# License plate covers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2019, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133 "2019-05-17T23:23:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/21 "2019-05-19T01:43:22Z")
[https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zento-Deals-Clear-Smoked-License-Plate-Shields-2-Pack-License-Plate-Clear-Smoked-Shields-Covers/881006313](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zento-Deals-Clear-Smoked-License-Plate-Shields-2-Pack-License-Plate-Clear-Smoked-Shields-Covers/881006313) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/22 "2019-05-19T12:04:48Z")
Modern problems require modern solutions: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eHz99BsfToA/hqdefault.jpg "Florida man uses license plate shield to avoid paying toll") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHz99BsfToA) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/23 "2019-05-19T12:06:10Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The frame that came from the dealer was pink, and my wife hated it, so I looked for a new one for her birthday. The nicest ones at the auto store were clear covers. The frames were all NASCAR logos and other such nonsense. > I have frames for my car and I’m not going to change them. > > BTW, since we have to replace registration stickers every year, something that that keeps me from having to clean off the plate before I do so isn’t bad. But it wasn’t a requirement. OK. My car came with pink frames too. I think it had to do with breast cancer awareness month. I just took them off and put the plate right on the car. No frame. I’ve always just wet my thumb, wiped the dirt off the old sticker and put on a new one. To each his own, happy trails. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/24 "2019-05-19T14:11:10Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Modern problems require modern solutions: > > [https://youtu.be/eHz99BsfToA](https://youtu.be/eHz99BsfToA) Wow, that should be loss of plates. No more driving for him. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/25 "2019-05-19T14:11:24Z")
I walked past the line of fleet cars in our company garage. They all have license plate covers. None of the employee cars do. From any angle wider than about 30 degrees off dead-on you can’t see the whole number on the cars with covers. You can see them on the others from a much more acute angle. Probably would not obscure the plate from a toll booth or red light camera. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/26 "2019-05-19T14:23:58Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Probably would not obscure the plate from a toll booth or red light camera. They don’t work, the cameras are designed to defeat them. As long as the plate number is visible to the human eye, the cameras can read them as well. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/27 "2019-05-19T14:30:57Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > They don’t work, the cameras are designed to defeat them. As long as the plate number is visible to the human eye, the cameras can read them as well. The problem occurs when there is a tiny, glare from the sun or an angle. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/28 "2019-05-19T15:05:11Z")
It seems this is one of those cases where you may be stopped IF police behind you on the road observe that they can’t read the plate from a reasonable distance due to the cover. All states forbid anything that impedes easy observation of the reg number. This being regulated at the state level, each will have their own definition of what is an impediment and how much impediment is too much, I suppose some may include provisions for angle of visibility and for visibility under illumination/glare. [NCSL page on State license plate regulations](http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/transportation-license-plate-policy-update.aspx) > [@](#): > > Frames and Covers > > All 50 states address license plate frames and covers because certain frames and covers can impair visibility for law enforcement officers. Some states directly regulate license plate frames and covers, while others more generally prohibit the obstruction of license plate readability. Utah law, for example, requires license plates to be clearly legible from a distance of at least 100 feet during daylight hours. However, it should be noted that more regulations and prohibitions are imposed on covers than on frames. In California, it is unlawful to cover a license plate, even if the cover is transparent. In a federal case on this issue, a California court found that a tow hitch left on a vehicle trailer when not being towed could be considered an obstruction, even if it only blocks the view of a portion of the plate from a small angle. Although many states allow frames, they permit only covers that in no way alter the color or appearance of a license plate. Texas motorists must not attach or display a license plate cover that contains a blurring or reflective matter that significantly impairs the readability of the plate or any attached illuminate device or stick, decal or emblem. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/29 "2019-05-19T16:37:21Z")
Note that from time to time one hears about someone being sent a ticket (sometimes from another state) claiming that they ran a red light or some such for a car that is clearly not theirs. The automated license plate scanner misread the tag. And all too often there is no way to appeal this without going to court to point out the obvious problem (different brand of car, etc.). And that is costly even if it’s the local court, never mind one halfway across the country. So one way of reducing this problem is to make your plate less readable to such devices. IOW: Saying categorically that there is no legitimate reason for doing this is an overstatement. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/30 "2019-05-19T16:43:38Z")
Actually, that happened to my parents; they received a bill for tolls in Massachusetts on a date when none of us were in the state. We appealed, but were denied, until my brother looked more closely at the photos or the video of the plate and saw that it was from a different state. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/31 "2019-05-19T17:16:05Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Note that from time to time one hears about someone being sent a ticket (sometimes from another state) claiming that they ran a red light or some such for a car that is clearly not theirs. The automated license plate scanner misread the tag. > > And all too often there is no way to appeal this without going to court to point out the obvious problem (different brand of car, etc.). And that is costly even if it’s the local court, never mind one halfway across the country. > > **So one way of reducing this problem is to make your plate less readable to such devices**. > > IOW: Saying categorically that there is no legitimate reason for doing this is an overstatement. Actually it is a great was to increase incorrect readings. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/32 "2019-05-19T20:11:12Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > The problem occurs when there is a tiny, glare from the sun or an angle. Not really, no. Cameras are pretty sophisticated and these things simply don’t work. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/33 "2019-05-19T20:15:01Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Actually it is a great was to increase incorrect readings. But for whom? Reducing the ease of a camera recording _your_ plate hardly increases the chances that _your_ plate will be misidentified as … yours. (It might affect others, however.) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/34 "2019-05-19T20:22:08Z")
i know certain jokers have a type of light over or around the plate that comes on when you turn off the car that makes it impossible to take a pic with a phone … cause we tried several times… if you took a pic it just was all white ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133/35 "2019-05-19T21:21:02Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Not really, no. Cameras are pretty sophisticated and these things simply don’t work. Not from the cameras, but the human eye. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plate-covers/834133.md?page=1)