West Shore RCMP are stepping up enforcement on proper display of licence plates after handing out fines to 40 drivers with non-compliant plates in an hour last week.
On May 1st, licence plate validation decals became no longer required on B.C. vehicles, switching to an Automatic Licence Plate Recognition technology.
The technology reads licence plates and provides vehicle and driver information to the officer when it receives a hit, allowing police agencies across the province to detect unlawful drivers, Motor Vehicle Act infractions and criminal activities.
In a release Thursday, West Shore RCMP shared that they will be stepping up enforcement on the proper display of both front and rear licence plates, to ensure this new recognition technology is most effective.
According to RCMP, West Shore RCMP Traffic Unit patrollers found 40 vehicles that were non-compliant with their licence plates in just over an hour last week.
If your licence plate is missing, modified or obscured, this is considered an infraction and you could be given a violation ticket.
Examples of other infractions include licence plate covers, licence plates displayed in the windshield and vehicles without a front licence plate.
“These are all examples of motor vehicle infractions,” said Constable Sean Van Londersele with the West Shore RCMP Traffic Unit.
“The most common we see are luxury vehicles without 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.”
Below is a list of potential offences and fines when it comes to displaying your licence plate:
- No number plate: $109
- Wrong number plate: $109
- Operate vehicle on highway with improperly displayed or missing plates and decal: $109
- Fail to attach front and rear plate when 2 plates issued –$109
- Improper display of plate [securely fastened to vehicle/horizontal]: $230
- Illegible plate [unobstructed]: $230
- Attach plates from vehicle of another class –$109
