The e-plate system, which can be used for digital license plates, not only helps reduce congestion at toll plazas, but also helps reduce vehicle theft. The star he quoted the experts.
Digital vehicle number plates will help improve enforcement as staff at roadblocks only need to scan the digital plate to retrieve the vehicle owner’s details, said Teik Hua, associate professor of law at Universiti Putra Malaysia.
These will make the work of enforcement staff easier and possibly reduce traffic congestion, as the chips on the digital number plates are linked to the vehicle registration system, which cannot be modified by the user, thus improving vehicle safety, Law added.
“The government should engage with car manufacturers to do this. The chip built into license plates will also increase the rate of use of radio frequency identification (RFID) devices,” said Law, head of UPM’s Transport Safety Research Center.
Nik Mohd Salim, president of the Malaysian Road and Traffic Safety Association, said digital signs could also curb vehicle-related crime. “In some countries, the toll gates will not open if a [number] license plates and vehicle types don’t match,” he said, adding that e-plates can help authorities track stolen vehicles when they enter areas where digital license plates are required.
In addition, “e-boards will also allow the nation to gradually move towards the MLFF toll system,” said the president of the association. Earlier this week, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said a proof of concept (POC) of the MLFF would be conducted before the end of October 2023 before it is implemented on all highways in Malaysia.
On the other hand, one of the challenges faced with the spread of digital vehicle license plates is data protection concerns due to possible data breaches. Because they use vehicles equipped with digital plates, their information, including travel history, is uploaded to an online database and anyone with access can find out where the vehicle has been, Law said.
The issue of standardized license plates in Malaysia has a long history. The Road Traffic Department (JPJ) stated in 2016 that they intend to implement a standard license plate system by 2017.
A similar idea was mooted in 2017, where there would be a chip embedded in the number plate containing information about the owner and driver of the vehicle, as well as vehicle details such as engine and VIN, color and model. Subsequently, the police proposed the introduction of e-plates in 2021 with the aim of standardizing the identification of all vehicles in the country.
