Oh yeah, this is perfectly legal.
Somebody with a bit of ingenuity and an obvious disdain for automated red light cameras decided to get even by inventing a thin screen for front and rear license plates. While from a direct angle the plates are clearly visible, from an angle – like those that red light cameras rely on – the numbering on the plate is blurred and indecipherable.
Now, Capt. Michael Glasser of the New Orleans Police Department is being reviewed by the Public Integrity Bureau after it was discovered that his police vehicle used one of these screens as well.
The situation is sticky, to say the least: No law expressly forbids such a screen, though the law does state that license plates must be ‘clearly visible’ from 50 feet and unobstructed. Obviously, the rear plates aren’t visible from the front-end of the car, and neither plate is visible from the side. So if the car doesn’t count as an obstruction, how can a screen which still allows the plates to be read from in front and behind be illegal?
Nonetheless, this charge is particularly embarrassing for the Captain, whose job is ‘integrity control’ within the Special Operations Division, meaning he keeps the police from breaking their own rules. Which could make this look particularly bad on his background check. [Source; Image]
