The Automobile Association of South Africa (AASA) has raised concerns about the regulation of microdots on motor vehicles, calling on the government to make public the reasoning behind the draft regulations.
Proposals for new regulations are contained in the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill that is currently before Parliament.
Microdots have becoming an increasingly regular feature on cars in South Africa. The microdot has a diameter of 1.8 mm and contains a unique, optically readable, microdot identifier. Information contained in the microdot typically includes a vehicle’s VIN number or another registered PIN.
According to the director-general of Transport, Alec Moemi, the regulation is needed not only to regulate microdots but also to allow the government to use microdots to track vehicles.
In 2020 Moemi said : ‘We are looking at a new system that will include the embedding of microdots into a new number plate, that will then be regulated.’ He said technology currently being installed on highways across the country, especially in Gauteng and Cape Town, would be able to scan the microdots.
In addition to playing a key role in improving road safety and crime, the new technology would also help the government understand road usage in the country.
But the AA has questioned whether regulation of microdots is necessary, and raised concerns about the absence of detail in the bill.
The AA said in Parliament last week: ‘(There are) no reasons provided for development of microdot legislation nor whether any research has been conducted to support implementation of new regulations – if the research has been conducted, we believe that should be made public and open to scrutiny.’
The organization was also concerned about the power that would be given to the transport minister, saying: ‘Because the guidelines will be published in regulations it also places them beyond parliamentary scrutiny – therefore operating at the pleasure of the minister of Transport.’
[Image: John Howard from Pixabay]