By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Oct. 7: The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division detained a total of 219 two-wheelers for unclear and improper number plates on Wednesday from different parts of the Kathmandu Valley.
Among the 219 two-wheelers, 165 did not have the required number plate as per the law while 54 of the vehicles had unclear ones.

“The vehicles with inconspicuous number plates, ones written against the regulations and unclear were detained,” said Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjib Sharma Das.
SP Das, who is also the spokesperson for the division, informed that the new vehicles without legitimate number plates or the ones riding with on-test have also been detained.
According to Sub-rule (3) of Rule (4) of Chapter (2) of the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Rules, 1997, the owners of motor vehicles are required to display such number plate codes on their vehicles in a conspicuous manner.

Similarly, the law states that the number plate of an operating vehicle should comply with the corresponding regulation mentioned for its type, which include private, public, tourist and government, among others.
“A newly bought vehicle should be operated on the roads only after they have the appropriate number plates. The owner must manage it through the respective vehicle showroom. As for, the old vehicles, they should replace the number plates with new ones once they become unclear,” SP Das said.

Automobile dealers have also informed that the law states that a new vehicle should ply the road only after installing a legitimate number plate. However, the number plates aren’t installed in the showrooms.
“We have also requested the dealers associated with us to install number plates in the newly bought vehicles. They need to abide by it and the customers should also ask the showrooms to install the number plates while buying. Complying with the law is beneficial for both showroom and the buyer,” said Krishna Prasad Dulal, chairman at NADA Automobiles Association of Nepal.

The ones buying a new vehicle have to reach places like Bagbazaar and Bhadrakali to install the number plates as the showrooms do not provide the service. Nevertheless, the traffic police informed that the ones without proper number plates would be penalised even if it was bought only a few minutes ago.

“A vehicle without proper and clearly visible number plates is hard to trace if they get involved in accidents and flee. It also makes it hard for the officers at entry and exit points of different areas to understand. A vehicle with unclear number plate is difficult to search if gets stolen too,” reads a statement by the division on Wednesday.
The vehicles with unclear number plates are also found breaking traffic rules often.

The traffic authorities released the 219 two-wheelers with a warning. “The ones we detain from now on for unclear and improper number plate will be penalised Rs. 1,500,” SP Das added.