“License plate flippers” help drivers avoid the police, fines and tolls

In Tennessee and Pennsylvania, state and local lawmakers are cracking down on the operate of “license plate flippers,” devices that allow drivers to cover or conceal their license plates at the push of a button.

License plate flippers are often used for aesthetic reasons at car shows, where they allow drivers to switch between custom or decorative license plates. But across the country, thousands of drivers also flip or cover their license plates to avoid detection by police, toll systems, or automated speed cameras.

Texas And Washington These devices were explicitly banned in 2013. However, altering or blocking license plates, regardless of the method, is generally illegal throughout the United States.

In Tennessee, a Law The law, which took effect in July, prohibits the purchase, sale, possession and manufacture of license plate frames. Lawmakers said they were concerned about drivers trying to evade law enforcement.

“Today we don’t have toll roads, but we do have criminals,” said Greg Martin, a Republican representative from Tennessee who sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives, in an interview. “These [measure] is to make sure everyone is playing on the same playing field.”

Under the fresh law, anyone who buys a license plate flipper faces up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $500. Anyone caught making or selling these devices faces up to 11 months and 29 days in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed with bipartisan support legislation The bill would ban the sale of license plates and impose a $2,000 fine on those caught using or selling them. The bill now heads to the Senate.

“As speed cameras and red light cameras proliferate, technologies are being developed that allow people to circumvent safety on the road,” Pat Gallagher, a Democratic representative from Pennsylvania and the bill’s lead sponsor in the House, said in an interview.

Cities take action

Some cities are also trying to crack down on these devices.

In April, Philadelphia’s Democratic mayor, Cherelle Parker, signed a law Law Prohibits the purchase, installation, possession and sale of “manual, electric or mechanical” license plate turners; violations are punishable by a $2,000 fine.

“Tag flipping belongs in a James Bond movie, not on our streets,” said Democratic Philadelphia City Councilman Mike Driscoll in an interview with Stateline. “This is not just a problem in the city of Philadelphia; this sense of entitlement and lawlessness exists across the country.”

“Every community needs to take these things seriously,” Driscoll said.

In March, New York State and City officials started A multi-agency task force whose goal is to identify and remove from New York City streets so-called “ghost cars” – vehicles that cannot be detected by traffic cameras and toll readers because of their counterfeit or altered license plates.

In 2022, New York Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, achieved a agreement with Amazon to identify and restrict the sale of fog and tinted license plate covers to customers with an address in New York State. This collaboration followed the passage of a city law earlier this year that banned the sale of products designed to conceal or unrecognized license plates to New York City residents.

Crime and toll revenue

The recent discussions about license plate forgers have mainly revolved around their role in criminal activities and the loss of revenue from tolls and traffic fines.

Covering license plates is a common violation. Some drivers operate license plate holders, tape, or counterfeit paper plates to avoid detection. In some cases, the cover may be unintentional, such as when bicycle racks partially cover the license plate.

Chad Bruckner, a retired police detective who is now president of the private investigation firm Intercounty Investigations & Solutions, said that while he supports legislation to ban tag flippers, it is essential to balance protecting civil rights with providing law enforcement with the necessary tools to maintain public safety.

“If you can’t identify a vehicle, you don’t have the legal standing or the authority to stop it or anything like that,” Bruckner said in an interview. “There’s just no public policy. It’s not safe for people.”

License plate flippers are widely available online. The machines can cost as little as $50 to several hundred dollars, but most are only about $200.

Other devices, such as license plate covers that unrecognized letters and numbers from certain angles, are already illegal in most states. These covers, whether clear or tinted, can reduce visibility for traffic and toll cameras.

Most toll authorities are not significantly affected financially by these violations because the majority of drivers comply with the law. But MTA Bridges and Tunnels in New York City, one of the busiest toll authorities in the United States, reported a loss of more than $21 million in 2023 due to obscured license plates, an raise of more than 140% from 2020, according to Aaron Donovan, the authority’s deputy director of communications.

The agency expects a slightly smaller revenue loss of nearly $19 million in 2024, thanks to the fresh task force dedicated to combating lost vehicles. The task force has taken have seized over 2,100 vehicles and made over 450 arrests since mid-March. These arrests often reveal that the tax evaders are involved in other criminal activities, such as illegal possession of weapons or driving stolen vehicles, said Catherine Sheridan, president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels.

“This is a larger regional problem where the same people who avoid tolls are also not paying parking tickets. They are ignoring school cameras and speed traps,” Sheridan said in an interview. “We are also finding that these people are committing other crimes in our region.”

While the losses represent less than one percent of the agency’s total toll revenue, they are still significant, she said, because they limit the agency’s ability to subsidize public transit in New York City, which in turn affects residents who rely on public transit.

“Every dollar we don’t collect is a dollar less of that subsidy,” Sheridan said. “It’s about everyone paying their fair share.”

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages several bridges and tunnels connecting the two states and is part of an interagency task force dedicated to combating untraceable vehicles, lost about $40 million in toll revenue in 2022 due to obscured and missing license plates, according to Lenis Valens, spokeswoman for the agency.

In the same year issued more than 2,300 summonses for concealed, missing and counterfeit license plates and recovered more than $21 million in overdue tolls and fees. In 2023, the agency recovered over $25 million from toll violators. In the first six months of 2024 issued 4,836 reports of toll violations, of which 3,940 or 81 percent were mainly due to obscured, missing or counterfeit license plates.

On the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a major toll highway connecting western and eastern Pennsylvania, at least 3 in 10,000 people intentionally obscured their license plate between April 2023 and March 2024, press secretary Marissa Orbanek wrote in an email.

“Although the percentage of intentional blocking of toll roads is very, very small, we are grateful for any additional support and legislation that helps us fight toll evasion,” Orbanek said. “It is really a priority to ensure a fair and equitable toll road system.”