As the ongoing crackdown on the roads intensifies, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has revealed steps motorists are required to take after their number plates are removed from their vehicles.
NTSA documents that the recovery of the number plates usually involves two steps including a compliance check.
However, before the compliance check, a motorist is required to take the vehicle to be repaired and fixed.
According to the authority, NTSA officials usually remove number plates from vehicles which are not mechanically sound and are being used on the road.
Secondly, after repairing the vehicle, the motorist is also required to submit the vehicle for a compliance check.
This is usually done to ensure that the motorist addresses concerns raised by NTSA officials during the removal of the number plates.
"After the removal of the plates, the owner is expected to fix the vehicle and, thereafter, present it for compliance inspection.
"The inspector will assess if it is roadworthy before returning the plates. We also educate the driver and passengers during the compliance checks," NTSA explained.
In recent weeks, NTSA has been removing number plates affixed on various vehicles during compliance and safety checks on the roads.
This was after a surge in road accidents in the country. Unroadworthy vehicles have also been blamed for the recent surge in accidents.
Therefore, by removing the number plates, a vehicle cannot operate on the road.
According to the Traffic Act Cap 403, one faces penalties such as a points deduction for driving without number plates.
"No motor vehicle or trailer registered under this Act or driven under the authority of a general dealer’s licence shall be used on a road unless there is fixed thereto in the prescribed manner the prescribed number of identification plates of the prescribed design and colour on which is inscribed the identification mark of the vehicle or of the general dealer’s licence," read the statement in part.
