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Visibility of Plates
Do you have license plate covers on your vehicle? Are they tinted?
Hopefully, if you answered “yes,” it was only to the first question. Tinted
license plate covers are prohibited under the “Visibility of Plates” statute
(31-3-12, RIGL), which reads…
Each registration plate and the required letters and
numerals thereon, except the year number for which issued, shall be of
sufficient size to be plainly readable from a distance of one hundred feet
(100’) during daylight.
If you keep clear covers over your license plates, you’re
helping to protect the plates from becoming scratched and soiled—so long as
the covers remain serviceable and don’t become yellowed and cracked from the
sun, etc. If you have tinted covers, however, the plates are no longer
plainly visible, because you have altered the color scheme of the plate, as
well as its readability. This is why the packaging for tinted covers
usually read something to the effect of… “FOR OFF-ROAD USE ONLY.” Tinted
covers, then, are not in your best interest—not only because they are
illegal; but, should you ever be so unfortunate as to report your car as
stolen, they may also diminish the chances of police recognizing your plate
in traffic and, in turn, diminish your chances of recovery.
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