Avoid Costly Tickets! Buy Anti Photo-radar Spray And License Plate Covers!

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If you inspected Will Foreman's SUV, you might notice how clean and shiny his license plates are. But you probably wouldn't detect the clear glossy coating the Howard County resident sprayed on them eight months ago to thwart traffic cameras from snapping readable photos of his tags.

"It must work," says Foreman. He has not received a traffic camera ticket since using a $29.99 spray called PhotoBlocker. Auto store owner Will Foreman uses PhotoBlocker spray to reflect the flash of a photo-radar camera. (Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

Foreman, owner of Eastover Auto Supply , also coated the plates of his eight delivery trucks. He says they previously drew $1,200 in photo-radar fines but none since the application. And he has had no complaints from customers who have bought about 700 cans of the spray at his shop. "If it didn't work, we would've heard about it," he says.

Furman Eldridge of Cheverly bought PhotoBlocker a year ago as "a defense mechanism." He has enough faith in it that he says he gave a can to his pastor.

"I've always been a law-abiding citizen," he says. "You don't want people speeding, but I don't think it should flash you if you're just going five miles over the limit."

As jurisdictions increasingly turn to automated red-light and speed-radar cameras, products promising consumers stealth protection have multiplied. Dozens are on the market. In addition to the products' effectiveness, their use raises legal and ethical questions for consumers.

Cheaper than radar detectors (which are illegal in the District and Virginia), sprays such as PhotoBlocker, are advertised as reflecting the flash back at automated cameras to overexpose the license plate. The photo is said to look like a picture taken with a flash in front of a mirror -- glared. Other products cover license plates with plastic shields. The Reflector ($19.95) uses reflective sparkles embedded in clear plastic. The PhotoShield ($25) uses a thin prismlike lens.

These products sell mostly online, although some have found their way to auto parts stores. PhotoBlocker, for instance, is sold online at PhantomPlate.com and at 10 independent auto supply dealers between Baltimore and Centreville -- and at one car wash.

"It sells okay. If I could sell it for $5, I could sell a whole lot more," says Harold Berger, owner of Kenilworth Car Wash in Hyattsville. "The people who usually buy it have gotten tickets. People don't want to spend $30 unless they got burned. It's like paying for a ticket upfront, only less."

Joe Scott, marketing director for PhantomPlate, the Alexandria firm that makes PhotoBlocker, says about 100,000 cans have sold in four years. And with traffic camera programs multiplying faster abroad than in the United States, his product is now sold on six continents. "Sales have been phenomenal," he says.

The big questions are: Do these products work, and are they legal?

Former Baltimore police officer Bob Kleebauer conducted his own road test. Late one night in March, he drove to the intersection where his wife got a photo-radar ticket. His license plate coated with PhotoBlocker, he waited until no cars were coming, then ran the light.

He took that "$75 chance" because he believes red-light cameras are revenue traps targeting decent people, says Kleebauer, now a telecom salesman. "Ninety-nine percent of the drivers who get caught are law-abiding citizens who do it accidentally. You are approaching a yellow light and you have a tenth of a second to brake or go. Make the wrong decision and they got you."

His test finding: "The flash went off behind me, but I've never received a ticket."

The Denver Police Department, at the behest of Fox News, conducted a road test two years ago and found that PhotoBlocker was effective, plate covers less so. Similar results were found by TV news programs in Great Britain, Australia and Sweden.

Five Washington area police departments declined to or didn't respond to requests that they conduct roadside tests for The Washington Post. Those who responded said they didn't have time and wouldn't want to promote a product that may be illegal or interferes with law enforcement.

"We'd have to shut down the streets and traffic, and all of our red-light cameras are at major intersections," says Capt. David Mellender of the Fairfax City Police Department, which uses seven red-light cameras. "And if it does work, we don't want them to know about that."

Fairfax County has 13 red-light cameras and plans to add two more by year's end. Bud Walker, an officer with the county's police department, says a field test "could be seen as an endorsement, and as a public institution we can't do that."

Despite the television news tests, there's little consensus about the effectiveness.

Speed Measurement Laboratories -- consultants to police departments and radar and radar-detector makers worldwide -- has tested most products designed to defeat photo enforcement, including car waxes and stealth sprays that claim to make cars "invisible to radar," photo-flash devices designed to flash back at cameras and the high-gloss tag sprays.

"There's a lot of good people in the industry who are honest and a lot of charlatans. But it doesn't work, that's the bottom line," says Carl Fors, owner of the Fort Worth company.

The bounce-back-the-flash concept does work sometimes, he says, but only on positive images traffic cameras produce. "If we reverse the image, go to a negative image, we can read every letter on a license plate," he says.

Fors says the firms that make and operate radar camera systems for municipalities routinely check negatives of photos where license plates look unreadable. "Going to the negative image is no big deal," he says.

PhotoBlocker's Scott concedes that adjusting the images can "sometimes" reveal the tag numbers, but "these companies will just throw out anything that's questionable. They don't want to have to dispute it in court and it's not cost-effective for them."

Richard Kosina, director of engineering at Affiliated Computer Services, maker of most of the photo-radar cameras active in the District, Maryland and Virginia, says magnifying the image or adjusting brightness and contrast to make glared or blurred plate numbers legible is easy.

But, he adds, those adjustments aren't usually necessary. "In the case of sprays, we know they don't work . . . and we've tested every spray that's there," he says.

Says Ray Reyer: "That's his perspective. There have been cities and towns that have banned the spray. Illinois just did. The reason they're doing this is because they're losing revenue. Why else would they?"

For some law-abiding consumers, effectiveness may be a moot point. Many jurisdictions insist that such products are prohibited by laws that ban obstructing license plates. Ads for such products typically include a disclaimer about their legality.

Anne Witt, director of the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, thinks the products are "not legal in the District." D.C. laws require that license plates be "maintained free from foreign materials and in a clearly legible condition" and ban the attachment of anything that obstructs any part of the tag. The "illegible tag" fine is $50.

The District's automated red-light and speed-enforcement programs are in full gear. Red-light cameras, now at 39 locations, have ticketed more than 450,000 drivers and collected $27 million in fines since the program's inception in 1999, according to the D.C. police Web site. The department's photo-radar speeding program, using mostly mobile cameras, has issued 993,000 tickets and collected more than $53.6 million since it began in 2001 -- including more than $10 million in 2004. by Primoz

How to Get The Best New Car Warranty

Not all new car warranties are a great deal. Consider what most warranties for products you buy are really designed to do--protect the seller. So when you are looking for a new car, you need to be shopping for a good warranty as much as you are shopping for the right color and options.

You will typically find two parts to any new car warranty. There is the "bumper to bumper" part, which covers everything but your tires and brakes, and the powertrain part, which covers everything that moves your car, like the transmission and engine. These warranties usually cover your car for a certain number of years, or a certain number of miles, whichever comes first.

When you are shopping for a car, you should be asking questions to find the right vehicle for the right price. Some of those questions should specifically deal with the new car warranty you'll get, such as:

• What is covered?
• For how long?
• Is rust and corrosion damage included?
• Does the warranty provide roadside assistance if your car breaks down?

A new car warranty that is good for 10 years or 100,000 miles might sound like a great deal, but don't forget the fine print. What's specifically included and excluded? Details count. You might not be a car expert, but if your dealer can't explain things in plain language, it might be good to shop around some more.

In particular, consider going prepared with a few scenarios to ask about. For example, if your car hits a pothole and you found out later that it threw something off in your engine, is that covered? Do you have to jump through any hoops and deal with any hassles?

Once you've determined what the basic warranty (sometimes called the factory warranty) covers, you'll be in better shape to determine if you need or want some kind of extended warranty coverage.

An extended warranty is basically insurance for your factory warranty. It is a service contract that guarantees you lower rates on parts and repairs. You can get an extended warranty through the car dealer, or from a third party in what's called the aftermarket.

An extended warranty is a bit like buying health insurance. You will need to shop around, compare deductibles, determine if the company selling the warranty is a good company to do business with, find out if the warranty is transferable when you sell your car, etc.

Do not be afraid to ask your dealer to do some legwork for you when it comes to extended warranties. Some car manufacturers (like Ford) do offer their own branded extended warranties, but dealers often make less money on those than they do by selling aftermarket extended warranties. If you press them, though, they'll give you the branded extended warranty, which can give you some additional piece of mind that you're getting the "official" version.

Car warranties are not mysterious, but do not assume you'll be getting a good one. Make it part of your car shopping menu so you're shopping for the future of your car, not just for the here and now. by Paul Ransom

Used Car Warranties - 5 Key Questions To Ask Before Buying A Used Car

If you are in the market for a used car, you need to be in another market at the same time--the market for used car warranties. You need to shop for both. And if you're not careful, you can end up costing yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars on a bad extended warranty.

When you are shopping, remember what an extended warranty is. It is essentially a service contract that covers things after the new car warranty (the factory warranty) ends. You will not get all of the new car coverage, even in a great extended warranty, so don't let that bother you. But be smart about what you do get. Here are some questions to ask.

Do you really need an extended warranty? You might not if there is a big portion of the original warranty left. If the warranty transfers to a new buyer, you might be covered as much as you need or want. Saving the money you would have spent on an extended warranty might be a smart option.

What is covered by an extended warranty you're considering? This is an extremely important question to answer. Many people shop for an extended warranty like they shop for gas--they buy the cheapest they can find. That is often a big mistake. In the world of extended warranties, you often get what you pay for.

What you want is a warranty that covers mechanical breakdown and "wear and tear." Wear and tear refers to items that tend to wear out and degrade the performance of your car. That means things like worn rings, shot pistons, overheating damage, leaks, etc. Stuff in your car tends to wear out, not fail, so do not settle for a warranty that does not cover wear and tear.

Is the warranty company reputable? If you can not get information about the company from the Better Business Bureau or Web Assured, avoid them like the plague.

You will find that many companies offering cheap extended warranties with low teaser rates reject most (or even all) claims. That's the way they make money on such a cheap product. They might not answer their phones. They might not send you a contract to review before you agree to the warranty. These are all bad signs.

Will the warranty pay the repair shop directly? If they make you pay first, they can quibble about reimbursing you. This is one of the biggest scam tactics out there. You should pick a warranty that will pay the repair shop directly and not force you to shell out your own money and hope for reimbursement.

Can you get repairs at any ASE certified shop? You don't want a warranty that forces you get service where you bought the warranty, or that restricts you to a few repair shops in the greater Newark area (although that might be convenient if you live in New Jersey). You want a warranty that will let you get your service at any shop certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). That gives you the flexibility to have 400,000 professionals to choose from.

Used car warranties can be a great way to protect your purchase, if you know what to look for. If you answer these five key questions, you will be able to protect yourself as much as you are trying to protect your car. by Paul Ransom