Motorists Warned to have Registration Plates In Compliance with the Law

The Traffic Department of the Royal St.Vincent and the Grenadines has issued a warning to motorists whose vehicle registration plates are not in compliance with the law that they have 24 hours to have them corrected. This commences from today, Monday, January 9.

Sergeant Henry Providence of the Traffic Department, speaking on behalf of the Traffic Department said: “We have observed where some motorists are putting number plates on dash boards, others are writing the numbers on papers as well as using italics on their number plates. We want to deal with those issues early this year.”

“To this end the public has 24 hours to have the plates corrected if they are not,” said Sergeant Providence.

Outlining what the law stipulates in Chapter 355 of Volume 8 of the Laws of St.Vincent and the Grenadines, Sergeant Providence stated that section 3 states: “(a) The background of the plate shall be black and the letters and figures shall be white; or (b) (i) Front plate –The background of the plate shall be white (luminous) and the letters and figures be black; and (ii) Rear plate –The background of the plate shall be yellow (luminous) and the letters and figures shall be black.”

He added section 4 further states: “All letters and figures must be three-and-a half inches high; every part of every letter and figure must be five-eights of an inch broad; and the total width of the space taken by every letter or figure except in the case of figure 1, must be two-and-a-half inches.”

According to section 5, “The space between adjoining letters and between adjoining figures must be half-an-inch, and there must be a margin between the nearest part of any letter or figure and the top and bottom of the plate of at least half-an-inch, and between the nearest part of any letter or figure and the sides of the plate of at least one inch”.

Regarding the position of vehicle identification mark, section 8 states: “(1) The plates forming the identification mark shall be fixed, one on the front and the other on the back of the motor vehicle or trailer, in an upright position, so that every letter or figure on the plate is upright and easily distinguishable, in the case of the plate placed on the front of the motor vehicle or trailer, from in front of the motor vehicle or trailer, and in the case of the plate placed on the back, from behind the motor vehicle or trailer.”

Where motor cycles are concerned, the plate fixed on the front of the cycle may, if it is a plate having duplicate faces conforming with the Second Schedule, be fixed so that from whichever side the cycle is viewed the letters or figures on one or other face of the plate are easily distinguishable, though they may not be distinguishable from the front of the cycle, the law states.

Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of these Regulations is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not less than two hundred and fifty dollars and of not more than two thousand dollars and to imprisonment for twenty one days, the ‘Offences and penalties’ section of the law states.(Police Public Relations Department)