Police in New Brunswick say they will lose a valuable public safety tool should the government move forward with plans to eliminate the requirement of front licence plates on vehicles in the province.
Without a front plate, officers say it will be more difficult to identify suspect vehicles while on patrol.
“If we’re given a licence plate of a suspect vehicle, or somebody that [is a] possible impaired driver, and we’re looking for a vehicle, we’re checking licence plates as they’re coming at us,” said Saint John Police Const. Jodi McCormack.
The provincial government fulfilled a campaign promise by announcing the amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act last week. Once in effect, passenger and light commercial vehicles would no longer be required to display a licence plate.
The move would bring New Brunswick in line with other provinces that do not require vehicles to have a front plate. Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba are the only provinces that still require both a front and rear licence plate.
“Police officers use identification of vehicles every day and having a two licence plate system absolutely facilitates the process of the identification of vehicles and, in turn, identification of people involved in illegal acts,” said Wayne Gallant, president of the New Brunswick Chiefs of Police Association.
But police officers aren’t the only ones expressing safety concerns over the amendment. School bus drivers have echoed calls to keep the front plates, noting they are often used to report motorists who ignore the flashing lights.
“It’s overwhelming for some of the drivers that I’ve been talking to,” said Brien Watson, Vice President of CUPE Local 1253. “At one point we can say it was a blue Chev with licence plate such and such. Now we’re going to say it’s a blue Chev. Where do we go from there?”
Although the government has referred to the change as a cost saving measure, drivers won’t see a reduction in the cost plate registration or renewal.
Once the changes take effect, motorists have the option of continuing to display their front plate or dropping it off at their nearest Service New Brunswick location.
