Now You See It, Solano CHP Stops a Jetta With a Push-Button Plate Hider

A black Volkswagen Jetta rolled through an Express Lane in Solano County with a blank bumper where a rear plate should have been. A California Highway Patrol cruiser in the next lane caught that empty space on dashcam, then saw the same car moments later with a full, readable California plate sitting in place. That change was the whole stop.

Officers stopped a Jetta, and there was just one driver inside. After speaking with the motorist, CHP Solano learned that the strange hardware on the bumper was intended to avoid paying Express Lane costs and Bay Area bridge tolls. The office later posted the encounter with a short line that has already traveled farther than the car did that day. “Now you see it, now you don’t.”

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On body camera footage, that hardware appears to be quite typical. An officer picked up a small remote that functions similarly to a key fob, hit a button, and a black shield swooped over the plate, erasing the numbers. With another squeeze, the cover fell back out, revealing a standard licence plate. In the video coverage, that panel is described as a sliding cover or a raised shield, which is basically the same type of motorized frame you can buy online as plate hiders, flippers, and curtains, and a driver can hide the tag on the way up to a bridge, then revert it before the cameras get a clear look.

Tolls in that section of the state do not require a person at a booth to check your plate because Express Lanes and Bay Area bridges combine FasTrak readers with overhead cameras. If the transponder does not respond, the camera captures a photo of the rear plate, and the agency sends the bill to the owner. Cover the plate for a few seconds, and the snapshot comes back empty. Pay by plate only works if you are prepared to display your plate, which is why there is a removable cover like this.

California has previously excluded the concept from the Vehicle Code. Section 5201.1 states that you are not permitted to operate a vehicle with a removable frame, flipper, or any other device designed to conceal a license plate from view or electronic readers. The base fine is $250, before the state and county add extra costs and take it from there. Section 5201 still requires plates to be properly attached, visible, and readable at all times. If you don’t pay your tolls, you’re also breaking another law, 23302(a)(1), which will result in civil penalties and a DMV hold, prohibiting you from renewing your registration. The same chapter was tightened in 2025 and 2026, including any goods that seek to peel or paint over a plate’s reflective coating, preventing cameras from locking on it.
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