information supplied by: Performance Motor Media 08 June 2012
Non-Compliant Number Plate Holders in Circulation
 
A little know fact that is not being communicated to you when you collect your new vehicle, whether due to the fact that the motor dealership may not have knowledge of these regulations or simply chooses to ignore them, is that should a number plate holder be fitted on your new vehicle, it must comply in terms of the law with the provisions of SANS 973 Number Plate Carrier Specifications, being a product standards document published by the SABS.
 
Number plate holders / carriers are dealt with in terms of regulation 35(7) of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000, the relevant portion of which states the following:
 
“Provided that no person shall operate on a public road a motor vehicle first registered on or after 1 July 2011, unless the number plate fixed to such motor vehicle is affixed within 20 millimetres from the edges by means of 4 millimetres rivets or 4 millimetres one-way self tapping screws either directly onto the motor vehicle or an integral part thereof or onto an intermediate holding bracket which complies with the provisions of SANS 973 “Number Plate Carrier” approved by the Department of Transport, and which is attached to the motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be removed while the number plate is affixed to it in the aforesaid manner.”
 
So how can you identify if your number plate holder is SANS 973 SABS compliant or not?
 
First of all, you could look for an SABS approval mark that could be found on the number plate holder. If you don’t see the SABS logo on the number plate holder, then upon delivery of your new vehicle to you, you should request the salesperson to advise you whether the manufacturer of the number plate holder holds a valid SABS permit or the manufacturing of the number plate holder.
Should such a request fail , you are entitled to ask why the salesperson is unable or unwilling to show you that your number plate carrier is compliant and you are entitled to take this up with the Dealer Principal.
 
Secondly, if there is any printing at all on the number plate holder which appears within 150mm of the licence number, then this number plate holder contravenes the regulations to the National Road Traffic Act and is therefore non-compliant. Accordingly, you could potentially be personally liable to be fined.
 
Printing on a number plate carrier, including printing of the name of the dealership, within 150mm of the licence number is prohibited, in terms of the National Road Traffic Regulation 35(6)(c)(ii)  which states that:
 
“No person shall operate on a public road a motor vehicle-
 
(c)        while, subject to subregulation (2)-
 
(ii)        there appears within 150 millimeters of the licence number applicable to such motor vehicle, a design, ornamentation, figure or letter which is not a component part of the standard equipment or construction of that motor vehicle:”
 
Printing of the above nature on a number plate carrier is an infringement in terms of the Regulations to the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act No. 46 of 1998, and could potentially result in a fine of R250 to R1 000.
 
Should you think that the number plate holders fitted to your new vehicle are non-compliant and are being given the non-committal run around by the motor dealership where you purchased your new vehicle, then you are entitled to forward your complaint to the National Consumer Commission which is responsible for the enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act via fax 0861 51 52 29 or email ncc@thedti.gov.za or post to The National  Consumer Commission, Private Bag X84, Pretoria, 0001 for resolution. Non-Compliant Number Plate Holders in Circulation.doc (34kB)

SABS Document.pdf (93kB)

SABS Permit ETL.pdf (1,149kB)

Complete Release: Non-Compliant Number Plate Holders in Circulation.zip (1,338kB)