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To ‘look nice’ or avoid detection? Why some motorists risk flouting the law with small licence plates

2023-11-25 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE – One might have to squint to see them, but small vehicle licence plates – some of which are illegal – are being zoomed in on and scrutinised online by netizens.

Photos of non-compliant licence plates have been surfacing on Facebook traffic groups, with at least nine posts of such plates in the six weeks before Nov 24 on the SG Road Vigilante page.

These plates, which are either small in length and height or feature unusually small letters and numbers, can be seen mounted on both cars and motorcycles.

They may be going against the Land Transport Authority (LTA) guideline on vehicle registration, which states that vehicles must have their licence plates “prominently displayed before they can be driven on public roads”.

Car plate makers and automotive companies The Straits Times spoke to said that vehicle owners install such small, potentially illegal plates for aesthetic purposes, or to avoid detection by speed and red light cameras.

Ms Iris Seah, director of Chuan Heng Signcrafts, said that her customers who request these plates do it mostly for aesthetic reasons.

“Some of them say these plates look nice, as they do not like them to be so big or so obvious,” said Ms Seah, adding that she warns and discourages potential customers if their requests do not comply with regulations.

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“Usually, they can still be seen and are quite visible, but they are smaller than the size in the guidelines,” she added.

Mr Gary Tan, managing director of Gary’s Art and Sign, estimated that about 90 per cent of his customers who request small licence plates are those who drive supercars such as Lamborghinis and Ferraris.

This is because they find it difficult to fit a regular-sized plate at the front of the supercar as many models have limited space there, said Mr Tan.

Mr Johnson Soh, director of Soh Guan Chuan Auto Supply, said some motorists also acquire such plates to evade being identified by speed and red light cameras.

While he advises his customers against using these plates as they are illegal, Mr Soh said most of them still take the risk.

“Some say that their friends have used (small licence plates) for a few months and do not get caught, so they also want to get (the plates),” he added.

“They also have a set of legal licence plates which they put on when they go for (periodic) inspections.”

Mr Soh estimated that about 70 per cent of the small licence plates he produces are for motorcycles.

However, all three companies told ST that they have not seen an increase in the demand for these small plates since the start of 2023, with each of them saying that they account for less than 5 per cent of all the licence plates they make in a month.