Tenders for new licence plates due next month:
RFID to improve traffic management and security:
Information only available through Motor Traffic Dept.:
The Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) will call for tenders for the new licence plates and windshield stickers with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag by end November, ICT Commissioner of the Department, Thushara Suraweera said.
Speaking to the Sunday Observer, Suraweera said the project would be implemented by April–May, 2018.
“The Cabinet has given the green light for the project and what remains to be done is to publish the tender which will be done by the end of next month,” he said.
Under the new system that will be introduced, the windshield sticker will include a passive RFID tag. This will enable a reader to obtain basic information such as the registration number and the chassis number. Based on this information, the reader can request if it wishes to do so, any further information that it requires on a particular vehicle through the DMT.
“Information will be released through channels so only particular channels are released to those readers. This ensures that the readers would get the information through the DMT to verify it,” he said.
DMT is positive that this system, after it is in place, will be a great help in traffic management, security and would be a more efficient way of gathering and dispersing information, real-time which will save money and the use of human resources.
Under the current system, a number plate and a windshield sticker is issued at the registration of a vehicle. The windshield sticker is displayed at the left upper corner of a windshield in every vehicle. The sticker only
carries some visible information such as the vehicle number, fuel, year of registration, province; it has some security features which is self-destructive. The system can be utilised for effective self-parking systems.
According to the DMT, the Colombo Municipal Council is currently carrying out a pilot project along the Galle road.
To ensure that no privacy laws are breached, the Department will hold the final say in what information will be released to the people/ institute that requests the information. Anonymous or unauthorised RFID readers or reader holders will not be able to read or obtain data of the DMT.
“Security measures will be in place to identify whether a particular reader request is a legitimate one,” he assured.