Increased Bay Area Front Plate Enforcement

[anxman]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share my experiences recently with front plates. I've driven without front plates for about 7 years. The only time I encountered an issue was in Manhattan Beach near LA where I got a ticket last year for not having front plates.

In the last two weeks, I've received two "no front plates" tickets in SF around the Mission district. I'm sharing this as a friendly warning to those that park their cars in San Francisco as I believe there is increased enforcement of this style of ticketing.

The tickets are very expensive at $121 and are fix-it tickets.

//A

EDIT: Going to give this a try: STO N SHO quick release front license plate bracket

 

[kort677]

you could always follow the laws on the books and mount your front plate

 

[Max*]

you could always follow the laws on the books and mount your front plate

That'd be too simple.

 

[anxman]

you could always follow the laws on the books and mount your front plate

I think front plates look awful on Teslas.

 

[chillaban]

$121 is pretty cheap for a vehicle code violation in CA. I paid for at least 2 of them back when I didn't want to drill my BMW's bumper.

In SF, they will ticket you proactively any time you street park or park in a city-owned garage.

 

[anxman]

FWIW, I've parked in SF for years and never got front plate tickets until recently.

 

[seclinton]

Parked Friday 9/23 near the Fillmore in SF around 3:00 in a "P" permitted zone. 2 hour limit. some morning hour until 6:00PM. Absolutely out of place in that area being a jet black Tesla with dark ass tint.

- so we went for some ice cream and beers (she had sangria @ the Study Room) before returning back to the car at 4:00 to move it to another spot to see if it would be tagged for anything.
- when 4:00 hit, we jumped back out of the car and hit the pub again, knowing the 2hr limit times out at 6:00, so we'd be good sans parking permit until the end of the show

- No ticked for parking >2hrs, no no-plate ticket.
- Peruvian tapas for dinner
- Soundcheck, band meet and greet, photo, picked songs for the set; 2+ hour show

Just a great O.A.R. show at the Fillmore.

 

[chillaban]

FWIW, I've parked in SF for years and never got front plate tickets until recently.

Lucky lucky! I've found that they didn't use to patrol the Mission as much, but man, that Embarcadero area around the piers, that is a death trap. I literally saw a meter maid go to my BMW (in 2013) and ticket it when I was one block away from my car.


(Don't you also love it that you have to address fix-it evidence to 'SFMTA Customer Service' as if you're their customer and they're doing you a service?)

 

[anxman]

I haven't gotten any of these tickets in the Marina, NOPA, or SOMA areas but I'm 2/2 in the Mission.

 

[flashflood]

"Liberal police state" should be an oxymoron, but that's exactly what San Francisco is becoming.

 

[anxman]

I consider it to be the least tolerant liberal place that I've ever lived. As long as you subscribe to the local culture, you'll be accepted. If you have an ounce of capitalism or conservatism, then they want you gone.

 

[kort677]

I think front plates look awful on Teslas.

I agree, however the laws don't take that into consideration.

 

[onautopilot]

I haven't had a front license plate on any of my cars for 15 years in the Bay area. The only ticket I ever got was in the city (SF) in a parking lot. Since then when parking in SF I don't back in. Look for a spot where the front of the car won't be plainly visible. Problem solved.

 

[chillaban]

I haven't had a front license plate on any of my cars for 15 years in the Bay area. The only ticket I ever got was in the city (SF) in a parking lot. Since then when parking in SF I don't back in. Look for a spot where the front of the car won't be plainly visible. Problem solved.

I think that's good advice if you don't live in the city, but if you do, parallel parking tends to be an inevitable situation. It's helpful for people to know to watch out for this situation because the SFMTA does seem to have phases of very aggressive front plate enforcement.

 

[NewJerseyMS]

Are you all saying that CA requires a front plate but doesn't enforce it? That's mind boggling.

 

[ecarfan]

Are you all saying that CA requires a front plate but doesn't enforce it? That's mind boggling.

It is not that simple. Yes, legally in CA a front plate is required. That does not mean that if a police officer sees a car without a front plate they will invariably cite the driver for that violation. In fact that is uncommon, with exceptions as described by some of the posts in this thread and others on TMC where this has been discussed.

 

[demundus]

Are you all saying that CA requires a front plate but doesn't enforce it? That's mind boggling.

Its one of those "bigger fish to fry" scenarios... hell, speed limits are almost "suggestions" around here.

 

[Lloyd]

Are you all saying that CA requires a front plate but doesn't enforce it? That's mind boggling.

About 30% of the cars on the road in California do not have front plates. Bigger cities with bigger budgets seem to enforce that more.

 

[Lightmatrix]

I had to put a front plate when I moved from NV (doesn't require) to TX (does)... after about 15min of whining I realized it really doesn't look that bad.

 

[NoMoGas]

you could always follow the laws on the books and mount your front plate

Ummmm NO. That makes the car look FUGLY and honestly it's a waste. Many states don't even have 2 plates so they can pound sand.