Ride-share driver stopped on Ottawa highway for having no licence plate

Ontario Provincial Police stopped this vehicle for not having a licence plate on Wednesday. (OPP/X)

Ontario Provincial Police hit the brakes on a ride-share driver transporting a fare in Ottawa without licence plates on their vehicle.

Police say an officer stopped a ride-share driver on Highway 417 Wednesday because there was no licence plate. A passenger was inside the ride-share vehicle at the time of the traffic stop.

“The driver had purchased the vehicle a week prior and told police they were not aware the plates had to be secured to the vehicle,” the OPP said on X.

The driver received a $110 fine for operating a vehicle with no plates.

Ontario Provincial Police will be conducting a ‘Plate Week’ initiative next week, targeting licence plate infractions in Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley.

Between March 31 and April 6, officers will be doing “focused enforcement” on licence plates that are damaged, unreadable, missing or obstructed.

“Front-line patrol officers with the OPP have noted that there has been an increase in the number of plate covers being used on vehicles,” the OPP said. “Drivers that have been stopped by police have admitted to purchasing the illegal plate covers to avoid being detected by the Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras that have been installed in police cruisers.”

“Furthermore, the ALPR camera’s abilities are significantly reduced by licence plates that are damaged or have had their reflective colour fade or peel off over time.”

The fines for licence plate violations range from $110 to $170.