Kelowna speaks out about front plates on vehicles

British Columbia is one of the only provinces in Canada required to have a front plate on a vehicle and that has left some people with questions.

Why does B.C. need front plates?

British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland and Manitoba are the only provinces in Canada that a motorist has to legally have two licence plates.

Lindsay Olsen, Senior Communications Specialist with ICBC, told KelownaNow that in B.C. the two plate model is the best choice for motorists.

“These [benefits] include benefits to road safety, law enforcement, stolen vehicle recovery, insurance claims investigations, tolling authorities, Amber alert partners, municipalities, parking lot companies and the trucking industry.”

Luxury vehicles and front plates

While it may be illegal to drive a vehicle without a front plate, not all vehicles have an attachment for them.

Gord Hayes, Managing Director of Kelowna BMW, said that as a brand new vehicle, a lot of BMW vehicles don’t come into the shop with a place to put a plate on the front. They do however come with brackets that would need to be screwed on to the front bumper.

"It either goes on or it doesn't go on, but it gets added on at the retail facility," Hayes explained.

"There's a hole that would be there that I guess could be a deterrent to someone. It could always be repaired. A lot of people will put a little painted plug in. It

KelownaNow took a drive on Enterprise Way in the city to see how many British Columbia vehicles we could spot without a front plate. In less than an hour, more than 50 vehicles drove past our cruiser without a front plate.

Hayes told KelownaNow they sometimes don’t put front plates on a vehicle at the dealership.

"Some people would rather them not be there, but it's the law in B.C. so it's non-negotiable. But, if someone asks us not to put it on and it's not on yet, we don't put it on."

It’s the law, here’s why

Const. Jesse O’Donaghey with the Kelowna RCMP said having a front plate can help assist possible witnesses in identifying a suspect vehicle. The front plate can also help investigators in identifying a suspect vehicle shown on video surveillance.

The biggest thing O’Donaghey said is that it’s a law in British Columbia that people have to follow. Even though other provinces have found that having a front plate isn’t that beneficial, O’Donaghey said he’s found them extremely helpful.

If a motorist fails to display a front plate under the motor vehicle act regulations, a fine worth $109 could be handed out.

Another fine could also be handed out if the front plate is not attached to the front of the vehicle.

"People will sometimes put them in the front window, they'll make attempts to display it, but it's not being displayed properly. I know regularly those vehicles are stopped by our enforcement officers."

That fine is worth $230.

Why Alberta doesn’t have front plates

Alberta discontinued the front licence plate back in 1992. Since then, Amy Hewko, Public Affairs Officer with Service Alberta, said there’s been no real problems identifying vehicles using only the rear plate.

“In fall of 2007, the Government of Alberta launched a review of licence plate use, asking Albertans whether they felt the front licence should be reintroduced. Online survey showed that 80 per cent of Albertan do not support reintroduction. Another public opinion poll showed similar results, with 60 per cent of respondents saying they do not support reintroduction.”

Kelowna’s local petition

In April, Kelowna resident Tyler Fleury created a petition to call for the end of the front plates.

More than 5,000 people have signed the petition. Fleury isn’t shy about his opinion on the plates.

“The front licence plates serve no purpose, look distasteful as well decrease the value of our vehicles,” said Fleury.

The plates may be distasteful to some people, but ICBC said they have no plans on getting rid of the two plate process.