At the recent National Vehicle Crime Forum, the South African Police Force (SAPF) said that microdot technology will become compulsory for all vehicles from January 2011.
At the recent National Vehicle Crime Forum, the South African Police Force (SAPF) said that microdot technology will become compulsory for all vehicles from January 2011.
Microdot technology is implemented by spraying the essential parts and panels of vehicles with thousands of dots that are invisible to the naked eye.
A vehicle’s idenditfication number (VIN) can only be revealed by using specialised scopes to read the dots. These scopes can be used by police to identify vehicles and vehicle parts, especially in instances where the original Vins and engine numbers have been tampered with.
Avis chief executive Wayne Duvenage says Avis is delighted with the legislation, which it believes will be an excellent deterrent to vehicle theft and a useful aid towards fighting vehicle crime in South Africa.
“Avis was one of the first companies to embrace this crime fighting technology around eight years ago,” he says.
Understanding the use and successful implementation of ‘microdot’ technology in Australia and other parts of the world, Avis and the South African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (SAVRALA) began to urge vehicle manufacturers to apply microdot technology to all their cars as early as 2003.
While the police have embraced the use of this technology, with less than 7% of new cars being microdotted over the past five years, they simply can’t get into an efficient mindset of using the scopes and methodology applicable to identify stolen or potentially stolen vehicles, says Duvenage.
The new legislation will affect all vehicles registered for the first time in South Africa on or after 1 January 2011; all vehicles the SAPF allocates a new South African VIN on or after 1 January 2011 and all vehicles imported into South Africa on or after 1 January 2011.
Duvenage believes microdot technology will lead to the arrest and demise of many of this country’s illegal chop shop syndicates.
