When V. Seshadri chanced upon a two-wheeler with the same registration number as that of his vehicle, it left him shocked. The characters on his number plate ‘TN-22 BP 9229' were an exact match to that of R. Seshadri, owner of the other vehicle.
Both are residents of Nanganallur and went to register their vehicles at the Meenambakkam Regional Transport Office on April 15. They have not yet been issued the Registration Certificates.
V. Seshadri says this is not the first time he has come across a suspected case of identical number plates. “I know of cases where the number was changed after the first service. Maybe the dealer corrected it after cross checking with the RTO.”
However, his larger concern is “what happens if one of the vehicles with identical registration number is involved in crime or had committed a serious traffic offence.”
A senior Meenambakkam RTO official says that the error is being looked into. “Since the process is computerised at our end, there is no way the same number could be allocated to two persons. The dealer, who collected the registration details, must have made the mistake since both their names are similar,” he says.
In this case, the bikes were bought from different dealers, and what possibly could have happened is that the RTO staff would have given the same number to the dealers as the customers' names were same, he adds.
The official adds that apart from preventing human error of this sort from occurring, there was also a need for a centralised database of vehicle details. “Apart from computerisation at the RTO and a local database of every registration, all RTOs need to be connected through a grid.”
The necessity for such a National Registry of Motor Vehicles and Drivers Licence was realised by the Union government and all States have been directed to create a database. The progress in creating a State-wide registry in Tamil Nadu has been slow.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M. Ravi says that the lack of a digital database of vehicle records is a major impediment to modernisation of enforcement. “We use CCTV cameras to register offences and send notices to the addresses mentioned on the registration certificates of the vehicles. But, very few actually pay. In the last two years, out of 2.5 lakh deposit challan notices that were issued, only 12,000 persons paid the fine amount.”
The traffic police are uncertain whether the notices reach the right person as many purchase used vehicles and do not re-register. In some cases, the vehicle changes hands several times and the first owner is unaware of who the current owner is.
Transport Commissioner M. Rajaram says that one phase of the digitisation project would be rolled out by June-end. “About 60 lakh vehicle records have been digitised, or 40 per cent of the existing vehicle count. All RTOs can access registrations in their jurisdiction through an online portal. The Director-General of Police will also have access to the database. A State-wide portal can be created only after all records are digitised. Once it is done, it will eliminate duplication and strengthen enforcement.”
