Safe City cameras flag fake and covered number plates as Punjab cracks down across 43 cities

The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has started a province-wide crackdown on fake, cloned and tampered vehicle number plates, using cameras in 43 Safe City districts to flag suspicious cars and send police after them, ProPakistani reported. Several vehicles have already been traced and stopped in Lahore and other cities, and cases have been registered against the people using the plates.

What gets you caught

The PSCA says it has a zero-tolerance policy on concealing number plates or altering registration numbers. The cameras are looking for:

• fake or cloned plates, such as a number copied from another vehicle;
• altered plates, with digits changed, stickered or painted over;
• covered plates, hidden behind tape, cloth, a bike carrier or anything else.

When a camera flags a plate, the alert goes to the Safe City control room, which passes it to the nearest police team.

If your number is on someone else's car

If you get an e-challan for a place you never drove, or spot your registration number on another vehicle, call Police Helpline 15 and report it, the PSCA says. Keep a photo of your registration book and your own plates, and contest the e-challan through the Punjab e-challan system with the evidence. A cloned plate can land you with another driver's fines, so it is worth checking your challans regularly.

Stay on the right side of the rules

Use only the original, approved plates issued with your registration, and make sure they match your registration record. If you have bought a used car, confirm the plate matches the registration book before you pay; our vehicle transfer fee calculator shows what the transfer itself costs and the token tax calculator what you owe each year. More road and traffic news is on our auto desk.