I found this site where they sell a product you spray on your license plate which is supposed to make it invisible to the Red-Light cameras that are popping up in certain intersections across the U.S. Has anyone actually tried this stuff out and/or had it get them out of a ticket? On their site they have a disclaimer that it should not be used to avoid toll road tickets which I guess might be another reason people buy the stuff. Seems kinda hokey, but it if works, it would might be worth it! What cha think?

http://www.phantomplate.com/photoblocker.html

-Chris

 

a better solution: the brake pedal

 

A comment was made on TV network news that some states may make it illegal to use any product that would hinder the cameras from getting a clear picture of the license plates. Be careful! ZRA.

 

Uhhhhhh.... sorry, wrong answer.

These cameras malfunction all the time. Speaking from personal experience, they don't work more often than they do. I got popped by one when the light turned yellow a couple years back. I went back and video taped the intersection for about a half hour and the camera activated as soon as the light turned yellow, rather than red like it should. I took the video to court and fought the ticket (and won) and you know what they told me. Yes, we are aware of that intersection and are awaiting maintenance on it. I couldn't believe it. So all the schmucks who get a ticket in the mail won't know any better and will just pay it because the city is in no rush to fix something that is generating money for them.

Screw that! If this spray works, it's the BEST solution.

-Chris

 

If you don't live around an area that has these cameras yet... just wait. If you don't know someone who has been dinged by one of these cameras... just wait. You will... and it might be you. The light looks yellow, and it is, but 0.2 seconds before you're about to cross the line, it will turn red, and it will take a picture of you. Cost me $341 as it nabbed me 0.30 (that's three tenths of a second) going over the line. You will swear it was yellow, and it was, but you didn't have the advantage of knowing exactly when it was going to turn red down to tenths of a second while you were going 45 miles per hour down the road.

The one I got caught at was a double light, meaning there is one light that you naturally go through, but then a second light very close (a few car lengths after the first one), that you naturually think you'll go through (or have to slam on the brakes to stop at it), that you won't make it through.

$341 for three tenths of a second. I keep meaning to buy that spray. Buy it before you get a picture of yourself in the mail that shows you right before the line (inches) and the light red, and another photo of you through the intersection. It will happen, you'll do it by accident, unsure if you should try to stop or just go through what looks like a yellow light. By two-tenths of a second, it's a red light.

 

There is a second product that does something similar. It was offered on one of the sites that sells the spray. It is a clear plastic sheet that covers your license plate. From straight on, everything looks fine, but from either side part of the plate becomes hazy and obscured.

I saw one on a BMW a few months ago and it does work. If you got behind him and to the side you couldn't read all the numbers on his plate.

Realize that this is different than the spray. The spray supposedly makes your plate so reflective that a bright light (i.e. from a flash) will cause a bright reflection from your plate and will wash out the picture. Some have claimed that you can accomplish the same with a can of clearcoat. Put a couple of coats on and give it a try - it will only cost you $5. Take your camera out there and try some photos from various angles and see if it really works or not.

 

It won't work. All they have to do is run the image through a couple of light filters in photoshop if nothing else and then your in deeper trouble.

 

I doubt they have the time, money or expertise to process pictures with Photoshop. If they can't read one, they probably just trash it and go on to the next one. Even if they did process it, they'd have no proof that you coated your plate unless they come out with the crime lab to test it. The whole idea behind these automated system is to save money, not spend a bunch to catch one tricky driver.

 

In theory, the image of the plate will be blown out, nothing to run through any filter (not that they would anyhow). Those clear plastic sheets are easy to detect if you're pulled over and those types of items (as one could guess) are not legal. The spray actually wasn't illegal last I checked, though it probably will be.

The whole idea behind these automated system is not to save money, it's to generate money (done under the guise of safety). I'm all for catching red light runners, but this is a scam. You'll see when it happens to you.

 

thx for bringing back that site with the spray , I was looking for it just the other day... for $ 30 , its worth trying it ... there's a crazy intersection by my house which I keep avoiding , just because its almost impossible to make a turn on green... got 2 tickets few years back ...

and those plastic plate covers are a big no no , I got a ticket few years back while my car was parked , they were clear too...

 

At least in Florida, you're not allowed to put anything on your license plate since it's "government property." I.e. you can't put any paint on it, drill a hole in it, and it has to be kept clean. Haha, yea right, I'm sure they check if people have their plates clean. I'd consider the spray if we had cameras in our intersections.

 

http://cbs5.com/news/local/2003/09/1...ickets%3F.html

There was a better article in the Washington Post but I can't get into the site. They don't need Photoshop to read illegible plates, they simply look at the negative and all numbers are visible.

 

How about a Pellet Gun to the Camera...Just a thought. Luckily there are no cameras where I live.

 

does not work.

http://www.altimas.net/forum/showthr...hreadid=164130

 

Although I would agree on the safety aspects, more often than not there is collusion between local government and the private companies that lease these redlight cameras. Usually, the government does not own these cameras...they lease them with a service contract with private companies whereby the city and the company divy up the proceeds. Here in southern California, 2 municipalities in the last 2 years have had the tickets from specific intersections all erased and refunded due to the timing sensor firing off too early. They always attribute this to a technical glitch but I think that due to the difficult nature of fighting these tickets (much like a parking ticket) that these companies were banking on people not having the desire nor the technical know-how to get accurate readings to report the malfunction. I find it somewhat reprehensible that private companies are contracted not with a service flat fee contract but with what would appear to be an incentive based means of compensation.

 

Since the cameras surely cost over $1,000, that would be a felony. Don't need that.

A pellet gun probably wouldn't harm the camera anyway. They're armored against that sort of vandalism. A 30-06 with AP slugs would ruin the camera's day, though.

Seems to me that the better approach is to not try to make it through the intersection on a yellow light.

 

i like the pellet gun idea, or maybe a paint ball would work too. less damage, same result.

other ideas:
vasaline on the glass in front of the lense.
duct tape
any kind of soda
motor oil
the list goes on..

 

I have a great solution! It's called a motorcycle. Yes, in CA they are exempt from the red light cameras. No front plate and they can't identify you with a full coverage hemet on. Yes, I have a Z, but my everyday transportation is the bike. Traffic just sucks too much here in SoCal to commute in the Z much.

 

I heard those clear lens covers for the license plates work to blur the picture being taken. I saw something on TV a long time ago about this debate too. I think it was some former Highway patrolman that invented marketed the clear shield or something to that nature. I saw it a long time ago when they were first introducing the intersection cameras. I think it was on 20/20 or 60 minutes..........

 

I suspect that the spray and plastic shields only work when the camera uses a flash...at night or in low light. If there is no need for a flash, I believe the camera can get a good picture of your plate.

My Laser Jammer/Shifter goes off every time I go past one of these cameras. Anyone know why they would have a laser system integrated with the camera?