Front plate

My philosophy is that at $86 bucks a pop here in WA, I'd have to be stopped a 100 times to equal the cost of the front clip restored new original with no holes. After the first 10-15, I'd take the issue to court pleading among other things, you were being herassed trying to protect the value of your property and the local police were, by their tickets, simply trying to produce revenue with no demonstrated public safety concern. This violates the equal protection clauses of the constitution and your right to be taxed equally. If you or your lawyer are any good at this, you could have them wrapped around the axle so many times - they won't go near you after the first couple of times in court.

 

You must be smoking something funny. It's just a LAW so if you break it you just pay up.

 

Here in Colorado they can be picky about front plates too- I refused to drill holes to mount it but instead used tie-wraps and have it tucked under the bumper where it is barely visible in photos. Just make sure it doesn't block air flow to the radiator and put some foam padding on the back , so it won't scratch the paint.

 

You have a lawyer take care of your front license plate violations?!

I knew tax law, estate law and divorce law were specialities. But I had no idea about front plate law...

 

Let us know how this plays out. You sound like quite the BADASS.

It's not too difficult to fabricate something that attaches with tyraps, no holes. I think the front plate thing is BS but you gotta play with the cards you're dealt.

 

I have seen a nice solution here in Texas - where front plates are required. The front plate was color Xeroxed and the copy laminated. The laminated copy was attached to the front end with string, ty-raps or similar (couldn't tell from my vantage point) but no holes were drilled and no scratchy metal was involved. Fooled everyone from 10' away (read police vision). I guess if he got caught he would just pay up.

rick - no front plate on my 308 or SL500.

 

I currently carry the front plate under my seat which I'll pull out & throw on the dash b4 the man gets to my window. I've seen an electro-mechanical plate retractor that hides the plate on hot rods, seems like it could be adapted for f-cars providing u don't deploy at triple digit speeds. ;-)

 

I've gotten tickets by NY State troopers x2. Had to go to court and show photo of car with mounted plate.
Here in NY where there are many "red cars", the state troopers stop us frequently. They even called dealership and admonished them for delivering cars without mounted plates!

The small holes can be fixed later if necessary or filled with rubber grommets.

Nielsq
NY

 

The 11th Commandment :
"Thou shalt not drill holes in Ferraris"

 

I took a 90 hour video tape class a few years back that was made by the folks in Idaho that drive their cars and trucks around without liscense plates. The whole game is to make it more expensive for them than you. To make a long story short, after the police arrested them a number of times, they filed a class action law suit for police harrassment and sued Ada County Idaho for $7M and Ada County LOST!

I used to successfully defend traffic tickets myself using some of these techniques which involve filing all sorts of motions the court has to deal with. Now I just hire the local atty expert who effectively does the same thing for $350 a pop.

There is nothing magic about any of this, because the cops, the courts and prosecuters know these liscense plate tickets along with most speeding tickets have notheing to do with traffic safety - they are simply revenue enhancement which violates the equal protection clause in most consititutions.

In most municipalities there are lawyers you can hire that understand that most traffic law is BS, that usully counties will try saving the costs of ticket administration by taking certain legal shortcuts that violate your rights to many constitutional safegards. They can fool 98% of the people with this so its cost effective.

I'm not a lawyer, so I would encourage any lawyer to jump in here but that's my .02.

 

Most jurisdictions's motor vehicle codes are referred to as "Strict Liability". In a nutshell it means that if you violate them you have no defense.

So, if you were handed two plates you are required to display two plates.

Now, I have at the moment 3 cars and not one has a front plate, but then again I don't drive any of them in a manner that would attract attention.

So, I keep the front plates in the trunk and if stopped (never have been so far) I'd say, Please, officer, tell me where it goes! No brackets installed of course.

If I were required to do so, I'd install the plate with clear wire ties to clear the fix it ticket, and then remove it afterwards.

No lawyer will waste his time arguing a front plate issue, because there is no legal defense to it.

Don't waste your time thinking it's an arguable point. The judge will fine you more.

Curb your driving a bit and you will not be bothered so much.

As an opthomologist once told me, don't make a "spectacle" of yourself!

 

I can't believe you could watch 90 hours of video.

You haven't been to Minnesota have you?

We call it "the state where absolutely nothing is allowed".

I agree, a low profile is the best approach. In Minnesota, if your car is eligible for "collector" plates (20 or more years old) it is only required to have 1.

 

I was so amused by the promo tape I couldn't stop watching and since I was imobilized from my surgery I just let it run for about 8 hours a day for about two weeks.

 

The main reason they were required in CA was because the original red light cameras could only take a front photo. So they passed a law requiring them. Now that the cameras take front and rear, the law seeem redundant. I dont have one and told my police friend I think of it as my child and would he drill a hole in his childs head. Obviously he was not swayed by my logic but I found out half the cars in the police parking lot did not have front licenses either. I refuse to mount one and have not any tickets yet, although my wife got one on her Miata! Obiously they can pull you over for not having one so I have one on all my other cars but have been trying to work up some kind of bracket that would attach as if you get a ticket you have to go show the officer aand have it written off and still pay a fine.

Rob

 

Register the car in another state, preferably one with no inspections.
It's then out of their jurisdiction.

 

California has required the display of front and rear license plates for at least 4 decades and well before the invention of the "red light cameras". The CVC section that is cited in a front license plate violation is just another reason to pull you over and is not always enforced. To say that front plates were required(in California) for red light cameras is misinformation. Now the law may have been modified at some point, but cars in California have been required to display front and rear license plates since before the early 60's.
N Dennis

 

I was born and raised in California. I think they have required a front license since the beginning of time and love to ticket those who don't play their game.

I drove my 63 Studebaker Avanti's that was made in Indiana. In 1963 most of the country didn't require front license plates. But California did.

I kept the front plate under the seat or in the trunk and tried the "well officer the car was made in a state and time front plates weren't required. Tell me how to mount it!"

I got a fix-it-ticket half of the time. I finially mounted the front license plate on the grill, almost impossible to see from the front of the car. Then when the cop asked, I would tell him there was never a bracket for the car, it was made before front license plates were required in most states.

The picture shows the car on the left (1988) with it on the front bumper, the other 3 (1963's)have them on the grill...honest
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Amen

 

I am not an expert so I am not trying to argue but when the red light cameras went into effect the front licesne plate law was beefed up, and enforcement really kicked in. I think that was about 10 years ago. I will try to find some info on it and post it.

 

A Minnesota State Patrol Trooper's Association web site certainly carries no weight in court but it shows where their head's at.

If nothing else I've learned a new phrase - 'Semaphore Violation'. I certainly would think that going through a red light (semaphone violation) would be a greater safety issue than 'Baby on Lap'. But wait...no front license is more important yet.

Image Unavailable, Please Login