If you are a B.C. motorist and you don’t have a front licence plate on your vehicle, you might want to think about putting it on.
That’s because the West Shore RCMP are cracking down on motorists who improperly display their licence plates, which includes not bothering to display a front plate.
In a press release, West Shore RCMP say during a recent patrol, their traffic unit found 40 vehicles in an hour that were violating provincial laws around the display of licence plates.
“Some examples of what I saw last week were licence plate covers, licence plates displayed in the windshield and vehicles without a front licence plate. These are all examples of motor vehicle infractions,” Const. Sean van Londersele of the West Shore RCMP Traffic Unit said in the release.
According to Const. van Londersele, during his patrol, the majority of vehicles that didn’t have front plates were luxury cars. He said just because you have a nice car doesn’t mean you can forgo having a front plate.
“Unfortunately, a nice vehicle is not an excuse for not having a front plate and will likely result in being pulled over,” he said in the release.
As a result, West Shore RCMP says they are going to be stepping up enforcement of the provincial Motor Vehicle Act’s regulations on the display of licence plates on vehicles.
“If your licence plate is missing, modified or obscured, this is considered an infraction and you could be given a violation ticket,” the detachment said in its release.
Under the Motor Vehicle Act, drivers can be fined $109 for failing to attach a front or rear licence plate when two plates are issued or for attaching plates from a vehicle of another class. Operating a vehicle on a highway with improperly displayed or missing plates also carries a $109 fine. The improper display of a plate on a vehicle and having an illegible plate carries a $230 fine under the act.
The increased enforcement, West Shore RCMP say, is partly due to the province’s decision to eliminate the requirement for motorists to display insurance validation decals on their plates back on May 1 — a move that was largely made because of law enforcement’s ability to use Automatic Licence Plate Recognition system, which can read licence plates and provide vehicle and driver information to an officer in real-time.
“This technology allows police agencies in British Columbia to detect unlawful drivers, Motor Vehicle Act infractions and criminal activity,” the release states.
However, in order for the recognition system to work properly, West Shore RCMP says both front and rear licence plates need to be properly displayed and clearly visible, stressing that they will be “cracking down” on those who fail to display both plates.
“The West Shore RCMP will be cracking down on the proper display of both front and rear licence plates,” the release reads.
MORE: B.C. making changes to its licence plate after insurance decals dropped
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