Damn California law, mount front license plate or keep it off...

Blue Batmobile

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I hate the California law of requiring to have your license plate mounted in the front as well as the back of your car. Just ruins it for me. How many of you Califonia people kept the lisense plate off your front bumper? How many of you mounted it? I did purchase a license plate holder from John at Partsrack a while back. The good thing about it is that there is no drilling required. Still, I can't get myself to mount it up front.

Bat™
 

Paul Hawker

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It is just a fix it ticket. Lots drive with no plate. If ticketed put on Partsrack plate and any police officer can sign it off. Small fee. Lately, however with the increase in red light photo tickets, the traffic officers are under more pressure to be sure everyone has a front plate.

Just saw the same type of article on Pontiac Soltice. Nice looking car, but if you put on a front plate the styling falls apart.
 

BruceW

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I really hate giving the law any reason to stop me so I usually keep my Partsrack-style mount on, except when at the track or parked to show the V off. There used to be an exception to the two plate law, the DMV code states that if they issued you two plates you had to mount both of them but if you ordered custom plates over the internet there were boxes to check at the bottom indicating if you wanted one plate or two. If you checked one plate you got one plate and only had to have one plate. Of course, most cops probably don't know of this and so you would most likely end up in court having to explain it to the judge to get off. Not worth the hassle to me, once I'm behind the wheel I really don't care that the front plate is there.
 

Warfang

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I leave mine off. Never been pulled over for it. Someone here suggested running over the other plate a hundred times and leaving it in the car. When you get pulled over, pull out the damaged plate and tell the officer it just fell off. :D
 

PDCjonny

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I recently got a ticket for no front plate from a New Dork (York) Highway cop with nothing better to do. It was a $90.00 fine. I chalk it up as the cost of ownership and I'm not putting one on, unless it becomes a regular occurance. Then I'd get the Parts Rack.
 

wesman

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Same law in Tx....never had one on there, never will.

As mentioned tho, the cops use it as an excuse to pull you.

--wes
 

01sapphireGTS

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Same law in OH, never had one - never will. Let the tickets come. I do get pulled over about once every two years in my daily driver for no front plate. The officers attention is soon diverted to the fact that I don't have a seat belt on so that is always what I get the ticket for. Keeping me out of points for other moving violations.

Also try to sell your "drilled front facia" car to a buyer in non-front plate state and it will be a deal breaker.

Others have suggested carrying a receipt for the front bracket (which was never made/offered from Dodge) and saying it is on "backorder". A friendly dealership like Tators may assist you in this procedure.

Or you could just move...

Good luck
 

v10kingsnake

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I leave mine off. Never been pulled over for it. Someone here suggested running over the other plate a hundred times and leaving it in the car. When you get pulled over, pull out the damaged plate and tell the officer it just fell off. :D

not going to work with a smart cop. he catches you in a lie and consider yourself screwed. honesty is the best policy. think about this, using this method an intelligent cop should be intuitive enough to see holes are not even drilled in your bumper, then what will you say. better off keeping it off and risk the silly fine. in nj its like 42 bucks. i ahve had mine off the whole life of the car. wont ever put it on. never got a ticket either, knock on wood, but did get pulled over clocked at 120 racing a z28, i was let off the ticket and when asked why i didnt have a tag up front the excuse i tried was,"it was a special order part from dodge cause they dontreally sell alot of these cars at the local dodge dealership" sounded good to me but this vet wasnt buying it. his reply was," look guy, i just let you go from a massive speeding ticket, along with a reckless driving ticket, and racing on the highway ticket. the last carries an automatic 3 month license suspension, and thats the best you can come up with. he then asks me to tell him the truth. I said," ok look, i am not going to ever drill holes in my car to put a hideous metal plate on the front of my car". he says, "thanks for the honest reply. .. by the way, the was 10 cars in front of the z28 when we got ticked! :2tu:
 

santo

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In Ontario, I got pulled over "Day 1" of Viper ownership. I had a valid excuse but the cop says that's the law and the selling dealer should have provided the front plate bracket. He told me to just go to court with a picture of your car with your plate on it and they'll let it go. I still got the ticket. Fast forward three weeks later. Cop is behind me and speeds around me to look at the front of the car. I had the plate on so the cop continues on. First cop was a male and the second was a female so it wasn't the same cop.

I've driven it a total of four weeks before I stored it for the winter. I don't need the aggrevation of getting pulled over for nothing. As someone else said here, it doesn't bother me any behind the wheel. The bracket I made is not drilled into the fascia either.

If they turn a blind eye in your state, you're fine. Not around here they don't, it seems.
Santo
 

Dimitrios

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i keep mine under my seat and when i get pulled over i place it on the dash really quick. worked fine so far. 3 year ownership on a daily driver and only got a tix once.
 

v10kingsnake

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tried that D, i got the LOOK but as you can see, i never got the ticket.in other vehicles with that same move yielded me a ticket. strangly enough the cops seem to understand our not wanting to put it on this type of car and seen to not really enforce it around here.
 

Warfang

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I leave mine off. Never been pulled over for it. Someone here suggested running over the other plate a hundred times and leaving it in the car. When you get pulled over, pull out the damaged plate and tell the officer it just fell off. :D

not going to work with a smart cop. he catches you in a lie and consider yourself screwed. honesty is the best policy. think about this, using this method an intelligent cop should be intuitive enough to see holes are not even drilled in your bumper, then what will you say. better off keeping it off and risk the silly fine. in nj its like 42 bucks. i ahve had mine off the whole life of the car. wont ever put it on. never got a ticket either, knock on wood, but did get pulled over clocked at 120 racing a z28, i was let off the ticket and when asked why i didnt have a tag up front the excuse i tried was,"it was a special order part from dodge cause they dontreally sell alot of these cars at the local dodge dealership" sounded good to me but this vet wasnt buying it. his reply was," look guy, i just let you go from a massive speeding ticket, along with a reckless driving ticket, and racing on the highway ticket. the last carries an automatic 3 month license suspension, and thats the best you can come up with. he then asks me to tell him the truth. I said," ok look, i am not going to ever drill holes in my car to put a hideous metal plate on the front of my car". he says, "thanks for the honest reply. .. by the way, the was 10 cars in front of the z28 when we got ticked! :2tu:

You're assuming there are smart cops. :D

I wasn't endorsing it, just thought the idea was funny, especially picturing someone rolling over their plate back and forth.

Guess you gotta be willing to pay to look good.
 

GimmeTheSpeed

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keep the front plate and mount in your trunk... if pulled over, explain the car is a show vehicle and you take it off for shows... "you definitely have it on for the little street use the vehicle gets" and you just came from a show last weekend... and didn't even realize you didn't put it back on! :) ... oooops sorry....slap it right on there.... can't really right you a fix it ticket if you fix it right in front of him.
 

WOT!

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I was told that my state can not ticket out of state cars for not having a front plate. Of course this potentially thing brings up other issues for you.

For those of you in NH try Dimitrios method. The law reads:

261:75 Number Plates "II. Every vehicle driven in or on any way in this state, if required to be registered hereunder, shall have displayed ""conspicuously"' thereon a number plate or plates to be furnished by the department, together with any current validation sticker issued by the department and which has a changeable designation of their effective period. The director may make special rules relative to the number of plates, the location of said plate or plates on the vehicle, and the material and design thereof, provided, however, that number plates for passenger vehicles shall have the state motto "Live Free or Die" written thereon. The plate shall be kept clean."

I love the last part the most. Live free or Die, sure doesn't cut you much slack.

I also keep a copy of this in the car if needed.
 

V10SpeedLuvr

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I'd go tagless until getting pulled over for it got routine. Until then, do like others said and just keep it in the car and hope you get a nice cop who will understand and give you a fix-it ticket. I would think you should atleast get some slack for having the tag with you. I got 2 fix-it tickets one year on Spring Break in FL, a whopping $9 each
 

NK BREKR

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Keep it off!

I'm in California and got one fix it ticket for $25. I first got an extension on the ticket, which gave me a total of 4 months to put the plate on, that way if I was pulled over and cited again, I would have the Sheriff's sign off on the multiple tickets for the same violation. A funny thing happened when I went to show the proof of correction, I kid you not, I showed up to the Sheriff's with the plate attached with a shoe lace and, the Deputy was a cool guy and said "Front plate ticket? That's the gayest ticket ever!" and signed off on it.
 
OP
OP
B

Blue Batmobile

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Keep it off!

I showed up to the Sheriff's with the plate attached with a shoe lace and, the Deputy was a cool guy and said "Front plate ticket? That's the gayest ticket ever!" and signed off on it.

Did you get the Sherrif's name? haha.

Bat™
 

Peter-RedGTS'98

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We need to appeal to “greens” to introduce a nationwide law – no front tags. Just look at savings: millions $, tons of aluminum, barrels of oil and energy in manufacturing, transportation and storage costs, AND above all, bird lives (cause turbines kill them), etc…..

Let’s do it !!!
Front tags = Waste
Let’s save the birds
 

NK BREKR

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We need to appeal to “greens” to introduce a nationwide law – no front tags. Just look at savings: millions $, tons of aluminum, barrels of oil and energy in manufacturing, transportation and storage costs, AND above all, bird lives (cause turbines kill them), etc…..

Let’s do it !!!
Front tags = Waste
Let’s save the birds

Great idea.

Unfortunately, we would have to remain annonymous, since they would be wagging their fingers at us for having Vipers and the huge amount of oil they use.
 

NK BREKR

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Keep it off!

I showed up to the Sheriff's with the plate attached with a shoe lace and, the Deputy was a cool guy and said "Front plate ticket? That's the gayest ticket ever!" and signed off on it.

Did you get the Sherrif's name? haha.

Bat™

Sorry, I don't have his name but he was at the San Fernando courthouse, which is quite a drive(100+ miles) from San Diego, but you should definitely try what I've suggested. Get the extension and then show up with it attached with a shoe lace, if you get questioned then give them the story about your car being a "show car" and hope that they let you slide.
 

ViperGTS

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land of freedom?
millions of bikes dont need a front license plate.
bs
 

Whoaa GTS

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3 years with the RT and no front plate.......never stopped or ticketed. Got an additional snake last year (GTS) and again, never stopped or ticketed while driving. One cop had the nards to write a "no front plate" ticket while parked in a valet spot on the street. Took the ticket to court and they dismissed it because we took a photo of the front of the car with the front plate "duct taped" to the facia.

Both cars have the front plates in the cockpit if needed.

Lucky so far :curse: Dumb law. Vipers look best without front plates!
 

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