Readers up in the air over ending front plates
We got quite a bit of email about Ohio’s law no longer requiring front license plates, which is now under reconsideration. Here’s a sampling; we may run more in coming weeks. Send your email to ronald. rollins@cmg.com.
From J Mel Gillespie: Big Brother is watching! Since 2001 we have allowed the invasion of our privacy due to that extraordinary event in September. It appears law enforcement wants even more intrusions into to our privacy and have at times been denied by the courts to limit those intrusions to true threats. The front license is more illegal intrusion into our privacy and a simple way to add revenue to municipal coffers for failure to display a front plate and other fines that they are too lazy to enforce (parking tickets). It is time to stop law enforcement in expanding their perceived need to watch everybody for everything. We are Americans, not Russian citizens or other third world subjects subject to police control. I do not wished to be tracked everywhere I go.
From Terry Applegate: Those who conjured up the bill to eliminate front plates claim it is to save money and that numerous other states don’t require front plates. We, the auto owners, pay fees to cover the costs. Front plates are more readily observed than rear plates and they aid in tracking those who skip by a school bus loading or unloading children or those running red lights or drive a stolen car. If those supporting “no
‘Let’s support our law enforcement folks and keep the front plate.’
front plate” have their car stolen, perhaps it remains stolen because no one can observe a front plate on the stolen car. Let’s support our law enforcement folks and keep the front plate.
From Pat Quillen: I hope the Ohio Legislature votes to keep the requirement for front license plates. When I was a school bus driver for Troy City Schools, I had cars pass my extended “STOP” sign many times. I would try to call out the plate number and one of my students might be able to write it down, or I could call it into the office on the radio. There is no way to identify those offenders other than by that front plate. This is the same legislature that repeatedly considers the installation of seat belts on school buses. The number of kids injured in school bus accidents is very small. The number of students that are injured by cars passing illegally is much greater.
From Jack Schell: They bribe people to get support and once their bill is passed they want to yank away the carrot. Gee, I never thought a politician would lie to the people. I really don’t care much one way or the other.
From Suzie Chesser: Three friends and I had just discussed the front license plate issue yesterday. We all four said the same thing — keep the front plates — a lot of the time we look at the front plate in locating our cars. I would also think this would make things one step easier for a police officer in locating a car.
From Dave Freimuth: Contrary to what my good friend Sen. Peggy Lehner said, the elimination of the front plate is not “just because it messes up the front of cars,” rather it has to deal with resale value. With all of the surrounding states not requiring front plates, Ohio auto owners are disadvantaged because the market outside of Ohio does not want a vehicle which has had its front end drilled and scratched by the plate bracket.
If anyone can find a way to screw things up, leave it to our state, county and local governments. Flipflop legislation — I thought this was only prevalent in elections!