License Plate Flippers Let Drivers Get Past Cops And Tolls – And States Are Cracking Down

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Cheapskates person agelong utilized a gadget known licence sheet flippers to debar paying tolls. To some, skipping retired connected paying to thrust connected toll roads whitethorn look akin to nan communicative of Robin Hood, but much hardened criminals besides usage licence sheet flippers to hide their identities.

While astir states person laws connected nan books making it forbidden to change aliases hide a vehicle's licence plate, Orlando Florida's News 6 reports a caller group of laws (HB 253) successful nan Sunshine State make doing truthful a much superior offense.

"HB 253 besides says that alterations to licence plates now represent a second-degree misdemeanor, alternatively than a noncriminal postulation violation.

This applies to immoderate of nan pursuing situations:

• Mutilating aliases defacing a registered licence plate

• Changing nan plate's color

• Applying reflective material, spray, covering aliases thing other that tin obscure nan plate

• Attaching an illuminated instrumentality that tin forestall personification from reference nan plate"

Just purchasing aliases owning a "license sheet obscuring device" successful Florida is now a second-degree misdemeanor that could onshore you 60 days successful jailhouse positive fines up to $500. People recovered blameworthy of "creating aliases selling" specified a device, a first-degree misdemeanor tin spell to jailhouse for a twelvemonth on pinch a $1,000 fine. Using a instrumentality to obscure your licence sheet while committing a crime is simply a third-degree felony pinch fines up to $5,000 and 5 years successful prison.

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Laws successful different states, specified arsenic Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Texas (although Texans could beryllium justified successful hiding 1 of the worst authorities licence sheet designs), are imposing stiffer penalties for obscuring a vehicle's licence sheet arsenic well. While devices utilized for hiding licence plates primitively had benign uses, a increasing inclination sees them utilized much often by criminals, according to Stateline.

"License sheet flippers are commonly utilized for artistic purposes astatine car shows, wherever they let drivers to move betwixt civilization aliases ornamental plates. But crossed nan country, thousands of drivers besides flip aliases screen their licence plates to evade discovery — whether by rule enforcement, toll systems aliases automated velocity cameras."

Tennessee's anti-plate-flipping rule went into effect successful July 2024, nether which buying aliases possessing a licence sheet flipper is classified arsenic a Class B misdemeanor. In addition, nan rule specifies a Class A misdemeanor-charge for anyone who "acts pinch criminal negligence and manufactures, sells, offers to sell, aliases different distributes a licence sheet flipper."

The Tennessee rule describes a licence sheet flipper arsenic immoderate manual, electronic, aliases mechanical instrumentality that allows a centrifugal conveyance usability to obscure nan vehicle's licence plate. Obscuring a licence sheet includes alternating betwixt 2 aliases much plates, hiding nan sheet from view, aliases making nan licence numbers "not visible."

The civilized of nan story? Don't do forbidden worldly unless you're fresh for nan penalty.