Skip to main content

It wasn’t even his car. He rented it, but a police officer pulled him over for the license plate frame bolted to the Mercedes-Benz. “He said, ‘I’m arresting you because the ‘S’ on your license plate is obscured,” Demarquize Dawson recalls. The “S” the Florida officer referred to, by the way, was the “S” in “Sunshine.”

The numbers were clear. The registration decal was visible. But Dawson said the officer arrested him anyway and booked him into jail, where he spent the night.

The arrest came amid early confusion over a Florida license plate law that took effect October 1

Lawmakers updated the statute, Section 316.605 of Florida law, to crack down on tinted covers and other devices that make tags hard to read.

Lawmakers targeted toll fraud and stolen vehicles, not souvenir frames. The law states that drivers cannot obscure plates or alter them in a way that prevents identification.

That wording turned out to be the problem.

After Dawson’s arrest, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles circulated a clarification memo

It explained that frames may cover the top or bottom of a plate as long as an officer can identify the issuing state, read the alphanumeric characters, and see the registration decal.

Covering part of the words “Sunshine State” does not automatically violate the law.

Davie Police acknowledged the mistake

The department said the original guidance was vague and open to misinterpretation.

Once the clarification arrived from state and police chiefs’ groups, officers were retrained. The department said Dawson’s arrest was invalid and apologized.

According to NBC 6 South Florida, Dawson went to the hospital after experiencing a panic attack. He was treated, released, and later let out of jail on his own recognizance. He said the situation never should have escalated that far.

What used to be a non-criminal traffic infraction is now a second-degree misdemeanor

That carries the possibility of up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. For many Florida drivers, that’s a heavy hammer for a cosmetic accessory.

Best in News
Avatar photo
Editor-in-Chief

Sarah Kennedy

Sarah Kennedy is the Editor-in-Chief of MotorBiscuit. She joined the team as Managing Editor in 2021 and has more than 20 years of automotive and operations expertise. She held ASE certifications as an Automotive Service Consultant and Parts Specialist and was a licensed car salesperson for many years. Sarah often focuses on helping drivers navigate used car buying and vehicle ownership. She created “Shop Smarts,” a column for MOTOR Magazine, and was a contributor there for eight years. Her work earned her a Gold Medalist award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors in 2014 and Bronze Medalist awards from the International Automotive Media Competition in 2014 and 2015. She attended the Automotive Management Institute and earned her bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University.

Want more news like this? Add MotorBiscuit as a preferred source on Google!
Preferred sources are prioritized in Top Stories, ensuring you never miss any of our editorial team's hard work.
Add as preferred source on Google