Maybe 1-Plate Drivers Have a Screw Loose

Our recent column about vehicles without front license plates drew responses from readers who speculated that some sneaky drivers are trying to outsmart cameras designed to catch red-light-running drivers (“For Some, Vanity Means No Plate at All Up Front,” Jan. 12).

“Not having a front license plate is an advantage with the ‘robot cameras’ that are being installed at intersections and railroad crossings,” wrote T.T. of Echo Park. Since the cameras capture an image of the front of the vehicle, the front license plate and the driver, he noted, “no front plate equals no ticket.”

He could be right. And if he is, what a bunch of sleazy characters these drivers must be. Red-light running is one of the most dangerous acts of aggressive driving--and it’s on the rise, according to federal transportation and emergency trauma officials.

Under state law, specifically Section 5200 of the California Vehicle Code, motorists must display both license plates issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (motorcycles and trailers are issued only one plate).

Police in Beverly Hills, which in 1997 became one of the first cities in the state to install red-light cameras, found that many autos were sailing through intersections minus their front license plates.

Because the city’s camera system photographs only the front plate and front-seat occupants, Police Lt. Albert Munoz-Flores said, “we were concerned . . . and started vigorously enforcing the law” requiring two plates.

Since the city installed the cameras at three of its busiest intersections, he said, “the number of red-light-running violations we’ve observed and captured [on film] has decreased about 50%.

“We’ve had cars run red lights without front plates. But as a practical matter, it’s very difficult to locate the driver and vehicle without the plate.”

*

Perhaps other law-enforcement agencies should follow that lead and step up their vigilance. After all, California leads the nation in accidents resulting from red-light running, said Stephanie Macadaan, a spokeswoman for the Western Insurance Information Service, an industry-funded research group.

Although more than 29,000 citations for missing front license plates were issued last year by the California Highway Patrol alone, law enforcement officials acknowledge that such equipment violations are of lower priority than more serious problems that could endanger motorists.

Nevertheless, if reckless road warriors are beating the system and a $271 ticket by refusing to display their front plates, we should be cracking down on them. It could save lives.

Garden Grove began using the cameras just last week. Concerned about the number of motorists who don’t display their front license plates, the city chose a camera system that photographs both the front and rear plates, said George Allen, city traffic engineer.

“We know that it has presented a problem in other cities,” he said.

The Federal Highway Administration reported earlier this month that the use of red-light-running cameras could reduce the dangerous offense by 20% to 60%.

Munoz-Flores said a driver was recently caught zipping through a red light at 34 mph in a busy intersection where the speed limit was 25.

“Imagine if they broadsided a vehicle, what kind of injuries it could cause,” he said.

*

Another reader complained about the number of expired license plate tags he and his family have spotted. D.J.S. of Laguna Hills said that on a recent trip within California, his family even spotted an expired tag from October 1997.

“Is this not a good source of revenue for our state, or is this just a fee that some of us choose to pay?” he asked.

Expired license tag scofflaws will get their due, DMV spokesman Evan Nossoff said: “We’ll catch them eventually, and they’ll pay a lot of penalties.”

How much? That driver still cruising around with 1997 tags could be assessed as much as $1,040 for not having bothered to renew his tags, Nossoff said, assuming the registration fee for the vehicle in question was $400. Under the law, if tags are expired two or more years, the additional fine is 160% of the original fee. Ouch!

And, finally, despite an Orange County BMW salesman’s claim in our column that license plate brackets are on the German brand’s cars when their new owners drive them off the lot, one reader said that wasn’t his experience--and he ended up getting a ticket in Beverly Hills.

“I recently purchased a brand-new M3 convertible with no front bracket or facility for mounting one,” wrote D.W. “After the ticket, I went back to the dealer, who had a mechanic drill two holes in the front bumper so that he could install a front bracket. It never came with one, and I wasn’t asked if I wanted one installed!”

Munoz-Flores of the Beverly Hills Police said many drivers stopped for not having front plates indicate that dealers don’t provide the brackets; others claim they didn’t know the law.

“I think the drivers don’t put them on because they think the cars look nicer,” he said, confirming the observation that inspired our column last time out.

Jeanne Wright cannot answer mail personally but responds in this column to automotive questions of general interest. Write to Your Wheels, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. E-mail: highway1@latimes.com.