Photo Radar license plate sprays

[the-law]

Does anyone have experience with those sprays you apply to your license plate so the image is overexposed when a red light camera or photo radar camera snaps a picture?

Examples include:
http://www.phantomplate.com/
http://www.photobuster.com/
http://www.buyradardetectors.com/Products/OnTrack/PhotoStopper.aspx

Do they really work?

[Sharpie]

they're illegal here i do believe

[paramedic]

They may be illegal but spy city has them in assorted quantities.

[snowboard]

hair spray?

[Toms-SC]

Dont work, I tried them and smells A LOT like paint lacquor. Ended up wreaking my plate.

[CelicaST-162]

Well here's one thing I dont understand, If you guys abide by the law why would you need this? I will admit I am not an angel on the streets but you don't see me running to the stores and buying these cans because quite frankly if I get a ticket then more than likely I deserved it. So if you get one of these and think youll be invincible?

[EG_Civic]

took this pic off my samsung 670 cell

[EG_Civic]

i best result i got was the whole plate but i dont have a pic.. after the spray is sprayed on.. it just looks like a brand new plate.. this pic had about 3 coats

[SilverBoost]

I saw a good one the other day... .guy in an old beater had his wrapped in saran wrap... but it was all wrinked and just looked so obvious and bad. Besides that I don't think his car could go fast enough to worry about it.

Sidenote: Photo radar is a bullshit money grab and doesn't cut back on speeding whatsoever but merely causes more road havoc by congesting the frequented locations and having people slam on their brakes every time they see a mini van parked on a roadside. They made them illegal in vancouver, calgary should follow suit.... as soon as they've made enough cash I'm sure.

[googe]

Originally posted by CelicaST-162
Well here's one thing I dont understand, If you guys abide by the law why would you need this?

you really dont understand? no one implied they abide by the speed limit, obviously they need it because they speed sometimes and they dont want a ticket.

[m10-power]

http://www.meltedmonitor.net/poli/Belinda.jpg

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Sorry for the off topic, or is it...

[BlueFrenzy]

Heh ... I've heard conflicting things about the spray. But funnier yet, I've seen some people that wash their cars MAYBE once a year that have so much dirt on the plate that you can't make out anything.

[civicrider]

on that phantomplate site they have a video on the side and it shows the police actualy testing it and it does work

[iceburns288]

You can get licence plate frames that are made of a special material that blocks it. Obviously not just the frame, but it's like a picture frame, with some kind of plastic thing covering the plate. No idea if it works.:dunno:

[the-law]

I think plastic covers that obstruct the view of your plate are illegal (as is snow and dirt covered plates). Police will stop you if your plate is visually obstructed.
Just wondering if you can tell the spray has been applied to the plate.

[Slashin_]

that picture frame crap gets u in shit u can get pulled over for it

[Evro]

most of these replies dont seem to be helpin u, especially the not being invicible one :thumbsdow

you can get the spray at ZR auto, they had alot just a few months ago so they probably still have the stuff for sale, it does work, just you gotta re-apply it every so often, also the spray isnt as noticable were as sumthin like a plate cover with reflective strips can be easily seen.

I say for the 20 sum bux the stuffs bein sold for go pick up a can

[Lexxan]

i'm sorry but you must be a shitty driver to get photo radar tickets.. I see those stupid vans every time.

[Civic_Stylez403]

I tried the stuff while having a frame around my plate. Took the plate off the other day and dirst must have got into in when it was wet and dripping, now it's so caked on I cant get it off.

May work, but wrecks your plate.:dunno:

[D. Dub]

Tried it...

got a ticket last month.

Doesn't appear to work.

From what I understand the new cameras are digital and don't even use a flash in the daytime making the stuff useless.

[EG_Civic]

red light camera do flash in the daytime.. i've seen them goin off before

[AllGoNoShow]

Im with EG on this one ;)

I guess the best way to check if they work or not is spray them on, take ur camera and snap a pic at the same angle the camera would be at.

[mac_82]

So the way this stuff works is that it just makes your plate highly reflective?

Those websites claim the sprays are invisible to the naked eye, but what about at night?

When it is dark out and everyone has their lights on, having a super reflective plate may be even more obvious to the cops than a plastic cover.

:dunno:

[sgouki]

Why not just settle for a radar detector?

[88CRXGUY]

hmm why don't we just solve the problem all together and just not speed....haha screw that...

[rumeo]

just wanna bump this thread


there was no answer, is this stuff illegal?
does hairspray work just as well (if this stuff works, there was no definite answer)?

[whiskas]

They don't work, you're better off busting a nut on your plate.

[bawlls]

does not one of you watch mythbusters?

[rumeo]

feel like posting the link to mythbusters disproving this?

[TACO.VIDAL]

Episode 73: Beating the Speed Camera, Exploding Nitroglycerine Patches (with Defibrillators)

* Speed camera myths: You can beat a speed camera by..
o ... driving too fast for the camera
+ Dodge Neon: busted
+ Lamborghini Murcielago: busted
o ... placing over your license plate
+ Glitter license plate: busted
+ Lenticular plastic cover: busted
+ Plastic wrap: busted
+ Commercial plate blocker spray: busted
+ Hair spray: busted
o ... changing lanes rapidly: busted
* A bird can set off a speed camera: confirmed
* A defibrillator can explode a medical nitroglycerine patch: busted

Adam and Jamie went through a stockpile of speed camera myths to try and fool an ATS Axsis SC-300 speed camera. Two things did fool the camera: a falcon was able to set off the camera and Jamie installed a plate flipper that rotated the plate out of view, but neither is a way of actually getting out of a ticket. In fact, many of the devices they tested would easily get you pulled over by a cop with or without speed camera.

The defibrillator myth was clearly busted once the paddles were unable to explode even concentrated nitroglycerine. All that was left to do was replicate the myth with exploding ballistics gel bits.

Update: As John notes, BBC Show Top Gear was able to beat the speed camera but it took 2 miles of track and 170+mph * Top Gear Part 1 * Top Gear Part 2 * Top Gear Part 3
Speed Camera Myths

The speed camera myths were a follow-on to their "Beat the Radar Detector" myths. This time they were trying to fool the combined radar/photo systems that photograph your license plate.
Beat with Speed

Myth: You can beat a speed camera by driving too fast for it to take your picture

Speed cameras send out radar pulses to register the speed of passing vehicles. The theory behind the myth is that if you drive faster than the pulses, it won't take your picture.

Adam and Jamie took a slightly modified Dodge Neon out to Alameda where they tried to evade an ATS Axsis SC-300 speed camera (the speed-camera appeared to be SLR-based). Jamie and Adam did three runs by the speed camera and failed to evade it. Each run maxed the Neon out at 100mph.

* ATS' promo video from MythBusters
* ATS press release

To really settle this one -- or for fun -- they went out to Infineon Raceway to race with a Lamborghini Murcielago. Adam's top speed of 123mph wasn't fast enough and neither was the professional's top speed of 136mph.

busted
Plate blockers

Myth: You can put something over your license plate that only obscures it to speed cameras

Adam took photos of it with his Canon SLR

* Glitter license plate: contains 'microcrystals' to deflect the speed camera's flash.busted
* Lenticular plastic cover: distorts the plate when viewed at from an angle. The plate remained legible, though partially distorted, for both Adam's camera and the speed camera busted
* Plastic wrap: very legible busted
* Commercial spray: very legible busted
* Hair spray: very legible busted

all busted
Changing Lanes

(online clip from http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html)

Myth: If you change lanes really rapidly, you can trick the speed camera

They tried different swerve points to confuse the radar or camera, but they were able to read the speed and plate every time

busted
Birds

Myth: A bird can set off a speed camera

They brought two trained falcons out to try and set off the speed camera. According to the falconer, peregrine falcons have been clocked at 240mph, 18Gs. The speed camera was set to shoot anything going over 10mph and they had the falcon fly across its path.

Camera went off on the first run and registered 29mph. It was unclear if it was the bird or the falconer swinging bait that setoff the camera as both were caught in the photo. In order to figure out if it was the bird or the bait, they had the falconer swing bait alone in front of the camera. The camera didn't go off, so they figured it was the falcon.

They did one more run with the falcon and registered 41mph.

confirmed
Plate flipper

For fun, Jamie 'fooled' the speed camera with a device of his own: a rotary actuator flipped the license plate to a different plate.
Exploding Nitroglycerine Patches

Myth: If you're wearing a nitroglycerine patch and you're defibrillated, the patch can explode

Nitroglycerine patches are placed on the chest to relieve heart pain. They can dilate arteries/increase blood flow. Defibrillators come with warning messages to remove such patches before use.
Grant's homemade defibrillator

Instead of wrecking a real, expensive defibrillator for the myth, they had Grant build a homemade equivalent. Grant's defibrillator featured 4000V neon transformer and spatula paddles.

Grant: "It's going to be, potentially, the most lethal thing I have ever built"

Tory: "This just doesn't look dangerous enough, should we get some buckets of water to stand in or maybe set off the sprinkler system"

They compared Grant's homemade contraption using measurements off a ballistics gel torso rigged up to an oscilloscope. The real defibrillator delivered a 4mV peak and lasted 2ms. They said that Grant's was similar enough for the future tests.
First nitroglycerine test

They setup their equipment in a shipping container 'bunker' outdoors. Unfortunately, it was raining and the bunker wasn't waterproof. They rigged up some plastic above the equipment and toweled it off before "safely" starting with the test.

* 200 joules: no explosion
* 360 joules: no explosion
* paddles directly on patch: no explosion

Older aluminum-backed nitroglycerine patch

Nitroglycerine patches used to have an aluminum backing. Those are no longer available so Kari set out to make her own. Tory stopped by during the manufacturing process to play with a stun gun and the aluminum foil. Naturally, he managed to shock himself while writing his name on the aluminum.

Kari: "Oh Tory, are we ever going to have an episode where you don't hurt yourself?"
Tory: "I didn't think it was going to hurt me. I thought I had that one under control"

With it still raining outside, they setup for another test after they blow-dried Grant's equipment. There was no explosion regardless of the patch being aluminum side up or down.
Explosive-quality nitroglycerine

It was time to bring in Frank Doyle to give them real explosives to set off. Frank and his cohort brewed up some nitroglycerine from other explosives. Nitroglycerine is impact-sensitive, so they used Grant's autohammer to test the batch.

* Small dollop of concentrated nitroglycerine on the ballistics gel chest: spark from the paddles, but no explosion. There was still wet nitroglycerine on the chest. At this point they were certain that the myth was busted
* Large amount of nitroglycerine with "assistance": they dug out a cavity in the chest and poured their remaining nitroglycerine into the chest. The ballistics gel torso was blown into gooey pieces.

busted

[89s1]

These cameras and sprays have been around other cities forever, and the consensus is the sprays don't work and they turn your plate yellow. In turn, making you very obvious to spot and be pulled over and given a ticket for "obscuring yor plate" or some crap by a dick cop.

[Kloubek]

Originally posted by bawlls
does not one of you watch mythbusters?

Exactly. FYI guys: Mythbusters applied a commercial anti-photo spray, and it did NOT work.