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Police to begin enforcing license plate law Friday
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Posted on Oct 09 2004
Enforcement of Public Law 14-18, which requires that vehicle license plates be placed on both the front and rear of vehicles, will soon be implemented, according to the Department of Public Safety.
During an interview, DPS commissioner Edward Camacho said police would begin enforcing the new law this Friday, Oct. 15.
He said the department has a 90-day period in which staff educated motorists on the newly signed law.
Camacho said enforcement of the new law was suppose to begin 90 days after it was signed into law on July 12, 2004, but was extended after the department’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles fell short on license plates designated for various months of the year.
License plates are now available at BMV.
“Education still going on, but come Oct. 15, we will start enforcing that law,” he said.
Earlier, the DPS Traffic Section indicated that brochures informing the general public on the new requirement have been handed out during various checkpoints in the previous months.
In signing the new law, Gov. Juan N. Babauta said the law would greatly enhance the ability of law enforcement officials to quickly identify vehicles and assist residents to recognize vehicles entering their private property.
For his part, Camacho praised passage of the law, as it will prevent the sharing of registration stickers.
The new law states that operating a vehicle that has no license plates on both rear and front sides is a misdemeanor, entailing imprisonment or fine.
Rep. Claudio Norita, a former police major, introduced the bill, along with Reps. Jesus SN. Lizama, Janet U. Maratita, Crispin M. Ogo, and Ray N. Yumul.
The bill stated that the lack of plates at the rear of vehicles has presented problems for the DPS, “creating difficulty on identifying fleeing vehicles.”
