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PhotoBlocker number plate spray reviews -- answering claims of its effectiveness in helping you avoid photo traffic tickets

December 13, 2006
By:  Lynn Bryant

Traffic cameras are being installed on roadways and intersections across the country at alarming rates. It is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid them. Or is it? You may be surprised to hear that there is a very simple way to keep the all seeing eye of a photo traffic camera from capturing your license plate number. It involves using a number plate spray product called PhotoBlocker that claims to prevent the plate from being photographed.

Of course hiding your vehicle's plate number from traffic cameras should not give you license to speed or run red lights at intersections. It does, however, provide a means of protecting you from unjust photo traffic tickets, or those unreasonably short yellow lights. Does the PhotoBlocker spray really work though? We will look at several PhotoBlocker number plate spray reviews in an effort to determine the spray's tested effectiveness.

There have been several independent studies done to test the effectiveness of the PhotoBlocker spray product. A study conducted in Steubenville, OH began out of the results of an online survey that indicated the increased frustration drivers had at receiving unjust traffic tickets in the mail. There is actually a pending lawsuit against the town of Steubenville to outlaw the use of the photo traffic cameras. The television station WTOV9 performed a study to test the effectiveness of the PhotoBlocker spray to see if it could provide drivers any relief. Their test proved that the spray does in fact make a license plate unreadable in a picture taken by a traffic camera. The flash from the camera reflects off the plate causing the photo to be overexposed.

Another report that was issued out of Oceanside, CA proved that there is an effective way to outsmart the traffic photo cameras. In this instance, the Oceanside Police Department actually had to discard almost 500 citations out of 2,530 because the license plates were unreadable in the photographs. While this study does not provide hard evidence that the PhotoBlocker spray was actually used to mask the plates, that hasn't stopped the maker of this product, PhantomPlate, Inc., from taking credit for it. "That is exactly the result you get when you use PhotoBlocker spray on your license plate," stated Joe Scott of PhantomPlate, Inc. While it would be difficult to prove that all those drivers did in fact use the PhotoBlocker spray to achieve those results, it is obvious there was something at work to make so many plates unreadable.

Not only is the PhotoBlocker spray effective against red light traffic cameras, it has also proven effective in another article against the increasingly popular photo-radar cameras. The owner of a small auto supply dealer in Oxon Hill, MD said he used to get about $1,200 in radar fines a year from his eight delivery trucks. He has since sprayed the license plates of each with the PhotoBlocker spray and has not received a fine since the application.

In general, drivers are upset about the proliferation of traffic cameras at intersections across the country. It is not that people are looking for a way to intentionally violate the law by speeding through intersections. The problem is, traffic cameras are just plain frustrating. There have been countless reports of individuals getting traffic tickets in error. No one ever wants to deal with the hassle of having to clear up a traffic ticket let alone a ticket received in error. An astounding 81% of respondents to a survey conducted in Ohio responded yes when asked, "Would you use any product designed to 'fool' unmanned traffic cameras". It is clear drivers are frustrated, and are looking for ways to protect themselves.

There is no question that we are loosing ground in our fight against personal privacy. It is hard not to resent this apparent encroachment on our personal freedoms and constitutionally protected rights. When products like the PhotoBlocker spray emerge that give us the feeling that we can get some of that control back, it is easy to see why they become so popular.

About the Author
Lynn Bryant is a successful freelance writer and contributor to Video-Surveillance-Guide.com.  Your definitive guide to video surveillance equipment, CCTV cameras and wireless security systems for home and business.

Also See:  [ Photo enforcement devices & how to beat traffic camera citations ]
[ Wireless outdoor surveillance systems provide simplified home security ]
[ Finding retail wireless surveillance cameras for indoor & outdoor use ]

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