i decided to take my plates off and within a week i got 2 tickets for it. put the license plate back on cuz i dont want to deal with the hassle. waste of 50 bucks too

 

Sorry to hear that. Where did you park?

I do have to thank you for the post. I have been contemplating to take off the front plate because it really ruin the beauty of G37's front end design. I guess I'd better leave it on. Well, one of those stupid law of California. Honestly, I cannot think of any usefulness of having a front license plate other than giving the excuse and convenience to write a ticket.

 

I was profiled on Monday. Motorbike CHP creeped up behind me on a surface street. He moved to pass me on the lines, but then saw my tint and pulled me over. He came right up to my passenger side window and said, "I'm writing you up today for tint and plate".

I responded, "uhh, plate? what plate?" He said, "you have no front plate."

I said, "did you happen to look? it's on there." He looks then says, "oh I see it now, so just tint".

 

Pay the 25 bucks. Price for a fixit ticket

 

You may be surprised that there is a valid reason. It allows police vehicles to spot suspected cars in the opposite direction that may be carrying bank robbers, kidnappers, or other persons fleeing the law. In certain conditions the ability to read license plates from oncoming traffic as well in the direction they’re going can double their ability to catch a bad guy.

I also saw an episode on Cops where the robbers pulled up to and robbed a liquor store. They were caught a short time later because the store’s security camera clearly showed the front plate of the pick-up truck in the store's parking lot.

Now I know those owners here who remove their front plates are not bank robbers (at least not many of them ) , but if everyone removed their front plates this law enforcement tool would become completely worthless.

 

Here are more reasons for them to stop you. Hopefully you can read it. (poor quality)

 

I'm lost? Aren't these reasons not to have a front plate?

 

Well, now I’m lost that you’re lost, unless you’re a bank robber, kidnapper or like to hold up liquor stores. I thought I was obviously explaining why the front plate requirement exists in some states.

 

Wow, this has to be the most compelling reason in theory of having the front license plate. However, given the speed of car traveling and the closeness it requires to be able to read the license plate, I seriously doubt the likelihood of that happening in reality. Please give me one scenario where an officer would sit and try to read the license plate of every oncoming car? I am not saying that it is impossible, but it is extremely difficult, highly improbable, especially if the officer is in a vehicle traveling in the opposition direction. I hope our law enforcement is smarter enough to find better ways to catch bad guys.

In this case, the camera probably had caught the face of the robbers as well. And, why stops at the front license plate? Maybe we should require license plate on both side of the doors. Oh, don't forget the roof. How about painting the license plate number on the roof so that police helicopter can easily spot and find the fleeing crooks?

Don't get me wrong. I am all for fighting crimes and catching bad guys. I am just not buying these front license plate arguments. Nearly 20 states don't find the license plate necessary, either. I don't see the crime rates in those states any higher (possibly lower) than that in California or New York where the front license plate is required.

ASK MR.TRAFFIC'S LICENSE PLATE PAGE

Sorry for the rant. I feel better now.

 

I was just messin' with ya. I haven't robbed any banks, yet.
But, seriously, I once did get pulled over many years ago in my '72 Z on the 14 to Lancaster CA by CHP. He said I was doing "over 95" (at that time, if sighted, it meant jail). I asked how he identified my car and he said he got my plate comming up the hill. I excused him for an easily made error in identification, and mentioned that I didn't have a front plate. He didn't look happy and walked to the front of the car, wrote me up a fix it ticket. This was the only time I have been sighted for no front plate in about 40 years of driving in CA. Most cars I've owned over that time did not have front plates. However, I rarely do anything else to attract attention.

 

I will admit that on a fast moving freeway reading plates from the opposite lanes is impractical. But on many two-lane roads in rural areas or busy city streets with slower traffic it can be effective. Perhaps some police officers who are members here can shed some more light on this.

Also, keep in mind that the requirement for two license plates predates intersection cameras and similar measures to enhance municipal revenue, so I’ve never bought that argument. I personally remember during WWII in Pennsylvania they issued just one plate to save metal. But they went back to two plates after the war. I’m sure their reasons, still valid today IMO, centered on better law enforcement.

Regarding the Cops episode, the security camera angle included a narrow view from the front window that showed some of the store front and parking area in what seemed to be a strip mall. As the crooks pulled up facing the store, their front plate as well as the pickup truck’s description were easily seen on the video.

“Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do when they come for you………..”

 

Cops read your front plates and run them when you are stopped at a traffic light and they are facing you in oncoming traffic or in slow moving traffic, this happened to me years ago. Got arrested for an old outstanding traffic warrant this way. If I had no front plate he wouldn't have been able to run it and pull up the warrant. So it can be used for some legitimate law enforcement reasons. But I've never seen any statistic that there is a significant crime reduction or fugitive apprehension rates other than Chekov's Cops story which I'll presume to be true.

I live in TX where front plates are required and I don't have them. Nobody in our club does except one guy. The fine is about $100 or so in this area. I have never been ticketed in the 10 years or so I've gone without them. However, IMO it is mostly a law on the books to give a LEO some PC to stop you for whatever else he may suspect.

My wife was driving Black Betty (a rare occasion) to the grocery store. I-10 between Houston and New Orleans is a major drug trafficking corridor, I see state police in both TX and Louisiana with profiled cars pulled over by the dozens every time I make the trip. She is coming home from the store on I-10 and Texas DPS pulls her over. He says he stopped her for no front plate. He questions her and she tells him she lives one mile away and is coming home form the grocery store (grocery bags with frozen food is visible in the front seat). He calls in her license (clean) and my plate (also clean). He comes back to the car and tells her that there's a lot of drug traffic on this corridor and that's why he really stopped her, to check things out. He gives her only a warning for the front plate and sends her home.

That type of "probable cause" is why we have to have front plates. To give Mr. LEO an excuse to profile us. We all know had it been my black ass driving, with no groceries he would have insisted on searching the car and probably issued a citation for no front plate and tint too dark to teach me a lesson. Why do I say that? Because it's happened numerous times already, for one "reason" or another.

I don't agree with the law because almost a third of the states don't find it necessary for their law enforcement efforts. But it is what it is, if you get a ticket for it, you are breaking the law so just pay it or try to get it dismissed.

 

Unless they have reasonable cause, cops can't search your car. If they have to ask, then they don't have justification. Just say no, you don't wish to give up your legal right to a search. They have to back off (and then they'll cite you for illegal tint and no front plate).

 

That's a very naive point of view. During a traffic stop "probable cause" is extremely wide open to interpretation and officer's discretion. He could say he thought he smelled marijuana, alcohol, etc. even if none is present, it's subjective. He can say a suspects action seem suspicious and go from there. It's a no win scenario unless he goes way beyond what's reasonable. I know this from experience.

I actually was profiled and stopped once for driving 27 in a 35. Officer initiated the stop because "I was driving significantly below the posted speed limit and could have impeded the flow of traffic". He actually stopped me because I was a young black man driving a very expensive car slowly in a very affluent predominantly white neighborhood. He suspected narcotics or burglary activity. When you are in that position, my experience is that the injustice and indignity of the situation isn't worth going to jail over, which is exactly what will happen in many instances if you refuse a search.

 

Chekov and BB, two things to think about --

If front license plate is really that important to law enforcement, why the fine for not having one is so low? I have been paying attention to front license plates lately, and found that Mercedez cars have the highest percentage of not having the front license plate. Guess the tiny fine is nothing to the rich guys.

If the purpose of front license plate is to give cops "reason" to pull you over, it would assume that the majority of people will NOT following the law, which is the opposite of the reality. I am sure cops have no problem coming up with other excuse to pull over those vehicles with front license plate.

I continue to believe the front license plate serves no real purpose. Just frustrated for having to ruin the look of my new G's front end.