Yesterday the new North Carolina law went into effect that makes it illegal to use a license plate frame that hides the expiration date, the numbers, or the state name.  Violators will face a $100 fine.

While I was on the road today I counted how many blatant license plate criminals there were.  Surprisingly, the first three cars I saw all had illegal frames that blocked the state name.  Of 13 cars that I saw, 5 of them were in violation.

I wonder how many police will actually write tickets for a violation.  For a year or two, most people will use the excuse (honestly or not) that they didn't know it was illegal.  But if they did start writing tickets, and the fines were held up in court, this could be a huge moneymaker for the state, at least temporarily until all the frames start to disappear.

I suppose this law even applies to NC State Sen. Malcolm Graham of Mecklenburg Co.  The picture above is of the license plate on his own car.