So, What's Everyone Gonna Do about the front license plate thing?

Get your dealer license and drive with a dealer plate. (Front license plate not required with a rear dealer plate.)

 

Its going in the windshield. when I get to where Im going...throwing it back behind the seat or in the trunk type thing.

 

Hey Bob!

Yeah, I finally caved on my S4 earlier this year. The stock method involved permanently drilling the bumper cover... no *way*.
I would get stopped every couple of years, put one on, go to court, get it dismissed (for $10), then take it back off. But when I got stopped 3 times in 2 months (2 of those were in one week!) and the cops started pointing out how their records showed the many times I had been warned/cited, I finally gave in and rigged a non-invasive mount.

If each ding is potentially going to be $200 then I'll just do the same on the 355. Plateclips are nice, but pretty expensive for what they provide. Thinking I might be able to rig something using the tow-eye and a friend's mig welder. Just don't want anything that covers the front cavalino or is invasive in any way.

 

I'm probably going to get one of these...

Shop Online

 

The chance of getting a no front plate ticket while driving the Ferrari is slim to none. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Tell that to the motorcycle cops in Round Rock who are in place to do nothing but write citations. I've had 4-wheel cops (especially Highway Patrol) let me slide multiple times in the S4 with no front plate, but the Moto cops in RR were hard line about it every time.

You might be right, and I *hate* to sully the car with an ugly plate on the front, but I'm sick of being hassled by cops whose sole purpose is to write traffic citations... which means they're itching to do it.

I've already had one whip a 180 in traffic to come up on my tail, then saw I was still on paper plates, so he backed off. He might have just been coming to get a look at the car, but I doubt it, they all seem poised to nail a "rich guy" (not true) in a Ferrari.

 

Tillman has had one of those for a while, it's well made.

I think it was Dr. Who that made a color copy of his plate on cardboard and put it in the windshield. Good idea.

 

Rather than drilling holes in your bumper or mounting to the thin aluminum grill veins, how about something thats attached via tow hook mount?

Example:License Ferrari License Plate Holder

 

*Exactly* what I was planning to build.

 

This is going to be my approach as well. Have never been stopped in Austin over last 10 months with 458 Italia. Will see how things go.

 

Is that a legal alternative?

 

no plate for me. I still think they will not stop JUST because of no plate. Been no plate for 25 years and been stopped once with a warning. So rolling the dice myself..

 

No worries gentlemen (as with CHL laws they can change without an officers or holders knowledge so ie print this link and carry it in your glove box).

83(R) HB 657 - Introduced version - Bill Text

 

This isn't a new fine. This is only correcting the prior bill, HB2357, which stated there was no fine associated with having ANY license plates on your car.

Rep Pickett, from El Paso, accidentally left out the passage about the fine in the 11th hour. He requested for comments from Judge Abbott, but they were never answered. This implied the law would be fixed next time around. This is that time, and that's why you see the fine associated as it has been in the past.

Without a fine (from Jan 1, 2011 to August 31st, 2013) associated with the infraction, it could be dismissed. The argument follows this line of logic: Fine not associated with license plates in the law, municipal courts handle class c misdemeanors with fines up to $500, since no fine was associated with this infraction, the municipal court is out of jurisdiction.

In Dec 2012, I was ticketed for not having a front license plate and argued this in court... and won (eventually after many trips downtown).

 

Fabspeed makes a mount that bolts to the undertray, I put one on my 355 after a couple of tickets. Not worth the hassle and it looks like it belongs as well as can be. 3 bolts and it comes off but I haven't touched it since I put it on.

 

Ask Tillman, he's almost a lawyer!

 

Whether placing a plate loose on the dash actually satisfies the legal requirement is controversial. Most seem to think it does not.

However, it is certainly a safety hazard. Just imagine the potential injuries caused by a sharp edged metal plate slicing around the cabin in an accident, or even under extreme braking or acceleration.

I hope nobody actually tries this particular solution.

 

I caved (using the stock hardware) -- shortly after moving to Round Rock, a partrol car officer let me off with a warning, but assured me that the vast majority of his fellow officers would write it up (and it was only $100 then).

 

I am not a lawyer.

But:

Here's the leading case regarding the placement of the front plate: Spence v. State, 325 S.W.3d 646 (2010)

Google Scholar

To quote the court: "We conclude that the plain language of Texas Transportation Code § 502.404(a) requires that a license plate be displayed at the foremost part or front of a vehicle, most commonly the front bumper."

Since that point, the law has been amended to resolve some ambiguity. Now it defers to the DMV to create rules that define the location of the plate.

Sec. 504.943. OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITHOUT LICENSE PLATE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person commits an offense if the person operates on a public highway, during a registration period, a motor vehicle that does not display two license plates that:

(1) have been assigned by the department for the period; and

(2) comply with department rules regarding the placement of license plates.
​

I have been unable to find the "department rules" online and don't feel like logging into the specialty tools, but it's clear that they Legislature has passed the buck to the DMV for the specifics. I would be surprised to find that the rules don't match the ruling in Spence, but I've been wrong before. I would also expect that a copy of a plate would not be considered to be the plate "assigned by the department for the period."

If anyone has contacts within the DMV, it would be enlightening to see what they have on their books.

 

I just spoke with the TXDMV and I was told "it is still an offense to not have a front license plate". The rep referred me to the TLO website but it is just too dang confusing for me.

 

Just ordered one myself. The guy at FD said they have been flying out the door, all to TX, NY and CA. I guess we three states must have all enacted new/higher penalties.