Amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) increasing fines for fake license plates are to take effect on Tuesday, according to the Executive Yuan.
Ministry of Transport and Communications statistics showed that the number of falsified vehicle plates, which stood at 169 incidents in 2022 and 251 in 2023, spiked to 1,271 last year.
Pundits had surmised that the growth was a result of changes to the violation point system, which altered the definition of excessive speeding from exceeding the speed limit by 60kph to 40kph, leading to an increased number of people whose plates were suspended.
Photo courtesy of The Taichung Police Department
The amendments, passed in May, doubled the maximum fines for the original owner of the vehicle if their vehicle has been altered, had illegal plates, or plates that have been suspended or deregistered, or if they are loaning their license plate to be used on another vehicle, or using someone else’s license plates, to NT$36,000.
The amendments also stipulate that the vehicle in question must be towed immediately.
Drivers of vehicles without license plates, driving when their driver’s license or plates are suspended or invalidated, driving vehicles with the license plate in areas other than the designated area, or driving a vehicle that has been registered for scrapping, could also be fined up to NT$36,000 and the vehicle in question immediately towed, the amendments say.
Forging or covering license plates could result in a fine of NT$72,000, with the vehicle in question immediately towed, they said.
Forging license plates for other vehicles could cause the vehicle to be confiscated, while vehicles that are involved in incidents resulting in injuries or death that have a record forged or covered plates, or have been found to have forged their plates a second time within a decade of their initial offense, could also be confiscated on the spot, it said.
If drivers know the license plate on the vehicle they are driving is suspended, but continue to drive the vehicle, they could be fined up to NT$36,000, it says.
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