The federal government is introducing RFID based registration plates for vehicles in Islamabad. The decision to introduce RFID (radio-frequency identification) registration plates for vehicles in the capital city has finally been taken to meet the global standards of traffic rules and regulations. This initiative aims to establish the sound implementation of traffic regulations within the city, as well as put an end to auto-theft and terrorism-related activities.
The proposal was approved by the Interior Ministry as a result of a few meetings held between the Islamabad Excise Department and the Islamabad Safe City Project, in light of the feedback received from the Excise Department, reporting a list of complications in launching a uniform registration plates system in the country. Thus, it was suggested that the adoption of global standards, i.e., the introduction of RFID registration plates, will be an effective solution to fix the problem.
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These RFID registration plates contain all the details related to the vehicle and its owner that these departments might need. In order to optimize this process, a system of data centralization (comprising a database of registration numbers) is already under work and being over-looked by the Interior Ministry and the Excise Department, so that every province can access this data.
Video surveillance done by the Safe City Project is already helping with the proper identification of vehicle registration plates in Islamabad. The same mechanism is operational in Punjab, where the plates issued by the Excise Department are recognized by the CCTV cameras. RFID employs modern technology and gives an instant signal when it is tampered with, which can help in identifying cases of stolen, fake, and duplicated plates. The authorities can even make use of RFID to track a vehicle or trace a specified person.
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An official told Dawn that this initiative will not only help in tracing defaulters but also in increasing the revenue collection. Director of Excise Department, Bilal Azam, also told Dawn that RFID would be a third number plate and will be installed on the front windscreen of vehicles as used internationally.