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http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20050501-095936-9529r.htm
Obscuring
license
plates
adds
up
to
fines
By
Matthew
Cella
THE
WASHINGTON
TIMES
Published
May
2,
2005
The
District
is
cracking
down
on
drivers
who
obscure
their
license
plates
from
the
city's
traffic
cameras.
Police
officers
have
begun
enforcing
a
new
law
that
has
raised
fines
from
$50
to
$500
for
using
"glass,
plastic,
or
any
other
type
of
material
or
substance
(i.e.
spray)
to
cover
a
license
plate."
The
law
took
effect
earlier
this
month,
but
police
officials
could
not
determine
how
many
fines
have
been
issued
under
the
statute.
The
new
fine
dwarfs
the
$55
fine
for
a
similar
offense
in
Maryland
and
the
$25
fine
for
a
similar
offense
in
Virginia.
Janis
Hazel,
spokeswoman
for
the
city's
Department
of
Motor
Vehicles,
said
police
asked
for
the
increased
fines
to
"put
some
teeth"
into
restrictions
on
obstructing
license
plates.
The
new
law
clarifies
an
older
statute
that
said
license
plates
"shall
be
maintained
free
from
foreign
materials
and
in
clearly
legible
condition."
"Too
many
people
out
there
are
getting
objects
that
obstruct
or
distort
their
plates,"
said
Lt.
Byron
Hope,
head
of
the
police
department's
traffic
safety
office.
Lt.
Hope
said
violation
of
the
new
law
is
a
"primary
charge,"
meaning
police
officers
can
stop
violators
for
no
other
reason
than
having
obscured
plates.
The
new
law
is
aimed
at
motorists
who
apply
or
install
products
on
their
license
plates
that
"obscure
[plates]
from
photo-radar
cameras
or
police
being
able
to
adequately
see
or
identify
a
vehicle,"
Miss
Hazel
said.
While
clear
or
tinted
license-plate
shields
are
easy
to
detect,
other
products,
such
as
spray-on
applications
designed
to
thwart
traffic
cameras
likely
still
will
present
problems
for
police.
Manufacturers
of
one
product,
a
canned
spray
called
PhotoBlocker,
say
their
product
places
hyperreflective
covers
over
license
plates
that
make
them
unreadable
when
traffic
cameras
flash.
The
spray,
marketed
by
online
merchant
PhantomPlate
(www.phantomplate.com),
costs
$29.99.
Joe
Scott,
marketing
director
for
PhantomPlate,
said
the
intent
of
the
product
is
to
"fight
unjust
traffic
tickets."
He
said
he
is
not
concerned
about
the
new
law.
"They
are
not
making
it
illegal
to
buy
it
or
sell
it,"
Mr.
Scott
said.
"It's
good
marketing
for
us.
It
was
hard
for
us
to
convince
people
the
product
worked,
even
with
all
the
tests.
Why
would
they
make
it
illegal
if
it
didn't
work?"Mr.
Scott
said
that
the
company
has
sold
30,000
cans
of
PhotoBlocker
and
that
he
has
never
heard
a
complaint
that
police
detected
the
spray
applied
to
a
license
plate.
"It's
a
high-gloss,
clear,
reflective
finish,"
he
said.
"They
won't
know."
Lt.
Hope
agreed
that
the
spray
is
difficult
to
detect.
"From
the
ones
I've
seen,
unless
you
get
up
close
and
see
a
film,
no,
you
can't,
[detect
it]"
Lt.
Hope
said.
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