Authorities in the Republic of Kosovo rolled out the so-called 3rd License Plate in spring of 2022. The process of switching to digital vehicle identification and registration has been completed and the RFID label from Schreiner PrinTrust is increasingly being used. How has the project developed and what has been achieved in the country? An assessment after one year of the 3rd License Plate.
The objective of this all-in-one solution from Schreiner PrinTrust and its Kosovar partner was clearly defined: besides enhancing traffic safety in the country, the project primarily served to create a method of unique vehicle registration because non-registered vehicles cause considerable losses for both the country and the insurance sector year after year. Now the 3rd License Plate ensures that vehicles without registration and insurance can be identified quickly and easily.
Even though 2022 was a pilot year in which driving without the 3rd License Plate was not punishable yet an effect has already been clearly noticeable in the country: the number of unclear cases in relation to insurance claims dropped in 2022 as well as the number of non-registered vehicles. The latter dropped by 10% while the number of official new registrations went up.
Authorities expect another significant increase in registrations this year because now fines are imposed on drivers of vehicles detected on the road without a 3rd License Plate. The label that is affixed to the inside of the windshield is issued in an annually changing color readily indicating the vehicle’s current insurance status. Thanks to sophisticated security features it is protected against tampering and counterfeiting. Simply removing the label, for instance by peeling it off, is impossible because that would destroy the label.
Generally, the introduction of this vehicle identification has already led to a changed awareness among Kosovar drivers and the label from Schreiner PrinTrust makes a valuable contribution to enhancing safety and transparency in road traffic.