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Going crazy with new vehicle license plates?

11 April 2011 37 Comments

These last days, it has been quite difficult to distinguish between a “contract” car and a private car since a growing number of vehicles are being fitted with the new vehicle registration plates. Still, not all of the plates comply to the new regulations which “might” be applicable as from the 1st July 2011.

Here’s one I spotted last weekend :

As far as I know, this kind of plates won’t be allowed. You can’t “customize” them anymore. Not even with the make of your car.

The best thing to do right now if you have not purchased the new car license plates is to wait for some more weeks. Most probably, the National Transport Authority will be issuing permits to those selling the new plates. And once again, the deadline might be extended because of all the confusion behind this new regulation.

Personally, I find that the authorities have once again failed for the second consecutive time. Still remember the fire extinguishers?

Yashvin, pages of my life

And what about those who already paid for the “new” plates which do not comply to the new regulations and the famous British standard?

NTA officers said that these car owners should go back to the suppliers, who have the obligation to exchange the plates with new ones. I don’t think that these suppliers will agree with this statement of the NTA officers, broadcasted a few minutes ago on the national television.

Anyone got the new plates already? How much did you pay?

Do they comply with the announced standard?

What do you think about those arguing that taxis and other vehicles can’t have the same color plate?

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Mauritius Loto
  • http://faisalmooraby.blogspot.com Faisal…

    I’m flattered that the NTA will use the British standard. However, why can’t they create their own standard? With the trend they are taking, they may soon opt for the French standard, then the Indian, then the Australians and in the end Mauritius will adopt the Martian standard :D

  • Muzzammil

    @Faisal: Creating standards cost a lot of money. why waste it when the standard already exists.
    but what could have been done is amend it to local conditions.

  • http://www.tushal.net Tushal

    Mauritius, c’est un plaisir. Ruled by stupid Advisors who can’t advise shit.
    Now how will you difference between a private car, a taxi, a contract car? Oh well, you can’t.

  • SabTech

    ennnn….saem talerla mo tii croir banla ti p louer taxi saem devan blan derrier zon….lol

  • Bernardo

    Btw… there were already laws, regulations and standards for number plates of vehicles in Mauritius, i.e. numbers have to be in a specific font and size. Some people decided to ignore them!

    Typical law breakers who may claim they did not know there were laws on number plates. But ignorance is not an excuse!

  • http://faisalmooraby.blogspot.com Faisal…

    @Muzzammil Your reasoning is alright – if NTA has a clue on what its doing that is!

  • le_voyageur

    Rs700 parla, pa koner si li to the standard, taler mova misire sa ek laregle,,lol,,truc taxi, soi sa borne la bizin devant pu kav kner, ou attan sa passe akoter x]

    Pu contract, fatigue lizier rod sa ti sticker ki ena lor parbrise la.. Ena chans pa truver sa..lol

    btw, dan lezot pays kot ena british standard, taxi meme couleur ou meme make si mo pa tromper,, b ici .. ena tou kaliter loto, depi chrysler passe par volkwagen, mercedes, bmw, et Toyota ki p fer taxi .. couma pou koner ?? .. atleast they could make it the same colour to make it more relevant :S .. wadirer zot p fer ene zafer lamoitié ki pou result in more confusions :S :S :S

  • jp

    I already paid for the plates. I don’t know who is actually doing it for me (*blush). Someone at the office collected the cash for everyone (about 50 people here) and said we would have it at a discounted price. I paid Rs.550 for both.

    The guy promised it will be according to standards, let’s wait and see -_-”

  • http://www.yashvinblogs.com Yashvin

    @le_voyageur: I dont find the need to have different plates for taxis etc. Don’t they have their Taxi display on their top? (Compulsory by law) and their yellow stickers on their doors? So, why the need to have different plates?

  • jp

    I think the ‘confusion’ people are talking about is that we have been doing things ‘wrong’ all the time, and now that we are trying to do things ‘right’, people tend to complain. People don’t like major changes in general.

    (It is like that for a lot of things in Mauritius actually if you think about it)

  • din3sh

    Why change the plates anyway?? Whats wrong with the current ones? Will white and yellow plates reduce number of accidents on our roads? NO.

    Here is what happened imo, like the hedging thing we are paying for incompetencies of people at the wrong place. They bought loads of cameras (worth how much, we dont know) which do not work well with the black plates we have. So instead of changing the cameras to ones which will work with the black plates, they impose on us vehicle owners (around 370,000) to change to white and yellow.

    If the camera doesnt work with well with black plates, why buy them? If the camera’s specications already mentioned it, with buy those cameras?
    Does it mean that in the whole world, cameras working with black number plates do not exist?

    In how applying British Standards will reduce heavy traffic jams and accidents?

    Rs 1000 (from your own pocket) considering the already high living cost nowadays is still exorbitant.

    Maurice c’est vraiment un plaisir…..

  • jp

    I do agree however that … those bloody NTA didn’t communicate the rules the right way, if not at all. (now that’s a standard procedure in Mu)

  • Kareem

    Hi Yash,

    I got the new plates made for my two cars. I need to go back to the supplier la.

    The authorities failed. They should have given all the information at once. Not step by step like this.

  • T0rped0

    Enn representant NTA ti pe dire ki bann fabricant plak ena “obligation morale” pou remplace bann plak ki’nn fini faire mais ki pas ti conform ar BS AU 145d.

    Non mais! Li pé prend dimoun pou bourik?? Kifer li senti li oblizé zénéraliz so cas?

    Tou lezott autorité demann enn fournisseur (services et biens) enn sample pou faire tester en laboratoire (ena boukou ça: RDA, MPI, MSB, SGS etc) avant certifier ki produit / service -la bon ou pas bon. Mais dans cas NTA, c’est bann petit ange innocent ki travail la-bas: nek emett enn guideline (not a regulation which should be complied with fully under risk of penalty), ek attann?? Zot vraiment pas crédible dans zott role ‘autority’: you MUST enforce your regulations (guidelines are merely desirable, not enforceable), you must test and check and certify.

    Else, you are just another white elephant – wasting public money without any tangible output.

    “Obligation morale”? Alle dire ça tou sa bann dimoune ki’nn mort lor koltar-la parski NTA pas faire aukenn contravenant (la-rou lisse, phare mal-ajusté, fumigène, overloaded, retro/indicator lights pas bon/inexistant, etc) pas perr li.

    Et apré tout, moralité pas rempli ventt…

  • yurit0s

    ene tas zeste avec ca ban la loi moriste la.
    mo tou sorte kalite plaque ena

    noir
    blanc
    zaune
    bleue
    vert

    pu alle beze apreil comme zistoire fire extinquisher la.
    ou comme zistroire speed limit pailles.

  • din3sh

    en plus zot nek p dire bisin British standard, b plaque British standard la couma li eter sa? eski tou dimoune siposer deja conne sa? ene zafer ki touche 370,000 dimoune, pa bisin ene grand campagne publiciter ek osi lor television pou explik ban dimoune? Mem zafer pou la pompe dife…. vreme ene ban plok ki p assiz la ba par nomination politik, ene poil logic zot na pena..

  • hus

    ici en australie to kav met coulour ki to envi lor to plate, et nerport ki numero to envi, si pa envi met numero osi kav, nek met to nom only et ni camera ni la police pa gagne problem pu gagne to plates. mo truv sa ene decision bien con ki p fer nu change plate.

    p pay pu l’incompetance ban ki la haut

  • Akhil

    http://www.gov.mu/portal/goc/roadsafety/file/registration.pdf

    Si kikaine trouver ki ine mentioner bizin ena nom fabricant plaque la ek “BS AU 145d[13]” gravés lor plaque la (kouman ene rigolo de la NTA ti p dir hier dan JT), signale mwa parski mo pa p trouve sa mwa.

    Apparemment, quand zot ti emmetre sa communiqué la, zot pa ti enkor decide pu faire inclure sa 2 features la. Kouman li possible ki ene autorité ordonne ene changement d’une telle envergure et plusieurs semaines plus tard (quand des milliers et des milliers dimounes fini sanz zot plaques) zot vine dir narien pa bon, bizin refaire tou. C’est la limite de l’incompétence!

    Et ce qui pire ladan, zot pe rode fer bne fabricants plaques paye le pot cassé. Zot gagne toupé dir ki banla ena ene “obliagtion morale” pu sanz tu sa. Fabricants bizin fer la perte énorme par la faute NTA. Mwa mo dir zot bizin desane lor la rue.

  • PascaL

    WHAT a JOKE !! Putting people first right …hahaha

    A qui la faute for “confusion behind this new regulation” ?

    Des bouffons “patentes” a la NTA + so ministere Transport.

  • http://www.yashvinblogs.com Yashvin

    Update : 13 April 2011

    Unexpected decision announced in the national assembly yesterday :
    Only new vehicles should be fitted with the new number plates. Other existing vehicles on our roads can continue to use their existing number plates while waiting for a new decision.

    The minister Anil Baichoo also said that anyone can choose to move to the new number plates if they wish too.

    LOL. Now, this has become a joke!

  • guibs

    Well I made mine @ Mahebourg @ (tchic tchac printing) for only Rs600/=

    The plates are certified(CE) for Europe. Material is very reflective n am 100% satisfied. I heard that in towns it’s more expensive…

  • le_voyageur

    @Yashvin: hmm ban taxis mo koner la,, either their Taxi display is small and at the extreme rear of the car which do make them not so relevant .. (talkin bout newer toyota corollas) ..

  • T0rped0

    @hus:
    Uh oh… you may be confused about so many colours (two colours for learners, different colours for different stages / states for probationary – nice concept! – licences), but it’s highly regulated, not total liberty with “coulour ki to envi lor to plate, et nerport ki numero to envi”… c’est l’Australie quand même! :-)

    @guibs:
    Uh oh… reflective should not be confused with retro-reflective…

  • T0rped0

    @Yashvin:
    Bein, ki ou dire si à la fin de l’année nou vote pou enn “Piaw de l’année”??

    Mo cwar NTA inn prend enn l’avance pliss ki confortable avec z’affer extincterr ek plak niméro.

    En deziemm pou ena Miniss Dilo: ti mama penurie, apres laisse gaspiyer pendant fete relizieux, apres re-mette cadenas, apres re-larguer…

    Apres pou ena VOH, pou bann raisons evidentes…

    Apres… Weh, pou ena ki pou vini encore pendant sa 8 mois restant-la…

  • hus

    @T0rped0

    Mo dan WA, et ici to fer saki to envi…

    http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/20435.asp
    http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/20440.asp
    http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/20416.asp

    Et osi pa blier check “corporate series”, to kav met logo to compagnie et to web address.

  • Ani

    @guibs: Hey can you please give me the full address where you change your plates at Mahebourg? I will have to change it, no choice because I just met an accident with a dog ;) and my plate broke down.

  • T0rped0

    @hus:

    Merci, merci!

    Ou mem gagne droit CONSRTRUCT YOUR OWN VEHICLE!!!

    Wai do… Ena la-dans! :-D

    En tou cas, autorité WA inn bein comprend ki pou capav “channel” bann fantasmes minéralogiques de tous so bann habitants, nek ena pou assurer ki zott tou bien visibles dans tous conditions, mem ar speed-camera!

    Si ti ena autant variété dans Dodoland, mo bien cwar ki pa ti pou bizin kata-kata ek koustik-déviré couma Miniss Patente apé faire ces derniers temps…

  • http://faisalmooraby.blogspot.com Faisal…

    Talking about making your own car, check these out:
    http://www.theoscarproject.org/
    http://www.local-motors.com/

  • Ram1

    @T0rped0:
    Enn representant NTA ti meme dire ki celui ki asté so plaque numero bizin verifié bien ki fabricant la pe respecté “BS AU 145d”.. li pensé ki tou dimoune bizin comprend British Standard. Zot meme ti bizin alle verifié sa avan impose lor nu.
    Totalement dakor avek l,idée pou ene test dan Lab MSB avant impose lor nu.
    Meme zafer pou Extincteur… apré explosion ban cannette dan loto, oken authorité pa fine vinne dire sa ki nu finne asté li bon ou pas.
    Chinois capave mem in mette la farine dan cannette la, personne pa koné.

  • T0rped0

    Alla kott plak capav amenn politi-chiens: http://www.lexpress.mu/news/620-blog-ministres-plaques.html
    Esperons miniss-plak pou lire sa bien bien ek li comprend bien kott li pe aller ar sa…

    @Ram1:
    Sir, you are perfectly right: we pay taxes for these people to work for our protection: this means investigating, testing, checking and doing whatever needs to be done to ensure gonaz does not reach us. In fact, this is what other ‘authorities’ actually do when they float tenders for, say, supply of pipes: a tentative supplier must first satisfy technical aspects then submit samples and manufacturers’ test certificates (all at the supplier’s expense) and if and only if compliance with all the previous is confirmed that financial tenders are opened and the tender awarded. Mais NTA tousel couma dir bann ti-jenfan bien ignoshant, ki cwar tou jumeaune ki dire… Et mem cwar ki enn layman capav check BS-compliance visually selman: zott cwar nou ena rayon-gamma dans lizié couma Superman??

    Else, if the NTA people can’t do that basic stuff, they should reimburse us their salaries and lift their packet and skid their asses off!

    In any case, who is convinced that strict enforcement of BS-compliant plates on vehicles will actually reduce fatalities / casualties on the roads? I can safely bet whatever you want that no-one will ever be able to measure that!

  • le_voyageur

    so much time passed and nothing :/ .. lol .. couleur jaune in rente dan laliste plak ki servi dan morice .. =D

  • Anonymous

    movais desordre.
    ena plaque zaune et blanc mais in faire avec fibre (plastic) avec zot numero en sticker.
    zot fond meme pas reflective.

    wadir gouvernement in laisse tomber. li na plis envi pran compte.

    pareil comme ca bout cot GRNW la. pres cot LEDEFI la.
    zot in bouze bis stop. re bouger et au final tou in reste ene chantier.
    plaque signal pena. la ligne blanc pena.

    faudais ena mort meme pou wadir ena action dans ca pays la.

  • http://www.yashvinblogs.com Yashvin Awootar

    UPDATE.

    The government has once more postponed the date limit. More details will be communicated later. Only new cars need to have the new plates. Existing car owners have nothing to worry about.

  • i.e.b

    The government wants us to ride bicycles instead :p

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