How a simple change to your car can help make roads safer for all | Editorial
For a modest cost, a front license plate could be a game changer for public safety.
Imagine if a small rectangular piece of metal could help make streets safer while securing funds for roads and public transportation across Pennsylvania.
Making that a reality is the goal behind a bill that would require vehicles in the commonwealth to have front license plates — just like in 29 other states, including neighboring New York, New Jersey, and Maryland.
The proposal by State Sen. Katie Muth, who represents parts of Berks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties, deserves swift consideration by the General Assembly and support from Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Law enforcement has long recognized the benefits of dual plates. If an offense is being committed with someone behind the wheel, dual plates help aid identification. Beyond simply giving cameras and witnesses two opportunities to capture the plate numbers, front plates are also easier to read during daylight hours, and can reflect light at night, aiding in visibility.
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Too often in Pennsylvania, security cameras will capture footage of a shooting, robbery, or hit-and-run, but the lack of a front plate makes speedy identification harder.
Dual plates would also increase the effectiveness of the 200 automated license plate readers purchased by the Philadelphia Police Department two years ago. These readers, when combined with dual plates, should help law enforcement prevent and solve more car thefts in the city.
Research suggests that with dual plates, law enforcement can increase how many plates are accurately read to 97%, from the 22%-58% rate for cars with just one plate.
Beyond their assistance in identifying lawbreakers, double tags could also help ease traffic flow along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which has shifted to all-electronic tolling. The convenience of having motorists no longer stopping at physical tollbooths or maneuvering through turnstiles to pay also comes with the need to reliably read license plates to bill motorists who don’t already use E-ZPass.
According to a report from Texas A&M, roughly 16% of vehicles passing through the turnpike have plates that could not be read. That’s less money going to fund transportation projects throughout the state.
More accurate license plate identification could also provide relief to people like Kathie Ellzey. As reported by The Inquirer, the Lansdale driver has been getting another car owner’s toll letters for years.
Given how much Philadelphia and other local governments are relying on cameras to enforce traffic laws these days, that’s an important layer of protection for law-abiding motorists.
Shifting to a two-plate system can help improve the long-needed push to reduce fatalities and crashes, as part of the city’s Vision Zero plan. Last year, 54 pedestrians in Philadelphia were killed in car crashes — that’s nearly a third of the 174 fatalities in crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists statewide.
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To be sure, some might ask why the commonwealth should focus on second plates given how many motorists are driving around with fake, expired, obscured, or just plain missing back plates. It is certainly true that reducing these violations should be a priority, and that the current fines are too low. But adding a second plate only makes driving with phony tags more difficult.
Some may argue that issuing two license plates increases the cost of car ownership. It does. However, given PennDot charges just $14 to replace lost or defaced plates — while AAA puts the annual cost of car ownership at more than $12,000 — this seems like a reasonable price to pay for the potential benefits.
Requiring front plates might represent change in a place that’s infamously averse to it, but the potential benefits to public safety are simply too compelling to ignore. Pennsylvania should become the 30th state in the nation to require dual plates.