The Brief
- A Florida Highway Patrol trooper in Fort Myers pulled over a driver for displaying a photocopied license plate on a newly purchased car.
- Troopers said the driver took a photo of a tag from another vehicle, printed it on paper and attached it to the car.
- The driver was charged with a second-degree misdemeanor following the traffic stop, FHP said.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – A Florida Highway Patrol trooper in Fort Myers pulled over a driver last week after noticing a license plate that was actually a paper photocopy belonging to a completely different vehicle.
Photocopied license plate discovered
What we know:
According to FHP, the trooper made a traffic stop after noticing a vehicle’s license plate was not reflecting light at night. Upon closer inspection, the trooper discovered the plate was an illegal printed paper photocopy that belonged to another vehicle.
The driver told the trooper that after purchasing the car, they took a photograph of a valid license plate from his other vehicle, printed it out and attached it to the car. Troopers noted that drivers are required to have a valid license plate for every vehicle they own.
“This is something that one of our troopers picked up on, realizing this license plate was not real,” FHP Trooper Ken Watson said. “And obviously made that traffic stop. You have to understand that your license plate comes back to that specific vehicle and who that registered owner is. By doing something like this, you’re just going to create more problems for yourself. Do the right thing, get that vehicle legally tagged and make sure you have insurance. By putting all these things together, you will have a safe trip, and you will not get stopped by the state trooper.”
Driver identity and insurance status
What we don’t know:…