Lately it seems like I see more and more cars with plastic covers over their rear license plates. Sometimes they're clear , sometimes smoked. I've never understood this.
-- Is it to protect the plate?
-- Is it to darken the plate?
-- Is it to customize the plate?
-- Is it to make the numbers harder to read?
If you have a plastic cover on the plate on your MINI, what's it for?

Godspeed.

 

I have plate frames, so I guess I'm only half naked. Which is better than being totally naked for everyone.

 

Actually, I thought alot of people use them to stop traffic cameras from reading their plates. Seems kinda shifty to me

 

Frames/covers are useful in stopping (or at least slowing down) the people who bend/cut your plate ends off to steal your registration sticker. Happens all the time in Philly - see here . At least that's why I use mine.

 

They do make plate covers that supposedly white out when a camera flashes towards them (traffic cam), and others that supposedly diffuse the lidar beam from traffic laser guns...

I got pulled over once, I had a clear plastic cover over the rear plate, I didn't get any ticket but the cop told me I better remove that cover before he saw me again.

 

there are also those that believe that it will help deflect police radar or laser. these are the same folks that think the cd hangin from the rear view mirror will do the same. from what i'm told, in FL it is illegal to have anything covering your plate, even if it is clear. the reasoning behind that is that even the clear ones will discolor in the hot FL sun and hide your number. personally, i've never felt the need to hide my number

 

Got pulled over once for having a smoked one - hey, it matched my smoked GTI tails! Of course that wasn't really the reason for getting stopped (reason really was I was out-of-state driving a red car late at night while being young) - just the excuse to give me a ticket.

Always wondered what the deal was with CDs hanging from the rear view - I just thought it was poor taste!

 

Word to the wise, don't use those covers. Cops hate them, and figure you are just trying to obscure at least in some small way your plate number. They can use it as an excuse to pull you over for a "warning." Of course, once pulled over they can give you and your car a good looking over. If, just by way of example, mind you, they see you are half drunk with your underage girl friend and have a couple of shotguns in the back seat because you are thinking of knocking off a small local strip mall bank, well, believe you me, you could be in a world of hurt...again, just by way of example...

 

I bought a frame for my plate that came with a plastic cover, but never used it and no idea why I would want to. After reading these reasons, I still have no reason to use it.

 

I have a two-piece metal frame that I installed for two reasons. One, it just plain looks better, as MD plates tend to be warped and have rather ragged edges; the frame flattens the plate and makes it look 'finished', and since they have the ragged edges the frames cover these and prevent getting skinned by the (required) front plate while tinkering on and cleaning the car.

I managed to find these frames at the local auto parts 'superstore' (but I forgot which one of the three it was). They arent bulky or obscure the plate, and more or less match the styling of the MINI.

 

I bought a chrome frame with a clear plastic cover because i think it looks good. I guess it also protects the only vanity license I ever had, RE'SMINI.

 

1. They are illegal in CA.

2. They do not prevent photo of plate. They just had a thing on TV about it and some of the photos were actually better.

Earl

 

Pissing off cops makes driving no fun. Best to keep it clear. I wouldn't have one at all, but having the words "Let's motor" on the back of my car describes my driving philosophy, and I like it. It fits well on a Mini.
-Cor.

 

Oh my! Wanda is nekkid! Tee hee! We didn't know!


Clo/Wanda

 

Any type of plate covers are illegal in NY, and I just saw a story on the local news about a guy getting a ticket for a plate frame. Seems most plate frames today cover about a half inch of the plate and this is also illegal in the state.

On a side note, my Dad is the parts manager at a motorcycle shop. They just got these plate covers that turn black, and block out the plate at the flip of a switch. Young motorcyclists running from the police are very common on Long Island...so these things are selling like hot cakes. I am sure someone will come out with them for cars soon

 

Plate covers are illegal her in NC as well. the other day I actuall saw one with a strip of fresnel lens like grooves right across where the plate number would be. When veiwed straight on, it had no real effect. When veiwed from an angle (like where a red-light camera sits), it totally obscured most of the numbers. Can't see any arguing out of getting a ticket for that one.

 

I have two chrome frames with Union Jack flags on them, very nice. No cover, as I'm in California, but in order to keep people from peeling off my registration stickers, I used an exacto knife to make razor cuts criss-crossed in the stickers, so they cannot be removed in one peice. If the bad guys get them off, they will be useless to them, as they will be in many tiny pieces.

 

Califzeph - good idea about splitting up the stickers... I'll prolly do that on the plate when I get the new car. That might be enough deterrant to have a would-be vandal move on...

 

My brother sent me this link a few weeks ago for a clear spray that you actually spray your plate with. It is supposed to diffuse the flash from the traffic camera but yet be almost undetectable to the human eye. According to the article it seems to work rather well

Even if this works only 1/2 the time it seems almost worth the investment.

 

Why not just stop at all the stop lights? That will really save you money, and keep the cops off of your back!

 

I do that, too, Rob. Once someone showed this "technique" to me, I realized the wisdom in doing it. They can get a little teeny bit off a corner, but they'll give up once they realize it's sliced up! YAY!

Clover

 

That's what I do:smile:

 

I had clear plastic covers front and back on a previous Audi just to keep the plates clean. With the bugs, hot summers, and cold winters in MA the plates get beaten up pretty quickly and look a mess. They kept the plates clean well and I had them mounted under a chrome plate surround, so you really didn't see them unless you were up close.

I was told to remove them when I got my emission sticker done as they we illegal. I put them back on afterwards, took them off for the next inspection, but never bothered to put them back after that. They were pretty scuffed by then anyway.

Never bothered on the MINI. I don’t need another excuse to be pulled by the fuzz (ouch)

 

I saw a TV show where they tried to see if those things, such as plastic covers, smoked covers and differest sprays, actually stop a traffic camera from seeing your plate. None of them work. All they do is invert the image (color wise) and your number shows up plain as day.

 

On my MCS I have metal frame plates front and rear. The front plates do get dirty from bugguts (darn suicidal insects)

On my other cars I have had clear plastic plate covers and in the front I have crashed them into a concrete wall when parking really close in a parking lot and I notice the rear covers get all opaque over time from aging and UV light.

My covers do protect grime from collecting on the plates and keeps sticker thieves at bay since it takes extra time to remove the cover.

I don't usually see smoke covered plates on the road but clear ones are common. I don't think they are against the law to have.