NJ license plate frame law has almost nothing to do with safety

Even if you didn’t know about the license plate frame law in New Jersey, you can still get a ticket for it when you are pulled over for something else.

You know those handy dandy frames that car dealers will usually screw in before you drive off the lot? Well, New Jersey law states that if you have this frame around your license plate, it cannot obscure any markings on the plate.

While you can claim that this law is for the sake of safety, let’s face it: The law comes in handy for a another reason—Two words: CHA CHING.

New Jersey never saw a money-sucking law that it didn’t love. And this one has almost nothing to do with safety. Any time I’ve seen one of those license plate frames, it never “obscured” anything any important information on the plate. Even if it were wide enough to hide the words “New Jersey“ or “Garden State," I think any police officer worth his salt in New Jersey would be able to identify a Jersey plate!

I’m not sure if other states have this ridiculous law, but even if they do, I bet in other states it is rarely, if ever, enforced.

Have you ever seen a frame that actually blocks the license plate number? Now that would be a problem! But let’s call the current license plate frame law what it is: a way to get a couple more bucks out of some hapless New Jerseyan who is just traveling down the road. It’s what New Jersey does best.

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Dennis & Judi are on the air weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tweet them @DennisandJudi or @NJ1015.