A new law is set to take effect on March 17, changing the design of license plates to prevent future confusion. This change comes after a series of mix-ups left drivers fighting unpaid parking tickets for cars they never owned.
Recently, Melissa Crowe from Broadwater County, Montana, received a letter from Olympia, Washington, about an unpaid ticket issued to her son, Jadon Schwartz, for a red Honda Pilot. However, Schwartz owns a gray Toyota Rav4 and hasn’t visited Washington in years.
The problem lies with Montana’s county license plates, which use a bullhead symbol to separate the county number from the plate number. This symbol is often misread by automated license plate readers, causing confusion across state lines. In Schwartz’s case, a plate reader in Olympia misread a plate from Missoula County as the same as his plate from Broadwater County.
The Montana Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) notes that such errors are not uncommon. Eight years ago, they occurred every few months, but now they happen about once or twice a month. Michael Walker, the DMV’s vehicle services bureau chief, attributes the issue to the inability of plate readers to correctly interpret the bullhead symbol.
To address this, new license plates will use alpha characters, making each plate unique and preventing future mix-ups. However, it may take years for these new plates to reach all drivers, as plates are typically replaced every five years.
Additionally, the DMV advises vehicle owners to remove plates when selling or disposing of vehicles to avoid receiving mistaken parking tickets or toll violations. Until the new plates are widely distributed, drivers may continue to face these frustrating errors.
