Front licence plate fix it ticket in CA

[Kermit]

I believe airport security systems are pretty paranoid about recording every vehicle that enters. So they expect every car to have a front plate.

 

[Lloyd]

18% do not have front plates now in my area. (My count) no front plates for me! I remember airport security recording the rear plate.

 

[markb1]

I'm still driving with no plates. I wonder if there is some sort of grace period?

 

[SCW-Greg]

It's a nice target for laser guns.

This.
Oregon isn't much different than CA on this front plate requirement / excuse to pull over on suspicion of anything else they're looking for.
However, you can get a ticket for having any kind of cover (even clear) over the front plate, as that causes glare for traffic cameras. That and I'm sure (unspoken) they want a clear easy target for the laser guns too.

 

[dwhite]

I had a Mazda RX-8 for 8 years with no front plate. Don't even have the mounts installed on the S, and been running for 6 months. But I was asked for the special HOV permit paperwork, even though I was driving on the on a freeway with no HOV lanes.

 

[jammerdjc]

13 years of driving a Qvale Mangusta and got one ticket parked in Palo Alto and one in an SJ garage. No change in fine and both signed off by cops who took one look at the car and said "you don't want to put holes in that.....". Paid $10 each time.

 

[ElectricWeasel]

For those that reported getting 'fix-it' tickets, did you have the second plate in the car? I've had the experience where just showing the officer that I have the plate (and not on some other car) was enough to avoid a ticket. For those ticketed by meter-maids or while parked, would having the second plate on the dash have helped?

I have also seen front license brackets that mount under the car out of sight and allow the license to swing out into position when needed, and to tuck underneath when not. At least avoids drilling the front grill.

 

[vfx]

Franz said he puts the front plate on the dashboard when parked at airports. Says it satisfys the legal requirement.

 

[tdiggity]

Franz said he puts the front plate on the dashboard when parked at airports. Says it satisfys the legal requirement.

If we're getting into specifics then the front plate must be mounted securely to the car. On the dash would mean that it could still swivel/move/hurt someone if you got into an accident. V C Section 5201 Positioning of Plates
.

 

[SouthJerseyJon]

Although I am not a resident of California, review of the CA vehcle code would permit the mounting of the license plate to the inside of the front window with the use of suction cups. This would satisfy all of the requirments and you could stow when not in use.

 

[brianman]

Although I am not a resident of California, review of the CA vehcle code would permit the mounting of the license plate to the inside of the front window with the use of suction cups. This would satisfy all of the requirments and you could stow when not in use.

Hm, I should probably see what the WA regulations are.

 

[laalan]

Temporary installation for Road trip to Northern California. Opened up eye bolt and trimmed to install my old Leaf front plate holder. Got a fix it ticket last bay area trip while parked on street.

 

[Effects]

laalan could you explain this mounting in a little more detail please.

 

[laalan]

I opened up eye bolt and clipped it to egg crate grill. It goes through the perforated grill and hooks onto it when pulled back. The plastic plate holder is held to threaded bolt with provided nut. Plate attaches to plastic plate holder. I used plate holder from a Nissan Leaf as I don't remember where my Tesla one is.

I used scrap Expel plastic wrap to protect contact points. Only needed two eye bolts. Hard part was putting in vise and opening it. $1.18 per pack of two at home depot. Easy trim with hack saw.

 

[BJJ Brown Belt]

Please keep in mind that having no front plate automatically gives cops a free reason to pull you over. For example, if you are taking your date/spouse home from dinner and have had a couple of drinks, expect to be put through field sobriety tests. If you fail and get a DUI, that $10 fix it ticket just became a $5,000 DUI expense plus insurance bump plus license suspension. Better hope the tow truck dude isn't an idiot; chances are he's never towed a Tesla before.

If you never ever do anything which is considered illegal in CA, then keep pulling off the plate. My clients however have learned that its not smart to give cops a free shot at getting at you and/or the contents of your car.

Having no front plate actually helped me have a lower priced ticket. I was going to the Bay Area from Reno. I'm on I-80 West, and on a downhill - a steep long downhill. Before I know it, I'm going 85+ mph, police car is in back of me with their red and blue lights flashing. I pull to the side, roll my window down, then the officer walks to my window. Long story short, the nice police officer did not give me a ticket for speeding (very expensive ticket), instead, he gave me a ticket for no front license plate ($10 fine). If I had a front license plate, I'm pretty sure he would have given me a speeding ticket to meet his quota for the month...

 

[roblab]

What is going on here? Years of people complaining about getting tickets for driving with no FLP, yet everyone seems to think this kind of random profiling and harassment is simply fine.

The California law requiring front license plates is totally unnecessary. Yet there is always some form of law "enforcement" willing to pull someone over, often for no other reason than they don't have a front license plate affixed. Some officers admit they watch for Teslas, because they can find infractions more easily, AND YET TEN PERCENT of all cars in CA do not have a front plate mounted. It obviously is not a major concern, yet any officer could sit by the roadside and pull over cars as fast as he could write tickets. They don't: They would rather ticket just a few so they don't cause waves. A few weeks ago, a CHP ("To protect and serve") weaved across I-5, blew across the center divider, and pulled me over, yet yesterday I drove for miles behind, beside, and in front of a CHP with no reaction. We are not talking about driving dangerously.

Here we are, a huge segment of Tesla drivers, who could easily get up a petition to put a ballot up in CA, to remove this outdated law. Some of you folk know lawmakers, congresspeople, or lobbyists. Yet nothing happens. Waste your time buying J bolts, pretend to fix the ticket and then remove your plate, drive to the CHP for verification. Hey, I got off with only a $10 fine! Don't you all see how ridiculous this is???

I have written to several folk, representatives, Tesla groups, even the CHP. ZERO response. No one wants to get involved. Just remember, though. There are probably thousands of Teslas out there breaking the law. If you haven't been stung yet, you will be. And the only solution is to REMOVE this law.

 

[hmmm]

Yes, SF meter maids are notorious for that.

True story: the last time I had to fix it, the cop started by looking at my rear license plate. When he saw the puzzled look on my face, he was like "yes I know...but there was this one time I checked this guy's front plate only to notice as he was leaving that he had used his rear license plate to "fix" the front".

AFAIK, they don't keep track of the number of instances, although it has only happened to me once per car over the years, at least for now.

 

[RWcarbon]

How many times can you get away with this. Does DMV keep track or what happens?

To my knowledge, the DMV does not keep track of this, but the city in which you received the ticket does. I've received my fair share of no front plate tickets, but let's not even get started on the subject of ridiculous parking tickets

 

[JLan]

Gee, CA could save ~ $15 million a year by eliminating that front plate requirement. Is there no action on that front?

This is a great argument. I wonder how much revenue they earn with plate tickets per year.

 

[cpa]

This is a great argument. I wonder how much revenue they earn with plate tickets per year.

I think that it is less about the revenue. It is more about the hoary line from law enforcement: Public safety. License plate scanners can determine if a car is stolen or has been recently involved in a crime or is possibly being driven by a fugitive. Minor vehicle infractions are a justified reason for officers to stop drivers if the officer believes that the driver is impaired, yet has not committed a driving offense.

If front license plates were not required, law enforcement tells us that the world would be a more dangerous place than it is already. Or so the story goes.