He Used This License Plate Gadget to Avoid Tolls, But He Didn’t Avoid the Cops
To what lengths would you go to save $1.25? Drive to two different grocery stores in a day because one has cheaper fruit and one has cheaper meat? Get a regular coffee instead of a fancy one? One man in Florida installed a gadget that would hide his license plate from toll cameras.
From what we see in the following video from ABC Action News, it seems as if Joshua West’s gizmo was certainly capable of working – on a mechanical level, at least. A black curtain descends from the top of the rear license plate frame and completely obscures the plate inside from toll cameras and the fees they charge with every shot. When the curtain is up, there’s nothing particularly suspicion-arousing about the frame, aside from the fact that it’s attached to a black wire that leads into the trunk, but at speed, that can be easily overlooked.
Ultimately, West’s little gadget didn’t work. It’s not because of a mechanical error, though. The device seems to work just fine. Chalk it up to operator error. West made his move at the exact wrong time; he deployed his little money-saver in front of a cop – not exactly the best time to pretend you’re James Bond (we all know that’s at the bar when you order a martini. OK…maybe not then, either).
West is now facing a felony charge and probably fines that will end up being a hell of a lot more than $1.25. That’s on top of the money West initially paid for his mechanized mistake. We poked around on eBay and found that a unit similar to the one West used costs more than $75.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
