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Car owners are in a mad rush to register their vehicles and obtain the 2015 number plates at the Accra Regional Office of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) near the 37 Military Hospital. To streamline the registration, the DVLA has introduced a quota system which allows for the registration of 250 vehicles daily. The 250 vehicles comprise 200 mainstream and 50 protocol. The DVLA has also sought the assistance of police officers from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) and the Airport Police Station to control traffic and maintain order at its office. During a visit to the DVLA last Friday, there was a long queue of vehicles whose owners were waiting for their turn to register them. Other measures In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Accra Regional Manager of DVLA, Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, said some vehicles were inspected in December, 2014, and indicated that the DVLA only took documents covering such vehicles from the car owners for the registration. That arrangement, he said, had reduced the congestion at the office. Again, he said, car owners who fell outside the 250 daily registration quota were given appointment dates to ensure sanity in the registration process. Mr Matey explained that the number of vehicles registered daily in January, 2014 at the DVLA 37 Office was higher than that of this year. In January 2014, the DVLA registered 350 vehicles. He attributed the situation to the decreased number of vehicles in the system and the opening up of a new vehicle registration centre along the Accra-Nsawam road. Registration processes The vehicle registration process begins with an inspection of a vehicle at a private garage within the premises of the DVLA office. The next step is for a car owner to submit the test report of the vehicle, the vehicle itself and the customs documents for inspection. Customs officers stationed at the DVLA office check the vehicle documents to ensure that duties have been paid. Licensing officers then examine the vehicle to verify information of the chassis number, engine number, cubic capacity, tyre size, number of tyres, colour of the vehicle and others. If these processes are satisfied, the car owner makes the payment and he is given the vehicle number. People can apply for a special number but that attracts an additional fee. Complaints Some of the car owners complained that though they had presented their documents a day before, they were yet to get their registration documents. They claimed that they were not sure where to start the registration process. But Mr Matey denied the assertion, saying that the registration of vehicles did not exceed a day. He said those whose registration had exceeded a day might have given their documents to unauthorised people. Besides, Mr Matey said, the process for the registration was clear as the DVLA had labelled offices for the various activities, including registration of vehicles. Again, he said, tag-wearing DVLA staff and security officers were at hand to assist any customer with information about the registration process. In addition, he said, there was running information on a screen informing customers about which offices to go for the various services.