LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dropping front plate would be unwise

7/7/2013

It would be a huge step backward to follow the lead of the five states that border Ohio and dispense with the front plate.

To appreciate the perspective of a law enforcement officer searching for a suspect’s vehicle, one involved in any crime from the lowest misdemeanor to the most heinous felony, you only need to envision driving five minutes on a busy road and count how many front plates you can read in comparison with the number of rear plates. The only rear plate the officer can read is on the car directly in front. However, the same officer can read the plate number of nearly every approaching vehicle.

As a retired 29-year veteran of the Toledo Police Department, I can say that the plate number is the best way to identify a moving car at a glance, especially after dark.

Mr. Walton’s statement that “it’s highly unlikely that a bad guy has ever tried to flee from police by driving really fast in reverse” is at best a feeble attempt at humor.

His declaration that “one state trooper in Michigan whose 16 years on the road came after his state went to rear plates only in 1980 said he could not recall a single time the absence of a front plate caused a problem” is pathetic from a scientific standpoint. Does he base all his opinions on the belief of one person?

JERRY HEER

Monclova Township