We understand that it can be hassle to go through the process of getting a license plate for a new vehicle. But one driver in Florida was caught being a bit too lazy and tried to print out a license plate on paper. That worked for awhile, but it was only a matter of time before Florida highway troopers discovered that something was off about the plate and pulled the driver aside. And now he faces a second-degree misdemeanor charge over something that could be easily fixed online.
Driver caught making a photocopy of an existing license plate
In the middle of October, a driver was caught using a fake license plate that was merely a photocopy of a real license plate on a piece of paper, according to a post by the Florida Highway Patrol on its official Instagram page.
According to a report by local outlet FOX 13 in Tampa Bay, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper noticed that something was off with the license plate along the back of a gray Hyundai sedan. While it would be difficult to tell whether the license plate was real from a distance during the day, at night the paper fake would not be as reflective as a metal one would be. That’s what the trooper noticed. More than that, upon closer inspection, the ink used in the photocopy was starting to bleed through the paper.
Photographs of the vehicle show the fake license plate “RFE S99” attached to the trunk of the Hyundai. Even when lit by the car’s light, the green and blue ink was seeping through the paper license plate, blurring the words “MyFlorida.com” and “Sunshine State” and smearing the orange and orange blossom icon that usually placed in the middle of an authentic plate.
After being pulled over by the cops, the driver (whose name has not been disclosed by Florida Highway Patrol) admitted that he took a photograph of a valid license plate from a vehicle he already owned and tried to use it for the Hyundai as well. That, of course, is not permitted; every vehicle needs to have its own registration and license plate.
“NO, NO, NO… THAT’S NOT HOW THIS WORKS!” FHP wrote on Instagram. “NO! You CANNOT ‘photocopy’ a license plate from another vehicle and attach that copy to the car you just purchased!”
The FHP does not say whether the driver had a valid registration or insurance on the new car at the time of the stop.
FHP Trooper Ken Watson told the outlet, “This is something that one of our troopers picked up on, realizing this license plate was not real. And obviously made that traffic stop. You have to understand that your license plate comes back to that specific vehicle and who that registered owner is.”
Watson warns that making a fake photocopy of a license plate is more of a hassle than it’s worth. He continued, “By doing something like this, you’re just going to create more problems for yourself. Do the right thing, get that vehicle legally tagged and make sure you have insurance. By putting all these things together, you will have a safe trip, and you will not get stopped by the state trooper.”
He says the driver could have legally registered the vehicle online and ordered a plate through the internet. Getting a temporary tag would also have been valid. The cost of getting a new registration and license plate for a second car in Florida is about $250 to $400. Instead, the driver now faces a second-degree misdemeanor, which can bring a fine of up to $500 (plus court costs), up to 60 days in county jail, and up to six months of probation, per Darrin Johnson Law.
