Drivers blast new licence plates in Canada as ‘totally unreadable’ at night after switch to blue and white design
- Government minsters have been forced to defend the plates after a number of Twitter users, including one police officer, pointed out the issue
- The plates were released earlier this month and are blue with white numbers
- A previous design had dark numbers and letters on a white background
- ‘We absolutely have confidence in our plates’, one government minister said
- But one officer asked: ‘Did anyone consult with police before designing and manufacturing the new Ontario licence plates? They’re virtually unreadable’
- Others also pointed out the flaw, sharing further images of the illegible plates
Drivers in Canada have slammed new licence plates in Ontario as ‘totally unreadable’ at night after the switch to a blue and white design.
Government minsters have been forced to defend the style after a number of Twitter users, including one police officer, pointed out the issue.
The office of Minister of Government and Consumer Services Lisa Thompson told CTV News: ‘We have been made aware that some Ontarians are reporting concerns with readability to the naked-eye under certain light conditions.’
The plates were released earlier this month and are blue with white numbers and letters. The previous design had dark numbers and letters on a white background.
Thompson had earlier defended the plates under questioning from other politicians, telling them: ‘These plates are working. People like them. We absolutely have confidence in our plates.’
Drivers in Canada, including this police officer, have slammed new licence plates in Ontario as ‘totally unreadable’ at night after the switch to a blue and white design
The plates were released earlier this month and are blue with white numbers and letters. The previous design had dark numbers and letters on a white background
It comes after Kingston police Sgt. Steve Koopman posted to Twitter an image of one plate with the details barely legible.
He wrote: ‘Ok, this was taken off duty in a relatively well lit parking lot with my headlights on.
‘Did anyone consult with police before designing and manufacturing the new Ontario licence plates? They’re virtuallly [sic] unreadable at night.’
One Twitter user drove through a car park to illustrate how difficult the plates are to read
Testing shows how the numbers and letters on the plate appear to disappear in the dark
Other users also pointed out the flaw, sharing further images of the plates, writing: ‘Has anyone else noticed that the newly designed @ONgov license plates are totally unreadable from distance at night?
‘Submitted screen grab taken from a 1080P dash camera. Could be an issue for GTA police forces in the future.’
Another said: ‘Wonder what genius decided to change the plate to blue?’
While one user drove through a car park to illustrate how difficult they are to read.
But Thompson’s office insisted: ‘The government consulted with key stakeholders, including our law enforcement partners, to test the readability, reflectivity and functionality of the new high definition plate design.
‘We take this feedback seriously, value the input of Ontario drivers and law enforcement stakeholders and are currently looking into this.’