ADVICE NEEDED: Anti-Photo (Super Reflective / Prism) License Plate Covers

[arwalden]

Just got a speeding ticket in the mail courtesy of the Metropolitan Washington DC Police Department.

It was one of their checkpoints with an automatic camera and radar. Big Brother at it again! Grrr.

I hear that there are super-shiny products you can spray on your license plate... and prism/sparkle or ultra-reflective covers that will obscure your plate numbers when viewed from a certain angle... or that will simply overexpose a flash photo (thereby making the photo "evidence" ineffective and eliminating a ticket.)

TWO QUESTIONS:
====================

1) Is this legal?
2) Does it work?

Anyone ever hear of this or have any experience with it?

-- Allen

[R Hickey]

1. Such gimmicks attract police.

Save your money and try to drive slower.

[rfranklin]

2. Here in New Jersey...

There is a statute against obscuring your licence plates, but the Fast and Furious types put rounded, darkly tinted plastic covers over their licence plates and the cops don't seen to bother with them. You can almost not see the plate numbers from a distance of ten feet or more.

[ronnykmarshall]

5. I agree ...

Just lost a friend in traffic accident yesterday. Pay the god damn fine count your blessing YOUR husband isn't dead.

[arwalden]

7. Nice.

I'm a bit surprised.

-- Allen

[ronnykmarshall]

11. Why?

Allen,

I'm sorry if you're offended by my remark. But a traffic ticket is nothing compared to what my friend is going.

She's lost her husband and faces an unsure future. They own a business together and now with David's death not only has she lost the love of her life, but her business may not survive.

You were speeding, you got ticket. Be greatful that's all that happened.

I'm sure Debby would paid a fucking million traffic tickets to have her husband back right now.

Sorry, but your troubles with this speeding ticket and attempt to avoid them in the future seem petty to me right now.

[arwalden]

13. I Was Surprised At Your Tone And Demeanor and Language... That's All

Not exactly what I expect in the lounge. Not what I'd expect from you. That's why I was surprised.

But, when you really think about it, my post about my trouble with silly-looking hubcaps could be considered "petty" when compared to what your friend is going through. I guess everyone petty problems in the lounge qualifies to be a target compared to what your friend is dealing with.

Best of luck to her.

-- Allen

[Devils Advocate NZ]

3. Would you fire a gun randomly down a street?

Becuase when you speed, that is pretty much the same thing.

Speed kills. Slow the fuck down.

[arwalden]

4. Nice.

[AntiBushRepub]

6. You are looking that that polarized plastic..

It's some kind of polarized plexiglass that is prefectly transparent when viewed straight on, but more opaque the more of an angle you look at it from.

[Romulus]

8. maybe the spray

is "legal" because you can't really tell if it's on. :evilgrin:
I heard a story on NPR about the spray actually working, but one couldn't eyeball the plate to see if it had been applied.

I saw a DC plate in Rockville that had the "prism" thing over its plate. I was pretty surprised the guy was driving around with the thing on because the prism effect caught my eye as I was walking by, and I wasn't really paying any attention until I saw the movement out of the corner of my eye, so I'm sure a cop would be on the lookout for that sort of thing.

I hear you about the cameras. If surveillance cameras made us safer, there would be no crime in DC, or spy-camera-happy UK, for that matter. :eyes:

[arwalden]

9. I'm Leaning Towards Choosing The Spray...

... I don't want to attract a lot of unnecessary attention. ;-)

-- Allen

[Fenris]

10. No, they do not work

Not sure about the legality, though. I've never heard of anyone actually having any luck with these products.

[DavidMS]

12. There is an even easier and 100% legal way not to get tickets...

don't speed.

The speed trap camera systems are an invasion of privacy at best.

[arwalden]

14. OH! I Just Thought Of Something. If A Wife Is Cheating On Her Husband...

... and she gets a ticket from a cop while she's in the "wrong" town, then she can quietly pay it. But if she gets a photo-enforcement ticket, then the ticket (in all its blazing glory) arrives in care of the registered owner of the car.

Dear Mr. Sapp:

Here's a photo of your car that was taken
on 7-4-03 in Cheaters Heart, FL. Our radar
reports that you were going 11 miles over
the posted speed limit.

Blah blah blah.


Pretty funny, don't you think? An invasion of privacy indeed!!!

-- Allen