Police should allow vinyl number plate digits

Dear Editor,

Before computers came to Guyana we had vehicles coming into the  country with emblems bearing their names and makes, and also caution and advisory signs in the case of farm, mining, and industrial machines. These stickers were made of vinyl, which in some cases holds onto the machine throughout its life, despite the fact that these machines are exposed to the elements. Today computer technology is here and we have the opportunity to have the digits on our vehicle number plates made from the same materials as those foreign emblems/stickers, that not only look perfect, but also last much longer than the ones which are painted with a brush onto the metal plates.

I wonder if the police are aware that paint is liquid plastic? I doubt it, and after the paint dries hard it will crack and peel off, while white vinyl has a lifespan of      6-12 years without fading.  But what is strange is that the police who are forcing us to remove numbers pasted onto number plates for vehicles which are used in food production, etc, are allowing some vehicles which have bubble plastic digits pasted onto the plates and which can easily fall off on impact with a fowl cock or  a dog, to go on as normal. As far as I know the purpose of a number plate is to identify a vehicle, and it must be clearly written according to specifications. I have complied with this, and it’s two years since this was accepted, so what has happened now?  A change for the worse?

Yours faithfully,

Harri Persaud Beharry