It Is Against the Law to Coat Your License Plate to Evade Traffic Cameras - Lehto's Law Ep. 4.18 

To talk to much and are boring

I am an airline pilot and was based in Phoenix at the time. Phoenix decided to install speed cameras on the freeway. The freeway ran right next to the airport. We were coming in to land and the camera went off and blinded both of us flying the airplane. We filed the proper reports and the camera was switched to red lenses within a week. Apparently, the red does not work as well and they were removed within a month. They removed all the speed cameras with 5 miles of the airport.

I'm a fan of the people that throw a tire around the cameras and lights them on fire. Doing gods work.

How dare people stop the state from extorting them.

My plastic wrap is made domestically, it is not a foreign material. lol

I wonder how many judges would also agree that the flash from that strobe constitutes a road hazard/distraction.

Hi Steve: I have listened to a lot of your videos and enjoy them very much. You give a gift of info from a lawyer that most people would not be able to afford. This video brings up the problem of intersection cameras. Many people think they are unconstitutional and tell everyone to fight these tickets. I never thought about them much other than to think they give tickets to people who speed. Then one day I got a ticket from one of these from a city 150 miles away from me that I have only been to once in my life and that was when I was young and I was on a bus.. I called the police to argue that it was not me and they said I had to take it up with the judge. They did not send me a photo so I requested that they look at it closer and make sure they send me one as they should have. When he said the plate was on a van I explained that I have never had a van in my life, he was going to give me a ticket for putting the plate on a van as well. After a lengthy discussion he looked close enough to see it was a plate from BC in Canada and not mine. They sent me a letter that said after an investigation they were going to cancel the ticket. I started to wonder if this was a common mistake or if there was something else going on. I got another ticket sent to me from a city 50 miles from me for 10 over the limit. I always do my best to never speed and have never got a ticket for speeding before in my life so was very surprised by this. I found out that my speedometer was out about 5 but that would not explain why they claim 10. I came to the conclusion that there camera must be out as well. They claim that the cameras are 100% accurate. My investigation convinced me that they are not that accurate at all and in some cases their accuracy is zero. There are some cars that these cameras do not see at all so they can speed at any rate they want past these cameras and not ever get a ticket. Can a person challenge these cameras on a constitutional ground that they violate the constitution because they do not treat all citizens equally under the law? The sensor under the road only picks up on steel belted tires and not teflon corded racing tires. A person who has an alloy frame and rimes with racing tires can go any speed they want past these cameras and never get a ticket. The company that makes the cameras explain on their site that an officer must do math calculations for both distance and angle for each lane to set up the camera. I asked officers if they do that and they said that they never do. They would mean they are putting the wrong speed on the tickets. It turns out that they also make a mistake in the math for miles per hour. To tell if a person is going the posted speed limit they must clock you for one mile to miles per hour. It is an average of how fast you drive in one mile. The radar clocks you for 1/10 000th of a second for about 1/16 th of an inch. They do not even do the average for the mile but ticket you as if you were going that speed for a mile. They have no data on the mile they claim you were speeding and they did not clock you for that mile. This is a major math error on these cameras because the road is posted in miles per hour. The other part of this fraud is that they change the time to as little as 2.5 seconds for the yellow light that makes it impossible for a person to stop before the red light. The yellow light should be at least 6 to 8 seconds and a count down timer to show how long the yellow light has been on. The fact that they change the yellow light is evidence of fraud to force people to run the red light. This time has been recorded on tickets to show it was reduced to 2.5 seconds. I found about ten things that make these cameras unconstitutional and a scam to rip off the citizens and . There have even be government officials who have taken bribes to vote these in against the citizens wishes. My question to you is how would a person fight these in court on a constitutional argument to get the ticket thrown out??? Thank you for the time you put into your channel to help people understand the law in a fun and educational way. I am sure there are thousands of people who would love to hear what you have to say about this. Owen Prince

My Dodge Coronet has the gas filler behind the license plate and folds down to access the cap. Too bad it always seems to fall down when the traffic cameras are around.

I'm not so concerned about the red light or speed cameras. I'm very concerned about the license plate readers that record your location, date and time and store that indefensibly by private companies and is sold back to law enforcement and other government agencies. I personally think this is a violation of privacy. The government should not be tracking citizens who have not committed a crime.

Ohio supreme court passed a law that said speed/red light cameras can be used but a police officer has to be at that location or all tickets will be voided. So basically Ohio has no more cameras because they couldn't station an officer at each location.

I drive my 16 year old Durango on 25 miles of gravel roads every day and its been years since it’s been washed. The only time my plate is legible is once a year when I have to clean the corner of it to apply the new tag. I live in Michigan and have never been stopped for it.

There is also another way to do this and that is to mount a infrared light by your plate pointing toward the camera. It doesn't have to be big, they make small ones. You may have to mount two, I don't remember. But your not altering the plate in any way. The infrared light is not visible to the human eye, but it over expose the photo severely and they will be able to read the plate.

We need to start taking a bat to these equipment happens enough times they stop fixing the cameras. Not to mention the camera’s are run by a private company the city doesn’t even own them.

They have a nasty tendency to shorten yellow lights at photo enforced lights

I stopped but my front wheels went over the line. The red light camera took a photo and sent me a $300 ticket. I went to the courts to try to fight it. They wouldn't let it go. In fact there was a room full of people all with the same complaints and the only ticket the judge let pass was a pregnant woman who said she was going the gyno for "woman issues". The 30 or so people that with me were pretty upset seeing we didn't run a red light but we couldn't prove that we weren't still moving even though the speedometer clocked me going 9 mph at the time. Funny thing is I didn't write a check to the city I got the ticket in. It was to a 3rd party company in Cincinnati Ohio and why it was so hard to fight as I would have to petition for pictures, video, calibration of the machines used and it would just take too much time and effort than to pay the ticket. It's a scam. It's a freaking scam and all red light cameras should be taken down.

They always pull me over, whether I have a license plate or not.

These cameras were ruled unconstitutional in the state of Florida yet some counties still utilize them. Total bull#$@&!

You are missing a big point to this, traffic cameras are illegal. This is why traffic cameras are civil and not criminal. You cannot face your accuser in court with a traffic camera. While attending a defensive driving class the instructor explained this process as a side conversation. He himself told the collection agency pursuing the fines to screw. This is why it goes through collections and NOT the court.The camera does not indicate if the light malfunctioned? The camera cannot determine an emergency situation where Police or fire vehicles may be causing delays or stoppages at the intersection or roadway. Traffic cameras violate constitutional rights on every angle... so why this discussion?

Red light camera now illegal in tx

They don’t Mail the driver a ticket, they mail the registered owner a ticket.

We have people here with dark plastic "dust covers" over the plate. You can't even read these in the middle of a sunny day. Yet they seem to go completely untouched for it.

My ex hasn't got a ticket in 40 yrs. she just flies her broom stick over the camera's ,their pointed towards the ground .

What about the guy in the Netherlands that stole a cops plate put it on his car and blew past a speed cam at over 100 lol.

Technically, the flash reflected obscures the camera. The spray does not affect the plate's legibility, the flash does that to the camera. Also, since the flash originates elsewhere, it is the camera's flash that is causing the camera to read the plate as illegible.

One of my maintenance techs that works for me took me out to his car during lunch and showed me his new invention. He had me stand behind his car and when he flipped a hidden switch, a cover shot up out of its hiding place and covered his plate. He is an RC hobbyist and used his little servos and actuators to make the mechanism. The fabric is like an accordion bellows or one of those hand held fans that spread out. It goes up in about half a second and will stay there until the switch is turned off. He says he uses it when he goes over the Indiana-Kentucky border on the Louisville bride. It's a toll bridge without a toll booth. It snaps a pic of your plate and mails you a bill. Very cool.

This whole question boils down whether or not people in general have any input into the laws and regulations they must live by.

One thing comes to mind is shouldn’t we have the right to face our accuser how does it work with machines that are more or less inanimate

Can you place your license plate upside down? It will be horizontal! If you get a special license plate, will just letters, say HIOWOM, then you might confuse the software that runs the software. Is it legal to spray the whole area by the license plate but NOT the plate with this spray?

A wise man once said. It isn’t illegal if you can’t be caught

How come you never talk about the Transportation Act and how it applies too commerce and how it doesn't apply too non- driver status citizens?

Currently , there are millions of people in the streets in Paris and Hong Kong . People are fed up the the whole thing . Soon it will happen here . To paraphrase Johnny Paycheck's song about his job " Take this surveillance society and shove it " .

What about illuninating the plate with a very bright IR light? that will prevent a digital camera form taking a photo of it.

Not convinced, Steve. While yes, the spray could be deemed "foreign material" it does not make the license plate "illegible". Let's not forget that the definition of "legible" is the ability for someone (as in; a person with normal visual capacity) to read it. It does not extend to modes of technology designed also to read anything. Therefore a defendant can invite a jury or judge to a parking lot to see his/her vehicle and prove that the plate is indeed "legible" by the legal and dictionary definition of the term. There is no duty on the part of any driver to ensure their plate is "legible by any person, device or employed technology designed to read the symbols thereon". Until such a specific definition is passed into law, the spray coating remains perfectly legitimate. So long as the plate remains "legible" (readable by a person), it remains legal. In fact, I shall go farther: The term "legible" includes the definitions, "decipherable" and "easily deciphered". Meaning a license plate could be written in code! So long as a that code is "decipherable" or "easily decifered", it remains "legible" and therefore 'legal' by the definitions of the statute.

4503.21, A(2) Ohio Revised code just says the same a MI. HOWEVER License plate covers are allowed because you can still see the plate information. Also where I live the courts determined that a third party cannot levy a fine on a private citizen. So the traffic cameras are required to be operated with a LEO next to it. Cameras went away quick.

I can't imagine anyone has gotten a ticket for having a plate that's too clean and shiny. Has anyone? And why not spray the whole back of the car with it? Make the glare without spraying the plate at all.

Is it against the law to coat the camera?

You say the law states you can not use a foreign object to cover your license plate. What if it was made in the USA

If a license plate is capable of being read by a human being, say, a police officer, then it would be in compliance. Attorneys are usually the ones that come up with these laws to get passed and are the first to try and defend their stupidity for doing so... None of the laws I know of were built around what a machine can see or what it can't see....

You have the right to face your accuser in court. Bring that camera in for questioning.

the main problem with these traffic cameras is that, for the most part, the cameras are installed and the tickets issued, by private companies....their motivation is NOT "traffic safety", but REVENUE, and revenue only.....they operate the systems, issue the tickets, collect the money, and retain up to 80% of the income.....also, the company is also the appellate authority, so, justice is noted meted out because it might cost them cash.....the cameras are also indiscriminate, with no one actually reviewing the camera printouts.....they've mailed tickets to funeral processions, fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, stolen vehicles....also, they persuade their governmental partner to drastically reduce the duration of the yellow/amber warning lights, creating violations unfairly, in order to gain MORE revenue.....

I wonder if you can hang the plate upside down, it's not obscured and it's horizontal. Also can you put IR bulbs to over expose the plate to cameras and wash it out only to digital cameras?

Many States require both front and rear license plates. I am 90% sure that California is a state that requires them on both the front and back. If my memory is correct, New York does as well. I believe some States require one on the back, but the front is optional. Florida only issues one plate, and it must be on the rear. I have lived in too many different States...

10:02 ...in a clearly legible condition. Well technically cameras can't read. Cameras capture images. According to the ad, an officer looking at the plate can read it, so it is legible. An officer may not be able to read letters or numbers in the photo, but the photo isn't the license plate. It's a photo.

This channal has come along way since this time 5 years ago. Keep up the good work Lahto!

If undetectable, who’s ever gonna get caught using the license plate spray?

“Horizontal” could allow for upsidedown to be ok

Personally speaking I sleep better at night when I do this: KISS (Keep It Succinctly Simple). Reasonably aiming to obey traffic laws has so far served me well. Maybe I'm just too lazy, cheap and slightly paranoid (at least regarding this License Plate Coating trick). I count it too much trouble to go buy it, spray it, and then try to cover my tracks. I'd rather go to the expense of putting a healthy coat of Turtle Wax on the car body including the License Plates while at it. As long as I avoid excessive buffing of the plates I'm more likely to remain on strong moral if not legal footing. I now need to go get my tongue out of my cheek especially after composing that last preceding sentence. More mundane albeit necessary things like snow removal and laundry now beckon me.

It occurs to me knowing something about photography that if you can illuminate your plates so bright that they become overexposed and thus theoretically unreadable by being very washed out on the image, that you might just beat a camera. Time to start experimenting with the newest LED lighting and any cameras you have!

I drive a lifted jeep Cherokee that I have the front fenders removed for tire clearance when articulated. I was told by a local sheriff's dept Sgt that it was not legal. His claim was that all original equipment has to remain on the vehicle and I'm only allowed a few inches of tire exposed outside of the fender (he didn't know how much). My argument was open wheel hot rods and dune buggies that are perfectly street legal. I wasn't ticketed, but I can't find a Michigan law that clearly defines this issue either. Can you give any insight? I appreciate your videos, I've learned a lot.

According to your reading of Michigan's Vehicle Registration Code a license plate must be "clearly visible" and not covered or obscured with foreign substances to remain clearly legible. The spray or other devices seem to maintain the legibility of the registration plate. Is "legibility" legally analogous to photocopying or photographing? The cameras are electronically recording the vehicle's registration's tags. If law enforcement was directly behind the vehicle could the vehicle's registration tag be legible to the officer?

We have those cameras here. They run video 24/7 and only flash for a still when triggered. Even if it worked they would get your plate on the video before n after the flash. Even at night as these intersections are well lit.

Steve, what about a system that prevented the camera from taking a picture without technically obscuring a plate? Let's assume the cameras don't have infrared filters, if you put a wide angle infrared light on your car such that it flooded any camera's sensor would that be illegal?

Steve, You took a long time getting there. Kidding or not Gordon Ramsey couldn't run a hot dog stand.

Hmm is the ticket for running the red light more than the ticket for having the plate sprayed? LOL

In a neighboring municipality from me (California) it might ensure you get pulled over. They have license plate readers in the police cars and check license plates as they go along. Speeding or not. The fine for obscuring your license plate is $1100 . Probably because they use cameras for toll roads and bridges.

I have three infrared LEDs over my license plate. That’s all it takes. And they think it’s for my backup camera.

Actually would it not be based on when that law was entered onto the book? Pre camera detection would mean the obscurity of an officers vision, not a camera photo unless the law states obscurity of camera view

I am assuming Gordon was talking about the front of the car because here in the uk we have a front plate as well as a rear plate....speed cameras here tend to photograph the front of the car

Hi Steve - I have a question about 257.225 - 2. "free from foreign materials that obscure or partially obscure" I would think this means that its ok to place foreign materials that do not obscure the plate so that it is in a clearly legible condition (saran wrap maybe? lol) . I would argue that clearly legible means able to be read (As defined), and if someone take the plates into court, they can be read, clearly legible. Does clearly legible imply that it needs to be able to be read in every circumstance? Could an argument be made that the plate is clearly legible but the machines function (the camera flash) impaired itself (albeit because of foreign material). Maybe the law needs to be updated for new technology? Thanks!

But it does not state how far you must have visual view of the plate. 5 ft,10 ft? But there is a device that flashes a bright light on the plate that makes it impossible to read the numbers.

A number of the speed cameras also have adjacent cameras that shoot video, so, they'll try to see your rear plate, or other ways to identify the vehicle and driver if it becomes a habitual thing (not that I care, but that's what I've heard some municipalities do if they have tons of time on their hands).

In North Carolina I have seen many cars with tinted rigid plastic over the license plate. I can barely read the plate standing a few yards away. Why don't the police ticket those drivers?

If the law goes into so much detail. BUT, doesn't mention to be Legible for Cameras. I do not believe it is illegal. It simply must be mounted correctly, And Legible. The law doesn't mention legibility for Aircraft and Satellites either. Or at what distance. So I would argue legible to whom. And I would assume a good attorney could argue that. Or add it to the law. Since it explains everything else.

An added twist... You get pulled over for whatever reason one day, the cop can read your plate just as clear as day, but for whatever reason, something has caught his eye. Maybe it's just something on the ground and there's just enough ground wind to cause it to just kind of flutter around on the pavement just slightly. The cop then walks over to where he saw it on the ground and starts running his shoe back and forth on the ground, and it hits him... "Why can't I read this clown's license plate??? I could have sworn I saw it when I was still in the car, but now it's just a big black rectangle?" He takes several steps back, and he still can't see it. Then he stoops down and it's crystal clear again. He walks back over to the car again, stoops down and it's clear again. Then he starts slowly standing up again, and realizes that from a foot away, and at approximately a 45° angle, your license plate becomes invisible. "Wait a minute... maybe it's just the polarized lenses on my sunglasses creating an illusion". He takes his sunglasses off and it still does it. He's never seen this one before, so he calls back to HQ, tells dispatch what's going on, and before he has time to think, he has two State Troopers and three DMV Troopers (which is even worse than the Staties) all converging on him all at once. The only thing missing now is DOT Troopers and the FBI, but they have to come from a little further away and will be there momentarily.

The ONLY thing that can't read the plate if "treated" is the traffic camera. Regardless of the flash strength, the human eye can still read the plate. License plate covers can also prevent cameras from reading the plate and they are legal in most states. There are many, DOCUMENTED cases of LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL, JUDGES and their family members treating or covering their own plates to obscure from cameras! The human eye can still read the plate. Here in Washington state, it's the toll cameras most are trying to avoid as there aren't near as many traffic cameras.

But don’t most red light cameras take a video as well? I live in Philadelphia and have seen the citation. They show a couple different angles of the car going through the intersection, but also include a link where you can actually watch yourself go through the light. I would imagine that a video wouldn’t need the flash? Also, a red light camera citation is held against the car, therefore no points can be issued. Is that the same policy for a speed camera?

Girls from Germany told me that you use aqua net hairspray on the flash goes off the plates unreadable

what about uv or ir lights? They'd serve the same purpose but nothing is "added" to the plates. Here in Texas it states only that "all lights must function"

I got pulled over by the cops nearly 20 years ago, driving my Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite here in Australia. We are required to have a front and rear plate. The cops had a go at me because my license plate was not vertical I was able to talk my way out of it by saying the following: 1. The front bumper bar was optional extra on this car when sold, and mine does not come with it. 2. Do they think I really wanted to have 4 holes drilled through my freshly restored bonnet (hood) to put the license plates between the headlights (where it had been since new in 1962) 3. The only other place it could be placed (and not be a lethal weapon in case of a pedestrian strike) was directly across the radiator, which would cause the car to overheat. Not sure if its legal, but its where it has been, and I got away with it :-) The license plate is still there today!

Ledgible just means capable of being read or understood. When the laws concerning this were codified, cameras were not of much concern. Consequently, if a license plate is capable of being read by a human being, say, a police officer, then it would be in compliance.

So how do u prove who owns the automobile to charge them with placing the spray on the plate?

Steve, what if you used a bright blue light on your license plate when going through intersection such that there is no foreign material and its still visible to a human, but to the camera the contrast will be wrong so you won't be able to make out the letters and numbers with the camera?

10:00 - “..horizontal to the vehicle.” Interesting. Motorcycle parts shops sell a variety of vertical plate mounts for custom designs. Never heard it was illegal, nor heard of anyone getting a ticket for one, but I’d rather obey the law than argue with an officer. Thanx Steve!

if you install IR lights(Like security cams use) on/around your Lic.Plate it will blind the traffic cam but the human eye can't even see it you could even put in on a switch ,so you can turn it on/off

There is a light kit that over Illuminates your plate when you’re doing bad and the camera can’t read the information on the place. Is this legal?

_Lehto's Law: That's a Wrap!_

Here's my solution to running red lights: install those spikes in front of the crosswalk like they have at the entrances to rental car lots. The light turns red, the spikes come up out of the street, you run the light, you blow your tires. Would bring a stop to red light-running really quick! (This solution is tongue-in-cheek and yes, I know there are a number of practical implications such as emergency vehicles.)

It would be fairly easy to get a case like this dismissed and a precedent set if it came down to it, by bringing the plates into the court and displaying them to the Judge, who could ONLY decide in your favor. If the plates are clearly visible in normal daylight by the naked eye, the statute is effectively unenforceable. If a law enforcement agencies high tech imaging equipment is unable to take a recognisable simalcrum of a plate, thats their (and the traffic camera suppliers) technical issue that they need to resolve, if its proven that a human law enforcement officer could have effectively read the plates at the roadside...

Mythbusters did a show about this very idea and every spray/technique failed to prevent radar from reading the car's speed.

Hello Steve, I have thoroughly enjoyed your videos to the point I find myself searching for more of your videos although I am not always sure which are most recent or perhaps old. Anyway, I live in Florida and I understand your expertise does not include Florida, but regarding your informative video which distinguishes the use of Service animals versus Emotional service animals, I ran across something somewhere on the internet (I don’t remember where -lol) which stated that Landlords who only own and rent a single property and who are not a real estate professional, are exempt from accommodating Emotional Support animals. This may have only been relevant in Florida but as a layperson, I’m assuming it would have to be a HUD exemption since I assume the Federal regulations take precedence over state statutes. By any chance, do you know anything about such an exemption for individuals who only rent a single residence? Thank you.

I am pretty sure Myth Busters attempted the spray and various other methods to avoid detection; none worked.

License plate holders are also illegal if they obscure any portion of the plate, which they all do.

This one weird trick makes California lawmakers furious.

I have always added an inch wedge of plastic or wood behing the top of my lic plate . It tilts the plate down , bouncing the radar signal down, instead of back to the device. Does NOT "deface" or obstruct the plate!

There was a video the critiqued the product. They said it didn't work too well. They were still able to read the numbers. Also, it is the same thing as laminating a peice of paper. The laminate is not considered an obscurant to the paper, so why should the spray be considered an obscurant.

Steve, I got my 6 y/o niece a special edition Gordon Ramsey easy bake. It's caused her to suffer PTSD, do you think I have a case. Lol

Can it be cut to fit motorcycle plate?

Saw your old vid and love it. Here's one someone alters their Plate to change the number. I had a friend that happened to them. They did the change in cook county Ill. to avoid toll's what a nightmare he had to go thru to prove that it was not him, we're over 100 miles from there. He even won some cash on a lottery ticket an the state took it from him to pay fine's. I wonder what happened to the guy that did this when he was caught?

If memory serves me correctly, those 2 fine and entertaining fellers, Adam and Jaimie (also FKA The Mythbusters) did a segment on this topic a couple of years or so before they were replaced by the new crew. Their results were "BUSTED". They actually tried each of the "viral mythical solutions" available at the time and only one of them (I believe) rated a "-1 vote" (BUSTED) and a "0 vote" (PLAUSIBLE). All of the rest of the methods tested were all "-2 votes" (BUSTED). Thanks for the videos! Regardless of what some may say, I find them, at minimum, entertaining...and always interesting!

In Nevada it is illegal for them to use cameras for the issuance of any traffic offenses it is considered an invasion of privacy

Is that beard legal? I'm not sure what to think but we will have to see. Thanks for the videos.

Almost every government has laws against obscuring a license plate. My jurisdiction, like others, moved from paint on the stamped metal to a plastic or vinyl wrap, basically, which is reflective just enough to assist photographing the plate in low light conditions. However, the older, non-reflective plates were never taken out of service. Owning one of these would make it a little bit harder to get a good image, completely legally.

The only reason I didn't buy a spray like that and put it on my car was that I read and found out that it was illegal. Once you have something like that and a cop catches you, they're going to make sure that it's at least psychologically a little more difficult that a simple ticket. This kind of reminds of the whole radar detector concept where it's legal to sell them, to have them, but not to use them. If it works, no one will know you used it but, if it doesn't work, you could get caught trying to use it. I don't remember what the penalty for it was but the whole concept is really weird. I guess it's really a matter of game theory. If you cheat and your opponent doesn't, you may very well win but you might get caught. If you don't cheat, your opponent might and they might win and not get caught. So it comes down to a cost-benefit-morals analysis.

Love your videos

You no longer have the right to face your accuser. Second, did not the last week the USSC hand down that enforcement in order to be fund government is not acceptable?

I just wanna know where I can get my hands on a can of that spray!

Hello Steve; Looking at your article above, how often would this need to be applied. ? Daily / weekly / monthly. We don't have this product here in Australia. WP.

I would like to out law those cameras

I'm watching these out of order. When I saw the beard, I thought Steve had been replaced.

Significantly, although existing Michigan “has no state law” specifically allowing or prohibiting red-light and speed cameras, a 2007 opinion from Michigan's Attorney General suggests both forms of “automated enforcement” would be “invalid.” Apr 6, 2015