[VIDÉOS] Viral and illegal device: “James Bond” gadget to hide your license plate

Police forces in Quebec say they are “concerned” by illegal gadgets that allow license plates to be hidden on demand, while drivers boast online of being “James Bond” of the road with these devices.

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“It is above all the use of these tools with the aim of evading the laws that concerns us. Do they want to commit a criminal act anonymously, bypass photo radar or even avoid tolls on the roads?” asks Sergeant Ann Mathieu, of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

The Journal found that a new company in Quebec, called Pegasus, has been openly selling these gadgets online since August. Some of the company’s videos have gone viral with more than eight million views. Their technology, called “ghost plate,” “vanish late» or even «ghost plate”, costs $251 per unit.

“Want to stop paying to drive? Let us show you our solution,” mentions the company Pegasus, in one of its sequences filmed in the parking lot of the Rockland Center in Montreal.

Child’s play…illegal

To install this device, simply stick the transparent product over its registration number. The tool is then connected to the vehicle’s battery or cigarette lighter. A controller finally allows you to hide your plate with a display that changes from opaque to black on request.

The , which makes a plate invisible to an automatic reader equipped with a flash, made headlines a few years ago. This new technology now allows a driver to completely hide their registration number, from everyone, at the precise moment they want.

The City of Gatineau Police Department claims to be aware of this problem and “deplores” the sale of these objects. He confirms that it is illegal to install these devices on a vehicle. The minimum fine for a driver who prevents his plate from being readable is $704.

Note that the Pegasus company is fooling its customers by writing on its website that its ghost plates are “legal” and “compliant with all relevant regulations”.

“For the installer or the seller, it’s the same thing. Because the fact of installing it is a gesture that helps, encourages, incites; and this is therefore punishable under article 333 of the Highway Safety Code,” confirms Sergeant Ann Mathieu, of the SQ. The latter specifies that a merchant is also exposed to a finding of $704.

Thinking of yourself as James Bond

A Mascouche resident told our representative that he hides his license plate with a device equipped with an “electronic curtain” (see video below). He bragged last month on Instagram. In a 15-second video, he proclaims himself “the James Bond of the road” with his gadget.

Example of a hidden license plate with a “curtain” in Quebec:

“I have to go to Montreal for my work all the time. It costs $10 per day round trip with the toll on Highway 25. I can’t afford that,” says the forty-year-old, who refuses to identify himself on the phone.

The number of reports given for “illegible plates” exploded between 2019 and 2023. According to the Sûreté du Québec, it increased from 671 to 1,085.

Our requests for an interview with Pegasus, whose owners are unknown, went unanswered. The company did not appear to be registered in the Quebec Business Register, according to our checks.