From September, all new cars will have to be tagged with microdots, while all vehicles that need a police clearance certificate will have to be dotted from 9 March.
Microdots are tiny microscopic discs that contain unique information linked to property. They can be brushed or sprayed onto an asset, and companies like DataDot store the information in a national and global database.
The application became law, after transport minister Sibusiso Ndebele recently amended the National Road Traffic Act. The dots will have to comply with a South African Bureau of Standards' specification.
Permanent technology
Business Against Crime SA (BACSA) CEO Graham Wright says: “These regulatory changes follow more than a decade of consistent and sustained effort by BACSA and various parties within government and business to secure the identity of all motor vehicles.
“The application of microdot technology to all motor vehicles will strengthen the police's ability to identify stolen or hijacked vehicles.”
According to the latest crime statistics from the South African Police Service, for the year to March 2011, 10 627 incidents of carjacking were reported, a decline on the 13 902 in 2010. However, in the same time, 64 504 cars and motorcycles were stolen, compared with 77 776 in 2010.
Wright explains any motor vehicle part or component can be marked with a dot as the technology is “pervasive and enduring”.
“This means that the police can now identify parts from stolen vehicles even if the vehicle has been 'chopped up' for the illegal spare parts market. Microdots are the most cost-effective, easy to use and enduring technology available in securing and preserving the identity of a motor vehicle,” says Wright.
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