NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 30 — The new generation number plates rolled by government Tuesday have been touted as a step in the right direction in efforts to curb illegal duplication and falsification of vehicle identification numbers.
One of the notable features of the new plates unveiled include the Fe Schrift font (forgery-impeding font), which cannot be easily modified. In addition, the monospaced letters and numbers also improve machine readability.
The plate, which costs Sh3,000, also has a Kenyan flag with pictures of the Big Five — including the lion, elephant, and Rhino, Mt Kenya — which comes with the reflective sheet.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) noted the new plates will incorporate microchip technology and several anti-counterfeit security features that will render them practically impossible to imitate.
Besides unique template, they’ll feature a specially-imprinted national flag, hologram, watermark, unique and different serial numbers for rear and front plates that are linked to the vehicle’s chassis number and a customized font.
The smart plates, which will be easily identifiable to law enforcement officers, will also store information such as year of manufacturer, type and colour of vehicle, engine number, transmission type, date and place of manufacture, and insurance details.
Speaking during the rollout of the new generation plates, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi said the plates would be easily identifiable by law enforcement agencies, making it easier to track any vehicle and gather data about the ownership and its point of origin.
“Today, we are unveiling the new generation number plates with several inbuilt security features. Some you will not readily see with the naked eye and is deliberate that way so that we are able to ensure the plate you have can lead us to all the information we need to have about the motor vehicle ownership,” Matiangi said.
Another feature is a unique watermark that comes with the reflective sheet and a reflective hologram (a three-dimensional image created with photographic projection) which cannot be duplicated.
The new digital plate also has two different serial numbers on the front and rear plates linked together with the vehicle’s chassis number.
Unlike the old motor vehicle plates, which used to be painted, the new plates are embossed with the machines with the entire production process automated.
The new plates are made in Kenya and all material used in production sourced from within the country.
The plates can also be customized according to the preference of the customers.
With the new plates, Matiangi said the government will be complying with the amended Traffic Act of 2016, which he said is yet to be enforced in its entirety.
The Interior CS noted that the new plate rollout complies with the international standards.
The Interior CS noted that the main reason for the rollout of new generation plates is to address the national security challenges, including curbing terrorism and other transnational crimes such as motor vehicle theft.
“The new plates are assisting us to synchronize the data sets that we have so that we not only have the accurate identity of the vehicles, but we also have accurate information on the background and origin of ownership of the motor vehicles,” he said.
On his part, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said Kenya lacks a proper monitoring system of vehicles despite being a get way to other countries in the region.
He added that currently, the country has over 4.8 million vehicles noting that the move is a milestone in the country’s quest to streamline the sector and seal loopholes that have plagued the transportation system.
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