Strongsville Urges State To Require Front, Rear Licenes Plates

STRONGSVILLE, OH — The city of Strongsville is joining the 'Keep the Front Plate Ohio' initiative, which urges state officials to reinstate requirements that vehicles have a front and rear license plate.

A law authorizing the removal of front license plates was passed by the Ohio General Assembly in 2019 and will go into effect on July 1, 2020. Political supporters of the legislation argued it would reduce costs for drivers and the state, which should cut its license plate use in half.

Strongsville Police Chief Mark Fender says there are other consequences to removing the front license plate — namely, it becomes harder for investigators and witnesses to identify a suspect's car.

"Front plates are crucial identification tools for Amber and Silver alerts," Fender said. With the expansion of video technology — through doorbell cameras and other devices — it has become easier for police to use surrounding surveillance to identify a suspect's car.

"Now is not the time for Ohio to remove front license plates that can be identified by these cameras," Fender said. He added that front license plates also help school bus drivers identify cars which zoom past stopped buses.

After posting his message to Facebook, Fender was greeted by a barrage of vitriolic comments arguing against front license plates. Many posters wondered why cameras couldn't be trained to capture the rear of a car, instead of the front; and how police in neighboring states manage to police their towns when cars don't have front license plates?