By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Published Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008 12:00 AM
Designed to show school spirit, advertise a car dealership or urge other motorists to have a nice day, license plate frames have become a mobile form of self-expression -- expression that could come at a hefty price for South Carolina drivers.
State law prohibits motorists from displaying any type of "tag, sign, monogram, tinted cover, or inscription of metal or other material ... above, around, or upon the plate" other than those issued by the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, making the license plate frames technically illegal.
Drivers can be fined $237.50, according to the city of Beaufort's municipal court. Drivers can have the fee waived if they demonstrate that they've removed the frame, according to a court spokeswoman.
Despite the prohibition, license plate frames have become ubiquitous on Beaufort-area roads.
"Everyone and their mom has one," said Rhonda Washington of Beaufort, as she gassed up recently at the Enmark on Parris Island Gateway. "I get that you don't want to have people trying to hide their license plate numbers from police, but come on. It seems a little silly to fine someone for something like that."
Washington's South Carolina plate on the back of her white Cadillac Eldorado was fastened inside a South Carolina State alumni license plate frame.
Four other motorists interviewed, all of whom had the plate frames, were unaware of the state law and said they had no intention of removing them in fear of being issued a citation.
The Beaufort Gazette recently has received anecdotal reports of motorists being ticketed for violations. However, area law enforcement agencies -- including the S.C. Highway Patrol -- said their officers do not generally issue tickets for license plate frames.
"I don't know of any citations written for just a frame (around the plate) unless it hinders us from reading it," said Capt. Alan Beach of the Port Royal Police Department. "We have written a few for tinted covers being over them."
The frames, illegal or not, are readily available at college bookstores and auto parts stores, and car dealerships often attach them to all the cars they sell, new or used.
Keith Hart, general manager of Butler Chrysler in Beaufort, said he was aware of the law but didn't think the dealership's thin plastic frames violated the statute.
"The frames that we give out don't cover up the 'South Carolina' on the plate and doesn't cover the registration sticker or anything like that, because they're really thin," he said.
The law was originally enacted in 1949, but has been amended several times, according to the S.C. Legislative Council in Columbia.