Florida Could Force Drivers To Use Front License Plates

The new bill wants to reduce the number of hit-and-run cases, where cars can’t be identified

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Florida could become the 30^th state in the US to require vehicles to use a front license plate after the introduction of Bill SB 92. The bill, recently backed by the Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations Committee, suggests front plates will help reduce the number of hit-and-run cases where cars cannot be identified.

The bill could create the ‘Lilly Glaubach Act,’ named after a 13-year-old Tampa girl killed by a car while she was riding her bike. Through this law, motor vehicle repair shops must request a written crash report from a customer before they can commence any repair work on a vehicle involved in some kind of collision if repair work costs at least $5,000.

Read: Some Very Offensive Vanity Plates Were Rejected In Florida Last Year

Importantly, customers would need to produce their information, details about their vehicle, and a description of the damage. Local authorities believe this could help them track down possible hit-and-run drivers. Necessitating the use of a front license plate could also help investigators.

An amendment to the bill was introduced during a Senate committee meeting last week, necessitating the use of front and rear license plates, Click Orlando reports.

“The reason why they [other states] have two-way license plates is because as people are speeding away from these scenes, there’s a lot of cameras out there,” Sen. Joe Gruters said. “And those cameras can’t always see the back of the plate.” Vero Beach republican Sen. Erin Grall added that, “witnesses many times see the front of the car, but not see the rear of the car and sometimes there are repeat offenders who know exactly how to get away from an accident without having their plates seen.”

During the Senate committee meeting, Gruters noted locals would pay a single vehicle registration fee and the Florida state would have to provide two license plates.

The 29 US states currently requiring front license plates include California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.