the past to AZ-3299-C or AZ-3299-21 or 3299- AZTF. Which are you able to consider simply?

There are such a lot of automobiles on our roads now. Our visitors lighting fixtures do not paintings and our side road lighting fixtures infrequently paintings. Most of our streets are darkish at evening and we can now not have enough numbers of cameras and scanners the place they’re required. We can not deploy sufficient sales strategy to assist observe and hint automobiles. Our again roads can be again roads, darkish and simple to escape from with out detection.

My humble submission is that this; we must revert to the outdated (pre 1991) layout of 2 alphabets adopted by way of as much as 4 numbers. The twenty-six letter English alphabet, which even slightly literate and inattentive individuals can simply learn and consider, can also be mixed in such a lot of two alphabet variants and nonetheless be identifiable by way of area.

Two letter combos of the alphabet are nearly inexhaustible. They, particularly when positioned originally of a bunch plate give it its identification. GM 3648 or GX 1317 is more uncomplicated to seize and memorise than 3648-GMXY or 1317-GRXY. A schoolkid is much more likely to look and memorize ER 4415 because it whizzes previous him, as is a bored, sleepy policeman on a depressing highway in Agona Nyakrom, than 4415 ERKS with different knowledge clamouring for consideration. Lets’ stay the real numbering easy and depart area of registration, and level/centre of registration, at the side of different knowledge on automobiles equivalent to chassis numbers and 12 months of manufacture at the DVLA’S database. Simple registration numbers and uncluttered licence plates can be way more useful in serving to determine, hint and observe automobiles, in comparison to what DVLA plans for us.

Finally, the DVLA will have to handiest produce licence plates with obviously visual font shapes and sizes, as in keeping with the rules. The tiny, illegible font sizes on licence plates that move previous police boundaries unhindered must be banished in 2026.

My humble ideas…

Johnny Blukoo-Allotey, Accra.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by way of Readers and Contributors in this platform don’t essentially constitute the perspectives or coverage of Multimedia Group Limited.