Abstract:
A number of ethical issues have come under the spotlight with the proposed implementation
of an Intelligent Transport System (ITS), known as the Intelligent Number Plate System
(INPS), to be used in the Open Road Tolling (ORT) system designated for certain Gauteng
roads in 2011. The project was fi rst initiated in 2006, with full-scale implementation
scheduled for 1 January 2008. It was, however, postponed to January 2009 and later
to April 2010. When this deadline could not be met, it was postponed to October 2010
and subsequently to October 2011.This research investigated some of the ethical issues
related to the surveillance that motorists will experience each time they utilise the
impacted roads. This surveillance will be made possible via technologies that include
closed-circuit television and radio frequency identifi cation tags. When considering the
possible vulnerability of such technologies, it is important to make motorists aware of the authorities’ responsibility to protect any identifying information, as well as the
potential effect these systems may have on motorists’ right to privacy. These rights will
be illustrated through an analysis of South African legislation and its relation to the INPS.
International examples of ITSs were investigated to determine the possible benefits
and challenges related to the implementation of the INPS. In order to supplement the
literature research findings, a pilot study was conducted to assess the public perception
of the privacy challenges associated with the INPS. The research findings indicated that
there was cause for concern related to the ethical issues involved in the implementation
of such a system in a South African context.
