California Bill 801 to ban license plate covers

[proudNMAmember]

California
(05/07) Car owners who spray their license plates with translucent glosses to avoid being caught by traffic enforcement cameras may soon find themselves breaking a California law under new legislation pending committee hearings in the state Senate. Assembly Bill 801 aims to ban the use of sprays and reflective covers that are applied to automobile license plates

[SpeedingVolvo]

LOL what a joke.

Good luck catching people who are using sprays and proving them guilty in court.

[proudNMAmember]

Anything for money huh SpeedingVolvo?

[bunny]

sprays don't even work really, right?

[proudNMAmember]

Depends bunny.

[StlouisX50]

I had already posted this and you had even replied to it But I deleted my post so there was not duplicate post(s).

This was what my news story said:

Ban on license plate sprays, covers moves through state Senate
Red-light runners, toll scofflaws cheating system, lawmaker says
By: Timothy Jue
Issue date: 5/14/07 Section: City News

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Car owners who spray their license plates with translucent glosses to avoid being caught by traffic enforcement cameras may soon find themselves breaking a California law under new legislation pending committee hearings in the state Senate.

Assembly Bill 801 aims to ban the use of sprays and reflective covers that are applied to automobile license plates, which renders them unreadable by red light and toll road enforcement cameras. The sprays overexpose the plate and render it unreadable - allowing the driver of the offending automobile to escape citation.

The author of the bill, state Representative Mimi Walters (R-Laguna Niguel), said motorists who use the sprays are cheating the state out of money.

"Too many Californians are trying to get away with not paying," said Walters in a KGO-TV interview.

Photo enforcement cameras are used in many California communities and have become a popular tool to catch red-light runners at busy intersections identified as problem spots.

They are also used on many of California toll roads and bridges that rely on camera technology to catch motorists who speed past toll plazas without paying cash or are not enrolled in the state's FasTrak electronic toll tag system.

At the Bay Area's bridges, cameras monitor lanes at toll plazas and in Southern California, they enforce Orange County toll roads where cars travel in reserved lanes - with lighter traffic - for a fee.

The cameras have also spawned a lucrative industry of license plate sprays and covers, according to legislators. Dealers, mostly running their business on the Internet, market their products ranging from $30 to $60 as a way to avoid being ticketed at monitored intersections.

"It was sold here once, but we pulled it off the shelf," said a local Kragen Auto Parts employee who refused to be identified. "The cops would hassle us about it."

Whether the sprays and covers work depends on the technology being used by different municipalities.

"It generally won't work with the system we have because it relies on a reflection of some kind," said Assistant Chief Steven Pierce of the Davis Police Department. "The fact is ours is video, it's not still photography."

Currently, four intersections in Davis are monitored by video-camera technology. Red-light runners caught by the cameras face a $380 citation and a point on their driving record.

As for selling sprays and covers that are specifically marketed toward violating traffic laws, law enforcement officials take issue with the products.

"It has no legitimate purpose other than to allow people to run red lights, endanger the public, and not be held accountable for it," Pierce said. "As a citizen, does that sound responsible to you?"



TIMOTHY JUE can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.

[proudNMAmember]

Sorry X50. I just skimmed through it to see if anyone else had posted it and must have not saw it. I hope you know I wouldn't do this intentionally bud? You never really know if someone else posts the same thing you do a week before unless you skim through more than one page. Have a great day X50. BTW, how's your V1 working out for you?

[SpeedingVolvo]

I'd like to "cheat the state out of some money."

[proudNMAmember]

I'd like to "cheat the state out of some money
LOL SpeedingVolvo .

[SpeedingVolvo]

Is using a radar detector to prevent a speeding ticket cheating the state out of money too?

In that case... I have "cheated the state out of money."