Running with No Front Plate?

[wycolo]

DC operatives may 'know' about states laws but is it their mission to enforce them? Do they have any legal standing to do so? And they could not be ticketing under any guise of safety because there are many states that only issue single plates. So we are pretty much left with harassment as a motivation.

But DC is not a state, so maybe not required to reciprocally honor 'states rights' as a real state would?

Thanks for the heads up about DC. I'll be sure to park on private property whenever I visit there. :smile:
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[Crispix]

I've been using suction cups since I got my car a couple years ago to temporarily affix the front plate to my car when parked in a location prone to ticketing. Works great. Even if I forget to remove the plate the suction cups work so well there's no problem driving with the plate on, too. (Previous thread)

 

[Kesler]

4 years with 2 cars without front license plate and no ticket
in California

 

[mknox]

My brother lives in SoCal and he does have front plates on all 3 of his cars, but I am amazed at how many I see there without them whenever I visit. On a related note, my brother will frequently pointy out, and gets quite steamed at, the number of expired tags he sees driving around too. I guess licence plate enforcement is not a priority there. I doubt I'd get a week in with a missing front plate or an expired tag here where I live.

 

[LetsGoFast]

I've refused to mount a front plate in my last three cars. Previously, I seemed to average a ticket about every 8 months. Five months in and so far not one in the Tesla.

 

[roblab]

My brother lives in SoCal and he does have front plates on all 3 of his cars, but I am amazed at how many I see there without them whenever I visit. On a related note, my brother will frequently pointy out, and gets quite steamed at, the number of expired tags he sees driving around too. I guess licence plate enforcement is not a priority there. I doubt I'd get a week in with a missing front plate or an expired tag here where I live.

About ten percent of California cars drive around with no front plate. It's sort of like the old laws that said you had to have a man walking in front of you with a flag warning others. The license plate was used mainly for LIDAR radar reflection, but newer radars have no trouble, so most are not concerned.

The last time I got pulled over for no plate, I counted six cars passing without one. No front plate is just something they can do if you irritate them, I guess.:biggrin:

The law says the front plate must be "affixed" to the front of the car. I "affixed" it with Velcro. They allowed that. And I haven't had a front plate since then, about 20 years.

 

[mknox]

The license plate was used mainly for LIDAR radar reflection, but newer radars have no trouble, so most are not concerned.

When I was a kid in Florida, there was no front plate requirement, and that was long before LIDAR. The Canadian province of Quebec doesn't require them either. I wonder what the rationale really is in jurisdictions that actually require them?

 

[cpa]

When I was a kid in Florida, there was no front plate requirement, and that was long before LIDAR. The Canadian province of Quebec doesn't require them either. I wonder what the rationale really is in jurisdictions that actually require them?

It has been "explained" by law enforcement types that having two license plates is in the interest of public safety. First, they have license plate scanners in some patrol vehicles that can check to see if the car has been stolen or involved in a crime or "Amber Alert." Or, it makes it easier to identify a car if there are two plates instead of one. Second, and perhaps the real reason is that it is considered a primary violation (meaning they can stop you.) So, if you are suspected (maybe someone dialed 911) of being under the influence but otherwise driving lawfully, the officer can stop you for no front plate and go from there.

 

[igotzzoom]

I haven't had a front plate for most of the time I've had my last two cars. Never been cited for it, even when I've been pulled over for other things, oddly enough. I always make sure my registration is up to date, however.

 

[Timothy]

I've refused to mount a front plate in my last three cars. Previously, I seemed to average a ticket about every 8 months. Five months in and so far not one in the Tesla.

I have had three cars without front plates here in Santa Barbara for 30 years. I get about one ticket every 5 years, put the plate on, pay the fine, take the plate off. The only exception is I go to the Film Fest here every winter and the car I am driving is in a public parking lot for a better part of a week--bound to get a ticket then-- so I put on a front plate for that one week a year. Otherwise, one ticket every 5 years for three cars seems reasonable so I leave the front plate off and take my chances.