I think you misunderstood me. I don't have one either and I don't plan to. I do see some small practical legitimate purpose to it though. An officer can pull you over for any reason or none at all, but not having a front plate just gives them an easy excuse for it. Fortunately many police are as lazy as the rest of us and don't want to make any more work for themselves than they have to.

 

Or, maybe the fine is too little to make their time worthwhile.

I do appreciate your (and Chekov's) thoughts.

 

Jtla,
My first post on this subject was to answer your question on if there is a reason for front plates other than an excuse to pull drivers over. I think I did that even though you refuse to acknowledge it. I never said is was really important nor did I compare the fine to other violations.

My view, as posted before, agrees with everyone here that the car looks better without a front plate. But I see the practice as unwise in terms of increasing your risk of getting stopped, and the possibility of getting into further trouble, e.g., outdated insurance certification, various illegal mods, or worse, having have one too many beers beforehand, ending up with you in jail and your car impounded.

It’s your choice to assume that risk, of course, but by the book there is a reason for front plates. I would be glad to join a movement to eliminate that law in California, but until then, my plate stays on.

 

just as a point to clarify, they absolutely NEED a reason to pull you over. thats why everything is illegal. lol

 

Chekov,
My earlier post is kind of combined response to both yours and BB's point. I didn't mean to imply anything but just some sort of "rebuttal" to your (and BB's) points. As said in the post to BB, I do appreciate the comments/inputs by both of you.

I did put the front license plate on, and that's probably where the frustration came from. Well, I will just have to get used to it.

 

Jtla,
I’m glad you decided to put the plate on. In the long run you may appreciate not having to worry about all the negatives as previously described.

And I understand your frustration. You may be surprised that I’ve often been frustrated too when I see a Corvette speed by with no front plate (I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a Corvette with a front plate). I am concerned when we have laws that are not enforced or are just plain unenforceable. It seems to me a better public policy would be to have no such law at all. In that regard, I’m going to e-mail my State Senator in Sacramento to voice an objection. It may be for naught, but if you do the same, maybe we can start something. At least you may feel better about the situation.

 

I don't think I have EVER seen a late model Corvette with a front plate. I've always been curious to see what it would look like.

 

I roll without one and every car we have owned has, I only got flak for it once when I stopped as a witness to a hit and run - but never been ticketed if your really worried put felt on the back of the plate and put it in the passenger side dash/windshield. It is a easy reason for the 5-0 to pull you over, just like things hanging from your rear view mirror - but in the name of style and the NISMO image please go without.

 

Ive had several front plate tickets. Had them both written off after securing the front plate to the mesh grill with zip-ties, i guess thats 'secure' enough. I don't plan on ever permanently mounting a front plate.

 

where did you get this

 

mine's manual. here's the motorized one.
Welcome to Altec Products Inc.

 

i hate the look with the front plates but if i remove them there's these nasty holes the dealer drilled into. =/


my old car i never put on my front plate and never got harrass by it.

 

Hey EvilPanda! TN isn't as fun hanging out as here huh?

As for your bumper holes, have you considered bumper plugs??
BumperPlugs.com

Many members have been using this product for quite some time now.

 

nope, TN is way to crowded.

thanks for the link. i'll check those out but for now i'll rock the front license plate.

 

As many of you know I’ve repeatedly suggested that by having no front plate in states that require them subjects the driver to being pulled over where they can find other things that can lead up to and including jail. This is exactly what happened to famous artist Tom Kincaid recently as described below:

Tom Kincaid Arrest

I’m sure his front plate-less car was the nicest vehicle in the impound lot. And perhaps there was an old PIA like me over at the Mercedes forum that gave him the same advice, where he may have said, “I’ve been driving with no front plate for years and have never been bothered by the cops.”