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Anti-speed camera , photo radar plate number sprays and covers , and other devices are protecting drivers everywhere. It's undeniable that these anti-speed camera devices are gaining popularity everywhere because of the protection they offer. Businessmen are marketing them as the greatest thing since television to automobile drivers who invest in these number plate sprays and covers to avoid being fined for speeding. The popularity of these anti-speeding devices has given rise to the question, 'Are these things legal?'

How Do Traffic Enforcers Catch Speeding Automobiles?
With the fast and growing pace of technology, traffic enforcers have found the answer to catching the number plates of speeding drivers in the forms of speeding cameras, photo radars, and laser guns.

The cameras, installed onto traffic lights, take high-quality photographs of a speeding vehicle's number plate. To do that, a powerful flash is required.

Photo-radars are installed onto police mobiles that patrol areas where speeding violations happen often. Then, when speed limit violators pass, a computer stores speed violation data such as time, date and location.

Laser guns work like speeding cameras, but they are carried by traffic enforcers like rifles. The laser guns are aimed at a speeding vehicle, then it takes a photograph of the speeding vehicle's number plate.

These advancements in technology make it almost impossible for law-breakers to outrun the law. Once your number plate has been photographed and your violation recorded, you are then issued a ticket which is mailed to you.

How Do Speeding Drivers Protect Themselves?
Frustrated drivers have turned their dislike for speeding cameras into a profit-generating venture. They're protecting themselves with anti-speeding camera sprays and covers.

How do these work? Anti-speeding camera sprays are applied onto a vehicle's number plate. They give a clear gloss finish that reflects the flash back into the speeding camera, resulting in an unreadable and overexposed photograph. When seen by the naked eye, however, the number plate remains visible.

Number plate covers work the same way. These covers contain light-reflecting crystals that reflect the high-intensity flash. Other plate covers incorporate thin lenses that distort the number plate when viewed from above at an angle. This makes it difficult for speeding cameras installed on traffic lights to take a photo.

The Big Question: Is This Illegal?
In most states, the law requires that a vehicle's number plate be visible to the naked eye. Anti-speeding camera sprays coat the number plates with a transparent finish, so only the vehicle's owner is aware that it's being applied. The use of number plate covers to reflect flash or to distort the number plate at an angle is still under debate, however. Some states do allow the ownership of these number plate covers but ban their active use. Some states ban the retail of number plates and sprays for the purpose of avoiding speeding fines. If you plan on incorporating your automobile with these devices, know the laws that cover the use of anti-speeding camera devices in your state. Even so, it never hurts to simply follow traffic regulations.