What's the deal with tinted license plate covers?
Recently I witnessed a RIDE bus struck by a car with tinted license plates. The motorist did stop and got out and the drivers exchanged words. The offender got back in his car and sped off. Those in my car, struggled to decipher what the plate said and couldn't because of the tinting. I began to wonder Is it illegal to have tinted covered license plates? Below I have tagged the laws and regulations that Rhode Islanders must abide by and the police should enforce.
You know, the ones that make reading the number virtually impossible? Why would someone do this unless they had something to hide... which seems would make them automatically suspect?
Why would a motorist choose to put a tint or cover over a license plate? Here is a video of the Red Light ticket system ("ALPR"), which is based on motorist stopping over the white stop line. Technically on or over the stop-line is ticketable, but by putting a reflective type/tinted covers over the license plate, it is a way of fighting back against these ALPR systems. As such, it is obscuring ones license plate from such lights and the motorist is. Here is a news story on the initial reaction of the Red Light ticketing. So, for tolls and photo radar traps, they take a picture of the license plate and send the bill for the toll or the fine to the registered owner of the car. The license plate cover reflects the camera's flash back towards the camera, making it difficult for the camera to get a good picture of the license plate number.
Reflection of what we did back in 70's and 80's to avoid tickets for speeding was the fuzz buster http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_detector. This enabled us to find a signal where the police were sitting before getting caught for a speeding ticket. They were illegal in many states. Since 2010, license plate covers have been marketed as the new radar detector.
As photo radar and red-light cameras have proliferated, tinted plastic plate shields have become one of America’s hottest-selling auto accessories. Amazingly, you can purchase for as little as $5 on Amazon.
Fact, anything that covers the license plate is illegal! That stated, consider that if the police need a violation of the law, or "reasonable cause" to execute a vehicle stop. So most officers will "look the other way" regarding minor infractions or equipment violations. However, A violation for visibility of plates is a primary offense and can be the basis for a car stop. That being said, it is arguable that any plate holder (auto dealership, sports team, etc) would violate the statute, especially when the vehicle type (Combination, Commercial) is obscured. Again, this becomes quite a problem for ALPR systems taking photos of toll evaders.
But while it’s perfectly legal to sell and buy license plate covers, you can’t actually drive around with them – tinted or clear – on your car, truck or motorcycle.
In an emergency, whether it’s an Amber alert or road rage report, police need to be able to clearly read every ID number on the road. There are so many tinted license plates, that I can only deduce that the majority of traffic stops for that violation conclude with a simple warning, if even stopped at all??? After speaking with several motorists, many drivers don’t know these covers are illegal. This state cries poor and yet there is a whole lot of these violations out there. How many tickets did Cranston give out for these license plate violators? Do we even keep track of such a category?
I found it really interesting that on the Discovery channel t.v. show, with Adam Savage from the wildly popular television series “MythBusters“ sought to find out the validity of claims by these companies to protect you from getting ticketed.
Savage and co-host Jamie Hyneman once tried to fool an commonly-used ATS Axsis SC-300 speed camera with an array of products. “In our testing ... In fact, the MythBusters determined that the only way to fight speed cameras was with speed itself — and lots of it. Speed camera sensors can generally detect cars traveling up to 200 miles per hour.” Savage wrote in an e-mail from the set of the Discovery Channel show, “NONE of the products available to us at the time of filming worked as advertised.” They tested also “photo blocker” spray. “The reflective spray,” he told me, “was particularly useless.”
§ 31-3-18 Display of plates – Penalties (b) Every registration plate shall at all times be securely fastened in a horizontal position to the vehicle for which it is issued so as to prevent the plate from swinging at a height of not less than twelve inches (12") from the ground, measuring from the bottom of the plate; in a place and position to be clearly visible and shall be maintained free from foreign materials and in a condition to be clearly legible.
Another license plate fact, it illegal to only have a rear plate or front plate, it must be both.
§ 31-3-18 Display of plates – Penalties. – (a) Registration plates issued for a motor vehicle other than a motorcycle, trailer, transporter vehicle, in-transit vehicle, or a bailee engaged in a business as defined in § 31-1-17(a), or other than a motor vehicle owned by a duly authorized dealer in motor vehicles and which is used in the dealer's business shall be attached thereto one in the front and the other in the rear. The registration plate issued for a motorcycle, trailer, bailee, or a dealer's motor vehicle as defined in this subsection shall be attached to the rear of the vehicle. What is the formula for tinting on windows and/or license plates? What are the laws regarding tinting?
These are the laws:
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE31/31-23.3/31-23.3-1.HTM- http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE31/31-23.3/31-23.3-2.HTM- http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE31/31-23.3/31-23.3-3.HTM- http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE31/31-23.3/31-23.3-4.HTM- http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE31/31-23.3/31-23.3-5.HTM- http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE31/31-23.3/31-23.3-6.HTM
These are the regulations:http://sos.ri.gov/documents/archives/regdocs/released/pdf/DMV/4428.pdf
No new laws are necessary. We need to raise awareness and tell our law enforcements that we need them to crack down on this.
