Posted on 03/29/2017 12:28:10 PM PDT by SandRat
PHOENIX — Got one of those plastic covers or films over your license plate?
Be prepared to get out your screwdriver or razor blade to take it off.
Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday signed legislation making it illegal to put any covering or substance on a plate "that obscures from any angle the number, characters, year validating tabs or name of the jurisdiction issuing the plate.'' The measure takes effect 90 days after the end of the session, meaning probably not until sometime in August.
Violators would be subject to civil fines decided by a judge.
The issue has been at the heart of the debate now for more than a decade over the issue of photo radar.
That's because many of these coverings are deliberately designed to keep the plates of offending vehicles from being clearly photographed. And foes of the practice sought to keep the plate coverings legal to defeat the cameras.
Prior efforts by other lawmakers went down to defeat in 2004, 2008 and 2010.
But that issue of photo radar did not arise at the hearings this year. Instead, Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, said what's behind his legislation are concerns that bad guys will get away because police officers and witnesses to crimes won't be able to read the license of the vehicle.
He noted that SB 1073 has the backing of several different organizations of police officers. And Farley said this has nothing to do with whether cameras can catch speeders and those who run red lights.
"The problem is that these things don't just hide the photo radar flashes,'' he said. "They hide low-angle sun as well.''
Farley said that should be obvious to anyone who commutes early or late in the day and tries to read the license plate of the vehicle in front.
"The ones that have these coverings on them, you can't read them at all,'' he said. And that, said Farley, has gotten the attention of police officers and sheriff's deputies.
"If we're going to require license plates at all in order to identify the cars to law enforcement and witnesses at crimes, we should make sure they're not obscured,'' he said. "Otherwise we're giving an unfair advantage to criminals.''
The big surprise to some lawmakers was the need for the bill.
"I thought it was already illegal,'' Sen. Karen Fann, R-Prescott, said during a hearing on the legislation. She wasn't the only one.
"Then why did I get a ticket for it?'' piped up Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix.
Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, who chairs the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, responded he was at a loss to explain.
"Some visionary cop gave you a ticket that's not legal yet,'' he quipped.
"It was so embarrassing,'' Brophy McGee responded.
The senator did not recall the specifics of the citation. But there already is a law that motorists "shall maintain each license plate to it is clearly legible.''
That language clearly deals with situations where the plate is not visible from any angle. This new law covers instances where the question of visibility may depend on from where it is being viewed
Don’t we have more important things to do?
Are frames prohibited?
I had a crazy neighbor scratch my license plate up where the tags are (he was kicked out of his apartment later for fighting with another neighbor). I do not have a cover.
I am guessing the gov wants to send people more tickets while being immune himself.
There was a SCOTUS case last year (?) where a murderer was attempting to overturn his conviction on the basis of an Iowa law that prohibited any part of the license plate, including the county in which it was issued, from being obscured. He was trying, unsuccessfully, to say that the county name being obscured by a frame didn't make it 'obscured.'
The State had argued, ultimately successfully, that the deputy was well within his rights to stop the murderer's car, giving the justification that if they see a car in their area in the middle of the night from some other perhaps far-away county, it gives them sufficient pause to have the right to investigate it.
I don't agree with the decision, freedom of assembly and right to travel unmolested and all that, but nevertheless, the guy's conviction was upheld.
Good question.
Here in Texas, I’ve read of cops giving out tickets because the frame was too big and it blocked a portion of the numbers.
Careful, there are gun laws to contend with too!
Hey! That’s MY Jeep - or, maybe not. I can’t see the plate clearly.
In the state of Washington you have to buy a new plate every seven years regardless of condition because they say that in seven years your plate will be unrecognizable because of damage; you’re looking at maybe thirty dollars a plate if personalized. Talk about government scamming for more money. A friend of my dad’s took his military personal plate in pristine condition and threw it on the counter at the DMV and demanded to know why he had to replace it. He still had to and wound up with a different number as well.
I have seen tinted covers I could barely read through from 10 feet away. I think you should get a ticket for that. But a cover that you can read through easily? Doesn’t bother me.
I suppose they never considered the sand storms and the constant sand in the vacuum area that pulls all of the road sand into the bumper.
Because the Surveillance State says so.
If you ever need to go dark, go mud.
If you ever need to go dark, go mud.
Yeah, that photoblocker spray works great, when the light is reflected straight back at the camera. It’s a scam, as most cameras flash and the light reflects an angle, so the spray is useless.
Nope. The laws of the state where the vehicle is registered apply. It's called reciprocity.
What about a James Bond-style rotating license plate?
Nope, the laws where you are apply. My BIL has the tickets to prove it.
How about a device that obscures the plate from cameras without a physical covering?
Perhaps carefully positioned lasers or strobe lights.... or small mist sprayers to keep a cloud of refracting water droplets over he license plate?
How about a device that obscures the plate from cameras without a physical covering?
Perhaps carefully positioned lasers or strobe lights.... or small mist sprayers to keep a cloud of refracting water droplets over he license plate?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.