License plate gimmicks don't fool cameras

By Ari Cohn Tribune

License plate covers, film or other devices that attempt to obscure auto license plates from speeding enforcement cameras aren't likely to do much good in Scottsdale.

Ariz. Senate cracks down on license plate covers [http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/119209]

Jim Tuton, president of American Traffic Solutions, the company that operates photo enforcement on Loop 101 in Scottsdale, say tactics like using hair spray on a license plate cover, or using a cover that reflects light back at the camera, don't work anyway.

"It hasn't been a big issue for us," Tuton said.

Even so, a proposed state law is winding its way through the Legislature to enact a ban on such license plate treatments.

On Monday, the Senate approved a bill that includes provisions for banning the covers. The bill still needs approval from the House.

Current law states that a license plate must be clearly legible to the human eye, but it's not clear whether the law applies to license plate treatments intended to blur camera images, according to a report prepared by Bridget Schwartz Manock, Scottsdale government relations director.

Dave Pubins, Scottsdale Police Department spokesman, also said license plate treatments, if they have been used in Scottsdale, have not been successful.

"Nothing noticeable has come forward from this issue," Pubins said. "Our position is that if a license plate is illegible ... an officer has the authority to deal with that situation."

Tuton said the company's cameras on Loop 101 were developed with countermeasures that can see through attempts to obscure plates. Treatments designed to make license plates illegible if read from an angle are ineffective, he said.

Some plate covers can cause photo distortion, Tuton said, but his company is capable of resolving the images.