PhotoBlocker

PhotoBlocker issued this promotional image to demonstrate the effectiveness of its product.

Garland and Plano are among a growing number of cities now using automated cameras to ticket motorists who choose to ignore red lights.

Garland police spokesman Joe Harn defended the cameras as a crime deterrent. "[They] cut down on the serious injuries and then also the deaths that are caused."

But the thought of being photographed has some drivers looking for a way to circumvent the streetcorner cameras, and they've found it in a 24 oz. aerosol can that promises to make a license plate unreadable.

PhotoBlocker instructs users to spray four coats on a plate; it produces a glaze that is supposed to create a glare, rendering letters and numbers on the plates illegible in photographs.

Driver Emma Smith said she isn't happy knowing the product is out there for speeders to purchase. "If someone ran that red light, I want to get that tag number," she said.

Drivers should know that while PhotoBlocker claims to be "100% legal to buy and sell," actually using it could get you in legal hot water.

A transportation statute says license plates cannot have any coating, covering or protective material that distorts their visibility.

"It's against the law, and if we catch them, we're going to prosecute them," Harn said.

E-mail bgreene@wfaa.com