State House votes to ban license plate flippers
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The Washington state House has passed a measure to make it illegal to use license plate flipper technology that enables switching between two license plates while driving.
The measure passed Saturday would also ban manufacturing license plate flippers in the state.
The James Bond-style contraptions make it easier for vehicles to avoid being identified by toll cameras and police.
Republican Rep. Larry Haler of Richland is the bill sponsor. He said law enforcement views the devices as an officer safety risk.
Selling or using a license plate flipper would under the bill be a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Officers could also impound vehicles with the devices installed.
Passed by an 87-11 vote, the bill heads next to the Senate.
The measure passed Saturday would also ban manufacturing license plate flippers in the state.
The James Bond-style contraptions make it easier for vehicles to avoid being identified by toll cameras and police.
Republican Rep. Larry Haler of Richland is the bill sponsor. He said law enforcement views the devices as an officer safety risk.
Selling or using a license plate flipper would under the bill be a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Officers could also impound vehicles with the devices installed.
Passed by an 87-11 vote, the bill heads next to the Senate.
So if I have a license plate flipper with the same, correct plate on both sides, that will now be illegal? You know, if one gets dirty, I can flip it, so the patrolmen have a nice clean one to look at...
Thanks I never thought of that! I need to get me one of those...
I was not aware this existed.
The police have license plate recognition in their cars and parking enforcement vehicles. These systems high speed scan hundreds of license plates they pass each hour looking for stolen cars, expired tags, excessive parking violators, Registered owners with dui/criminal warrants or attempt to locates. Thats how many stolen cars are recovered
another job busting govt laws:)
How did we end up with all these PARANOID Politicians? We already have a $500 fine for driving with the wrong plates and with 1000's of cameras on peoples phones that will take pictures of your license plate flipping cause they are paying and you are not it is just a waste of your money and time to put a flipper on your vehicle and our politicians to make this law.
@32jim2Â My thoughts almost exactly. Â It's ALREADY illegal to have different plates on a vehicle. Â Just another example of stupid politicians passing stupid laws which cost thousands of tax dollars!Â
They should ENFORCE the laws we have and only make new ones only if there's a significant need for it.
When flippers are outlawed only outlaws will have flippers!
Having plates that don't match the vehicle turns it from a regular traffic stop to a felony traffic stop were you are more likely to get shot by the police officer.Â
@32jim2 In reality it means there will be six cops ordering you out of the car with their hands on their guns. A Libertarian fantasy come true by the drivers own conduct...
Finally Olympia has put the brakes on license plate flipping. Already, thousands of you are snickering wondering whats the big deal about LPF's? It's a gateway crime where there could be a university study that shows this type of criminal activity leads to compromises of our national defence system. Homeland security has already classified this as one top 10 MO's of alkida the terrorist mofia
@BuddyHolly terrorists steal the whole vehicle or the plates cause they are too broke to by high tech stuff. They won't be installing flippers on their vehicles. HS has to come up with ideas to justify their jobs and budget.
Really? You don't have anything better to be working on? I would think there are more pressing issues to be settling!
How about spending the time and money to fix the toll systems. I used 520 once a while back. I never got the bill in the mail. I was watching for it. Then, I got a delinquent notice, with completely unreasonable penalties. I appealed it, but, no-go. I paid it, but it is unfair. It is a flawed sytem, somewhere. I'll never drive a tolled road again. This state has a pattern of doing stuff half-way, such as auto-toll system on 520, and leaking, defective pontoons....
Really Politicians?? where did you get the information this is a serious issue and people are doing this. ITs against the law and if they are doing it, arrest them, gessh I can' imagine its more than .001 % of people are that smart and want to Evade tolls anyway. So your passing new laws that protect law enforcement in what way??? protecting them against a backlash of BAD laws..... Get a life and balance the budget.....
@JustAnotherMo Someone's been watching too many movies...
I saw this on Mythbusters as they were trying to prove you can't jam radar and get out of a speeding ticket. The only way was to flip your plate. Someone else must have seen the show!
Since the plates are issued by the state for that vehicle only, it would seem that display of the wrong plate would be illegal - SO why a special law? What else is burried in this new legislation? Why does this action a danger to law enforcement? Are they so lame at identification they need a license number? Vehicle could be equiped with recognition signal devices.
i believe law enforcement 'runs a plate number' in the computer before or at a traffic stop - if the plate does not match the vehicle it would perhaps alert the officer to unexpected danger before approaching the vehicle.Â
Anything that effects the states ability to collect money gets all the attention.  "The James Bond-style contraptions make it easier for vehicles to avoid being identified by toll cameras"
@JeepRex The proper word in this instance is affects, not effects.
@Furd You got what I meant to say? Hopefully? If you get hung up on that small grammatical error, lets hope that breathing is not a chore.
@JeepRex @Furd If you cannot properly express your thought it is no ones fault but yours.
@JeepRex So you are for illegal behavior? And you wonder why we must have so many rules.
@thebigteacher No, these have been around for years, but the fact they list a loss of revenue as the main reason for cracking down on them is what prompted me to write what I said.Â
"ban ban ban ban ban ban ban ban ban ban ban ban ban ban ban.......ban" - WA government
Wow I really never knew something like even existed in real life.
Once again, they really prove their priorities are in the right place. </sarcasm>
@Zoso This time they are. </no sarcasm>
Good. I pay my tolls and taxes. Everyone else should as well. Don't like it, and I cannot blame you, write your Congressman. Also need to ban those license plate covers "to keep my plate clean". And pursue HOV lane violators, too, while we are at it.
Plate covers are already illegal. From WSP: "It is unlawful to use any holders, frames, or any materials that in any manner change, alter, or make the vehicle license number plates illegible. Tinted and non-tinted covers can alter the appearance of or the reflectivity of the plate and make it unreadable or reduce the reflectivity. (RCW 46.16.240)"
Thanks Olympia. You again have proved me right
I'm so glad they're doing something important.
Government is always playing catch up. Â Humans are just naturally smarter than politicians. Â
I had no idea they existed ;-) See a lot of people driving without front plates and really milky acrylic plate covers...Â
@Komo Dragon They've been around since the 80's. Didn't you ever watch Knight Rider?
I can't see that this is a big enough problem for them to be worrying about when there are much more pressing issues.
@The Resistance Anything that negatively affects the constant stream of cash they are squeezing out of us immediately moves right to the front of the line.
@belsnickles Do you not belong to a society? In a society you give up certain freedoms to assure others. How, as a society, do we pay for those things we need? Roads? Bridges? Military? Law Enforcement?
@belsnickles @thebigteacher Instead of a monetary punishment should we incarcerate?Â
@thebigteacher @belsnickles We tax people, then we make certain that we use those tax revenues responsibly, treating them with the  reverence due something that has cost people their time and sweat, instead of acting as though they're ours to fritter away, then come back and ask for MORE when we've blown through everything .  That's how.
RATS... I could have had a license plate flipper until now?? I didn't even know that was a thing. I would have used it just to send thank you messages to polite drivers! Unless I could get a three-sided flipper!
They are the ones who created a market for these devices in the first place by sticking cameras all over
Damn! There goes the easiest way to beat those jokers. Oh well I have another idea, best kept to myself.
@oldster70Â Try this:Â http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/10/23/nophoto_license_plate_device_defeats_red_light_cameras.html
what a waste of time. there are already laws that forbid these. if you use it to avoid tolls they are considered a burglary tool and illegal to use currently. lets spend our time balancing the budget instead.
@dorimonsonfan Maybe ones that forbid the general concealment of license plates. But this new law is specific to this product and includes manufacturing and sales.
I'd like to know who the 11 boneheads are that voted for it? Â Libertarians?Â
@DTÂ NO - a Libertarian would NOT vote for another regulation- especially one to prop up other poor laws.
There were 11 of them that voted against it??? Must have been getting kickbacks!