Still on the license plate violation

It is illegal to tamper with a license plate. It is also a crime. According to my lawyer friend, covering a license plate or driving without one is tantamount to perverting the course of justice. Last week I told you that license plates identify the vehicle and its owner. Whether it is in a developed climate or in Nigeria, the license plate must show the correct registration number. Therefore, it is illegal to rearrange the letters or numbers or change them so that they are difficult to read.

Such an act can result in a fine of up to £1,000, which in the UK is over seven hundred thousand naira, and this will cause your vehicle to fail the Ministry of Transport (MOT) test. In Nigeria, a license plate violation is a mere three thousand naira, which is why I advocate a check to deter check dodgers.

A new license plate offence that I have been focusing on for the past two weeks is rotating license plates, which the Corps says are also illegal. I have checked to see if rotating license plates are legal anywhere in the world, but to no avail. My findings show that using a rotating plate or “stealth” frame to cover your license plate to avoid fines or parking fees is “tantamount to perverting the course of justice,” according to a lawyer.

The Corps clarified that the FRSC does not manufacture rotating number plates, saying that the number plates are unauthorized and intended solely for sinister purposes. The Corps cited the popular rotating number plate KUJ-304BV, which when automatically rotated has a number marked as presidency with the following details, 01B-266FG.FRSC. The Corps further clarified that the FRSC does not manufacture number plates with such dual features, emphasizing that only one number can be assigned to one vehicle and its owner at a time

Rotating license plates is not the only illegal act committed by drivers, as I said last week. I receive calls, text messages and emails every day from drivers who want clarification on the law regarding the wanton removal of vehicle license plates by law enforcement officers.

I will refrain from reprinting the comments of some of these interviewees, who often express disgust at these actions, described by some as irritating. I vividly remember a recent phone call from an old friend who could not contain his frustration as he told me about his experience.

According to Yinka Jazman (not his real name), he said he was driving along the Lagos-Ibadan corridor when he was stopped by a law enforcement officer for some offences. After a series of questions about some offences, one of the officers left and appeared with a screwdriver which he used to unscrew the number plates of the vehicle and then asked him to report to the office the next day. The second caller was not as lucky as Yinka as the rear number plate of his vehicle was forcibly removed with his bare hands.

What is the position of the law? Firstly, I would like to state here that it is illegal for any law enforcement officer to engage in the removal/confiscation of number plates from a vehicle. This is how the Federal Road Safety Corps put it in a recent clarification: For guidance, the following provisions of the law are instructive: Section 10(4)(h) of the FRSC (Establishment) Act, 2007 states that it is an offence to be on a road without a valid driving licence or an identification mark displayed. Similarly, Section 10(4)(s) of the Act makes it an offence not to display number plates on vehicles.

The National Road Traffic Regulations (NRTR) 2012 also provides as follows: Regulation 36(NRTR) 2012 makes it mandatory for all private and commercial vehicles to have registration plates attached in such a way that they cannot be easily detached.

Section 36 states that all private and commercial vehicles must from the commencement of these regulations display vehicle identification plates, which must – be displayed on the motor vehicle on two plates, which must comply with the requirements of these regulations; and the registration plate must be so attached that neither plate is readily detached; in a vertical position or within 15 degrees of such position. Section 39(a): states that “all private and commercial vehicles must display vehicle identification plates, and it is an offence for any vehicle not to display such registration plates.”

It concludes by stating that “beyond their identification purposes, vehicle license plates are security features that are recorded in the national security architecture and have been used to help security agents track serious national security issues. Removing such identifying features from vehicles plying our roads will not only violate the law but further compromise national security.”

Article 37- (1) of the same Regulations provides that the registration plates of a motor vehicle or articulated vehicle must be displayed on two plates in the case of a motor vehicle and on three plates in the case of an articulated vehicle and must comply in terms of lettering, numbering and other details with the provisions set out in Figures 1 to 11 of Annex 5 to these Regulations. The registration plates in the case of a motor vehicle must be affixed, one at the front of the vehicle and the other in the centre or on the outside of the rear of the vehicle or in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

In the case of a trailer, one shall be attached to the front of the vehicle and two to the rear of the trailer in a vertical position. In the case of a motorcycle, one plate shall be attached to the front and one to the rear, the plate having a white background but blue lettering for private, green for federal, state or local government, black for armed forces, paramilitary and red for commercial, so that each letter or number on the plate is upright and easily distinguishable from the front plate to the rear.

When recovering a semi-trailer, the tractor unit operator is obliged to ensure that the entire articulated vehicle has the same identification number for the tractor unit and the semi-trailer.

Each identification plate must be reflective and made in such a way that any letters, numbers or other identifying marks on it are legible during the day and at night in good weather, and must also be visible and recognizable from a distance of not less than 60 meters to the driver of the vehicle travelling directly behind the vehicle, and in the case of a motorcycle – from a distance of 30 meters.

Section 38-(1) of the Ordinance further provides that the vehicle must display a vehicle registration plate as specified in Form MVA 25 of Schedule 5 to this Ordinance, which shall be issued with the vehicle registration plate and shall bear the same number as the plate and shall be affixed to the rear window.

Except as otherwise provided in these regulations, registration plates must be transferred from one vehicle or trailer to another; registration plates must be attached to the person, not the vehicle, and the plates must be returned to the Motor Licensing Authority when the car is sold and the new owner must obtain a new set of registration plates; however, a Certificate of Proof of Ownership is mandatory for the issue of new registration plates. These regulations explain why driving with one or no registration plates is illegal and a criminal offence.