HAMILTON, Bermuda, May 7, 2007 - Bermuda's Transport Control Department (TCD), an ARM of Bermuda's Ministry of Tourism and Transport, has launched an island-wide deployment of electronic vehicle registration (EVR) to automate registration compliance and enforcement. Over the next five years, TCD expects to recover approximately $11 million in lost fees from unlicensed and uninsured vehicles on the island's roadways and reduce the number of non-compliant vehicles to less than one (1) percent. The program is slated to commence in May 2007.
TCD selected 3M, which provides vehicle registration systems to more than 100 countries around the world, to design, develop and implement the program. The system will automate enforcement of Bermuda's vehicle-specific regulations including vehicle inspection, emissions, insurance, and registration.
“Bermuda is a country with 21 square miles of land, 63,000 people and 47,000 moving vehicles. We're the sixth largest population per square mile,” said Randy Rochester, Director of Bermuda's Transport Control Department. “Bermuda has the world's highest density per square mile of motor traffic on its roads. Consequently, we needed a system to facilitate compliance and lessen the burden on law-abiding citizens and our civil servants. EVR will expedite enforcement and ticketing of those not in compliance and recover lost fees more efficiently than our current manual system.”
About Electronic Vehicle Registration (EVR)
All vehicles in the jurisdiction will be outfitted with tamper resistant RFID window sticker tags. The first step in establishing an EVR system is to equip Bermuda's motor vehicle population with RFID tags through the vehicle inspection and registration process. The system will verify vehicle registration compliance via a network of fixed reader points throughout the country, and transportable tripod-mounted readers and handheld readers for screening vehicles at random locations. The system operates similar to electronic tolling, popular in high volume traffic centers around the world.
The EVR system consists of RFID tags, antennas, readers and a host computer database system. A unique electronic identification code is established for each vehicle via a tamper-resistant windshield sticker tag and each unique code is linked to a record in the centralized vehicle-database. A back-office violation processing system (VPS) will automatically generate citations. EVR will also enable validation of commercial vehicle registration and issue violations for those operating in restricted areas during rush hours without a permit.
Designed to operate and maintain privacy and anonymity of Bermuda citizens, no personal data will be maintained on the secure encrypted tags nor will the system track or store individual vehicle traffic patterns or history. The system only identifies vehicles not drivers and retains only photo images of non-compliant or criminal vehicles. This system represents a fair, unbiased method to enforce current transportation codes. The EVR system maximizes TCD's ability to process violations, collect associated fees, and fund and maintain roadway infrastructure.
Throughout the world, motor vehicle compliance and enforcement is an issue that affects countries both large and small. For example, the Insurance Resource Council estimates that one out of every seven vehicles in the U.S. is uninsured, with some states approaching thirty percent¹. Another study showed the State of Kentucky was losing as much as $17 million in annual revenues due to vehicle registration avoidance². And published reports have shown that some countries estimate registration irregularities run as high as sixty percent³.
1) 2003, Insurance Research Council, Malvern, PA
2) 1999, Joseph F. Fiala, PhD. “Motor Vehicle Registration Abuse.” Legislative Research Commission, Frankfort, KT
3) Folha de são Paulo, April 28, 2004
About 3M Traffic Safety Systems Division
The 3M Traffic Safety Systems Division has been a world leader in transportation safety products and systems for more than 60 years. The division employs advanced technologies to enhance roadway safety, efficiency and traffic management through signing, pavement marking, vehicle registration and intelligent transportation solutions. Information on the full line of 3M transportation safety products and systems is available at www.3m.com/tss.
About 3M — A Global, Diversified Technology Company
Every day, 3M people find new ways to make amazing things happen. Wherever they are, whatever they do, the company's customers know they can rely on 3M to help make their lives better. 3M's brands include Scotch, Post-it, Scotchgard, Thinsulate, Scotch-Brite, Filtrete, Command and Vikuiti. Serving customers in more than 200 countries around the world, the people of 3M use their expertise, technologies and global strength to lead in major markets including consumer and office; display and graphics; electronics and telecommunications; safety, Security and protection services; health care; industrial and transportation. For more information, including the latest product and technology news, visit www.3M.com.
