Should Florida require license plates on both ends of cars? Lawmakers considering bill

State considers bill to require front license plates

Evan Axelbank reports.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida legislature is considering a bill to require state drivers to have license plates on both the front and back of vehicles. The goal is to make it more difficult to get away from a hit-and-run crash.

The backstory:

The bill is in honor of 13-year-old Lilly Glaubach, who was killed in 2022 by a driver who is now serving fifteen years for leaving the scene.

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"It's almost kind of like time stopped at that point," said Glaubach's mother, Sarah Alexander. "Every day that goes by, we miss different milestones."

Glaubach was headed home from Pine View School in Osprey when 65-year-old David Chang hit her so hard, the force sent her almost through the windshield.

"Good Samaritans happened to take a picture pulled up next to him at a red light," said Paul Alexander, Glaubach's step-father.

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Big picture view:

To add one more way to catch a hit-and-run driver, State Sen. Joe Gruters is pitching a bill that requires Floridians to add a license plate to the front of their vehicle.

"As people are speeding away from these scenes, there's a lot of cameras out there, and those cameras can't always see the back of the plate," said Gruters.

Dig deeper:

Gruters points out that only 12.5% of hit-and-run crashes in 2023 resulted in charges. The bill also requires repair shops to ask for police reports. If one is not provided, the store would have to send the estimate to a new FDLE database.

"This legislation seeks to deter hit-and-runs by increasing the accountability of nautical motor vehicle repair shops, while preventing individuals from getting work done under false pretenses," said Gruters.

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The other side:

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd agrees with most of the bill, but not the double license plates. He sees it as an undue burden on drivers to get a second plate, and also on law enforcement who would have to stop more cars for not complying.

"We have a lot of technology that we use to solve hit-and-runs," said Judd, "and if added front license plate were the end all, then I would be for it, but it's simply not."

What's next:

The license plate part of the bill is a new addition after several years of Gruters trying to get the Lilly Glaubach law to the governor's desk. Her family said they will be in Tallahassee next week to lobby for it.

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"Just any little bit of information to find the person who hit your loved one is important," said Sarah Alexander.

The bill has passed two committees unanimously, and is headed to the appropriations committee next. Twenty-nine other states do require license plates on both the front and backs of vehicles.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered from details about the bill and from Sarah Alexander, Paul Alexander, State Sen. Joe Gruters and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. It also includes details from Lilly Glaubach's hit-and-run death.

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