This week, the federal government launched particular plates for electrical autos – distinctive white background plates with Euro-style fonts and an identifier strip on the left facet. Color and font apart, one other massive departure from the common white-on-black plates is that JPJePlate is fabricated from aluminium, and the numbers are embossed on the plate. It’s tamper-proof and RFID-equipped, too.
At present, JPJePlate is a pilot mission to make it simple to distinguish EVs from ICE-powered vehicles. It is going to be the first identification for enforcement motion (EV-only parking, for instance) as nicely in accidents, guaranteeing an applicable response throughout emergencies – EVs fires have to be countered in a different way, as an example.
JPJePlate is for now obligatory just for new EVs, and the remainder of us (together with EVs which are already on the highway) can proceed to make use of our plastic black plates. However be in little question that this is step one in direction of standardised plates for all new autos excluding bikes sooner or later.
Malaysia is outdated, an outlier
Travellers, have you ever ever questioned why Malaysia is seemingly ‘lawless’ and free-for-all in terms of quantity plates, when all of our neighbours – by no means thoughts the remainder of the world – use standardised quantity plates? By all accounts, we’re fairly superior – do you know that Malaysia ranks fourth within the listing of nations with probably the most skyscrapers behind China, USA and the UAE? We even have a excessive inhabitants of good vehicles right here.
It’s a uncommon state of affairs that’s greater than a bit unusual. At a pre-launch briefing, the transport ministry mentioned that Malaysia is amongst 5% of the nations nonetheless utilizing conventional acrylic plates globally, and it’s trying to regularly transfer away from that.
The initiative to introduce JPJePlate is geared toward exploring the eventual standardisation of the licence plate for all new autos registered in Malaysia, successfully eliminating fancy fonts/non-regulation plates and decreasing the chance of car cloning, amongst different issues associated to falsification of quantity plates, MoT added.
On the JPJePlate launch occasion, transport minister Anthony Loke mentioned that the plate’s reflective white background and excessive legibility may even enhance visibility points of a car in the course of the evening, guaranteeing higher highway security. This jogs my memory of the various circumstances the place autos (often bikes) ram right into a stationary car in the dead of night, including to our grim highway accident fatality fee.
The long run, surely
The FAQ web page of JPJePlate additionally factors to the ‘white Euro plates’ being the longer term for all autos in Malaysia, excluding bikes. The official description of JPJePlate is “an initiative.. to revolutionise the transport business. Its main purpose is to extend highway security and standardise all quantity plate design on the highway.” That’s very clear from the authorities, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
“The primary part of implementing the JPJePlate quantity plates will start with Zero Emission Autos (ZEVs), which embrace electrical motor autos (EVs) aside from bikes which are totally powered by electrical batteries (Plug-in EV/Battery Cell) or by hydrogen gas cells (Hydrogen Gas-Cell EV), by means of a Nationwide Roll Out (NRO). Additional expansions to incorporate different sorts of autos might be introduced in the end,” JPJ provides.
SOPs to get used to
There’s much more to the JPJePlate than its white background and Euro-look. Sourced from Tonnjes, a German specialist firm, the plate options holographic stripes, an anti-counterfeiting foil, a digital signature within the type of a QR code, laser-engraved serial quantity, embedded RFID and safety screws for set up.
Talking of set up, it’s a giant departure from the present free-for-all model, the place anybody can stick white letters on a gloss black plate. The job of affixing the JPJePlate, together with the windshield sticker, is carried out by the car retailer or authorised centres – accent retailers can now apply to be an authorised installer, however should first undergo registration and coaching earlier than they’re allowed to entry the system.
The JPJePlate is affixed to the automotive with offered safety screws, that are one-way screws that require a particular screwdriver. JPJ says that these screws can’t be eliminated simply with out breaking each the screws and their covers, and forcibly eradicating the screws may harm the plate. That is an anti-theft function, however JPJ can also be permitting the 52 x 11 cm metallic plates to be held by a standard plastic body, as some car house owners worry harm from the screws.
At present, Handal Ceria is the only firm appointed by means of an open tender course of to deal with the availability and ordering of JPJePlate. It’s a low quantity pilot mission for now, and there’s a must streamline and examine for points, therefore the lone participant.
“The number of a single firm for this part is meant to make sure a extra organised and managed implementation. This strategy is a sensible step by the transport ministry and JPJ to collaborate, streamline the method, and handle any points that will come up. The implementation might be expanded to incorporate all sorts of autos within the subsequent phases, and the addition of extra suppliers might be thought of,” JPJ mentioned.
Be aware the ‘expanded to incorporate all sorts of autos’ line as yet one more specific point out of the NRO.
RFID and ANPR for Multi-lane free circulation
Apart from the above-mentioned security, safety and identification (when the white plates are utilized by all sooner or later, the color of the left strip would be the differentiator, eg: inexperienced for EVs) causes, JPJePlate will “act as a variable for the built-in Clever Transportation System (ITS) ecosystem with RFID,” JPJ says.
In different phrases, a standardised quantity plate system with no variation of fonts/spacing/sizing will help in automated quantity plate recognition (ANPR), which along with RFID are core parts of Multi-lane free circulation (MLFF). It can rid our highways of toll plazas, which are sometimes bottlenecks.
Talking of RFID, the JPJePlate has RFID embedded into the metallic plate itself (versus caught on), which is able to then act as an antenna; that is nonetheless categorized as passive RFID (energetic would require an influence supply), however the sign can be a lot stronger than the present stickers employed by Contact n Go. Every JPJePlate comes with a windshield sticker too; this has the identical performance because the metallic plate and the RFID chip on the sticker acts as a backup.
We had been knowledgeable by Tonnjes that the RFID and holograms are made to the identical safety requirements as what’s utilized in worldwide passports, and the RFID component within the plate can be utilized as an identifier at speeds of as much as 230 km/h – right here’s a deep dive into how RFID works within the JPJePlate context.
Not many realise this, however ANPR and RFID are already working collectively at our toll plazas – full story right here. Moreover, there are plans to allow fee for toll (pending agreements with toll concessionaires and TnG), parking (along with ANPR, which is already being utilized in some malls) and even F&B drive-throughs by the quantity plate RFID.
Points and timeline
All of it sounds good, however we do have a number of questions. In its current type, the JPJePlate is available in a single 52 x 11 cm dimension, which inserts most vehicles and numbers.
Most, as a result of particular plates just like the MALAYSIA, PATRIOT, PERFECT and PUTRAJAYA sequence undoubtedly gained’t match; it appears like 4 alphabets and 4 letters are the utmost that the plate can take, primarily based on the usual font dimension, as demonstrated by IIUM 6763 on the launch. There was additionally a RIMAU automotive, however it had simply two digits. The JPJePlate web site has a preview instrument on your quantity, and keying in MALAYSIA generates a hilariously lengthy plate.
Additionally, vehicles with sq. quantity plate slots like these from the Japanese Home Market (JDM) may have a difficulty – at the moment, one can simply stack the ABCs and 123s in two ranges, as seen on the Toyota MR2 under.
Whereas the federal government has made it very clear that JPJePlate is the longer term, implementation for EVs is simply step one and no timeline was shared. JPJePlate is obligatory for all new EVs registered from now, and is non-obligatory for current EV house owners. Nonetheless, the choice to take care of your previous plate won’t be eternally.
Buried deep within the FAQ part for enterprise companions, JPJ says that there might be a day when all EV house owners should make the change to JPJePlate. “Present ZEV house owners should not required to change instantly, however they are going to have a transition interval to transform to the brand new ZEV quantity plate. Hold a watch out for bulletins from MOT and JPJ concerning the timeline,” it mentioned.
Such a mannequin is likely to be employed when JPJePlate reaches the mainstream – obligatory for ICE vehicles registered after the introduced date, with a ‘transition interval’ for all different vehicles on the highway to change. The roads would look humorous although, with a mixture of black and white plates. Nonetheless, in some unspecified time in the future JPJePlate should be made obligatory for all, particularly if ANPR and MLFF are to be applied nationwide.
We reckon that this is able to be a priority for the transport ministry (or on the very least, it is going to be on their minds), because it entails further value for the rakyat, who may then react with anger and complaints. It gained’t be an excellent transfer from a political perspective – very like eradicating blanket gas subsidy – however for progress to be made, the federal government of the day should take successful. At the least there aren’t any plans to introduce JPJePlate for bikes.
By the best way, the present JPJePlate worth of RM98 per set of entrance/rear plates and the windshield sticker, could be very cheap contemplating the tech and embossing. A set of primary plastic plates already value round RM60 within the Klang Valley and we’ve seen accent retailers cost as much as RM300 for customized (learn fancy and unlawful) plates.
What do you consider this generational transfer from black to standardised white plates with tech?
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