Front license plates
- Thread starter TiGeo
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Hate it, but a hack I use is a light smoke color cover to lessen the visual sting. It works. Amazingly, they changed the inspection laws here making it legal.
Hate # 2 is when people think they are being cute by leaving it off or putting a filler plate on such as a sports team, that type of thing... I love it when they get pulled over!
Hate # 2 is when people think they are being cute by leaving it off or putting a filler plate on such as a sports team, that type of thing... I love it when they get pulled over!
My wife’s SL600 never had a front plate. I’m not about to screw a bracket into that pristine bumper.
I mounted a tow hook license plate bracket for a while, to be compliant with Virginia regs, and then registered the car in a state that didn’t require front plates.
I mounted a tow hook license plate bracket for a while, to be compliant with Virginia regs, and then registered the car in a state that didn’t require front plates.
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Bigger fish to fry conundrum. My state doesn't have them--PA. Common sense to me says, a vehicle then cannot be identified from the front, be it tolling, hit and run, speeding, red light running, school bus reds.
At the same time, there are cars with no plates, or fake plates printed on a Canon imageRUNNER (you can tell because the proportion of the letters to numbers is off--maybe Canons won't print those who knows why).
There are tints so dark on windshields and side and rear glass that isn't legal. It's like the wild wild west or the Bronx in 1977. So with all of the above, it would appear front plates are inconsequential. If there are regulations, there has to be enforcement. my .02
Also, imho, tinted glass and no plate or a bike rack or a smoked cover defend against dash cams and surveillance. Stupid to turn a blind eye but what do I know...
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When you say registered a car in a state that didn't require front plates, you mean you moved to a state as such, not that you registered the car in a state you don't live in, correct? VA has the equivalent of a property tax, from what I remember. The other ones are CT, NH, MA from memory. CT cracked down on tax fraud, don't know about the other states.
I’m well aware of the law, and in full compliance with it, thanks.
Virginia does levy Personal Property Tax on vehicles. It’s quite steep. My Tundra, even at seven years old, is about $1,500/year in property tax.
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Do you live in Virignia, or did you move, was what made me curious about what you stated. It's neither here nor there, but does have tax consequences.
I’m not the subject of the thread, and I am not having a public discussion of my finances, residence, or tax situation. I’m in full compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Thank you for your interest.
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I grew up in CT and noticed about 1/3 of my friends' parents had out of state tags which I found intriguing. But the way CT and VA and states with a property tax get around the out of state tags is to assess a penalty which stipulates the place that the vehicle is garaged is where it will be taxed, and then the penalty itself. there are of course exceptions such as diplomats, active military for two. Probably politicians working in DC. My state welcomes people from out of state to register here, because of the revenue, there are 7 others. That doesn't mean the insurance co. will pay a claim if insurance is not in the state where the vehicle is garaged--had a coworker tell me what happened to him.
No, you're not the subject of the thread, front license plates are. But you piqued my interest by not having a plate in front and how you achieved that. It's all good.
The weird thing is I always wished we had front plates here in PA. I think it helps to identify the vehicle from the front.
There was a hit and run on my car a few years ago while out hiking.
Dashcam couldn't catch their rear plate but it got the front plate.
Ever since then, I'm 100% pro
Dashcam couldn't catch their rear plate but it got the front plate.
Ever since then, I'm 100% pro
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My wife's former coworker was injured by a hit and run in Phila. They did have dash cam and smartphone video as well as video from local establishments. None of the videos could read the plate as it had a dark cover on it. I think it's shame on our locale for not cracking down. I do have a 4K (true) front and 1080p rear dashcam, and it's dawned on me it's actually ineffective with vehicles covering their plate (rear in PA) and dark windows. That car is only identifiable by its make/model and that's about it. If it's a common make/model, not of much use.
Sorry to hear. Hope she didn't have any chronic injuries from that hit and run.
I see plate covers are illegal in PA but just like my region, enforcement is spotty at best.
One trick I've seen from watching dashcam videos is to say the plate tag out loud if ever you're in the car and think the video might not catch it.
If ever a driver is acting erratic, I'll try to do that before anything might happen.
LE concerns aside, the most ridiculous thing in the state of Ohio was producing a halfway decent looking license plate, then requiring a big, white county sticker in the center of the decorative plate (in a place not designed for it- no indentation for a sticker) then not utilizing the place in the metal blank (in the left corner) that was designed for a county sticker (and was utilized as such for many years.)
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I spent most of my driving years starting in New York State. So computerized reggie stickers were around since the 80's. Showing VIN and expiration. Then there was an inspection sticker. Nothing went on the license plates.
When I got to PA, I noticed plates with the corners cut off, and learned that's because the sticker was stolen showing expiration year and month. Then someone said if you are in the county of Phila., to combat that, there will be an inside sticker on the rear glass.
Well, the glue wasn't good, so the sticker fell off, and people were ticketed. There was a general *** going around. People even said why am I singled out that I live in Phila and have a different sticker?
And to your point, what many people did, was to randomly stick the sticker anywhere on the plate. How would LE even be able to find the current one when there are 10+ scattered all over? I say in a modern society how does this happen? Don't see an 05, 07, 08, 10 on this example.
I live in California where they are required but haven't put a front plate on any of my cars since1982. I did receive a fix it ticket one time from a motorcycle officer who had pulled another car over for speeding in a school zone, saw me coming down the street and stepped out and motioned me over to the curb. I guess he was on a ticket writing binge and wanted to nail me for a chickens..t violation along with people who were really committing serious traffic violations. I put the plate on, got the ticket signed off and then removed the plate again.
I understand that if you are pulled over for a moving violation the officer may decide to "pile on" and add a fine for no front plate but that probably has a lot to do with what you did and your attitude. I have never been cited for no front plate when I received a ticket for exceeding the speed limit. I don't even think the officers walked around to the front to look.
I understand that if you are pulled over for a moving violation the officer may decide to "pile on" and add a fine for no front plate but that probably has a lot to do with what you did and your attitude. I have never been cited for no front plate when I received a ticket for exceeding the speed limit. I don't even think the officers walked around to the front to look.
Required in RI but I do not have one on my SRT 392 Chrysler 300. It looks so much cleaner without one. I never got stopped for it but I keep the spare one under my seat to show the officer in case I get stopped. Law enforcement does not even enforce window tint laws here either so as long as I'm "behaving" and not breaking a moving violation law I do not think they care about my plate.
I got pulled over by a State Trooper several yrs ago, I had an accident and pulled off the plate and bracket to straighten it back out, he said that if I had the plate in the car with me that he would've let me go but instead I received a ticket to pay out of court, in VA it's basically just a non-moving violation that doesn't go against your record and is just a monetary fine.
He must've really been hurting for a ticket that day as he turned around and got me for that and lots of other people in my area ride around without one.
There has been talk here of VA doing away with it to cut costs, basically they want to charge you the same fees but in return only have to provide one license plate so the DMV would only need to provide 1/2 as many plates effectively reducing the costs that they have in it. I doubt they ever will because the police are totally against the idea of it, they're always stating they need to be able to see everyone's front plate especially if it's a BOL.
He must've really been hurting for a ticket that day as he turned around and got me for that and lots of other people in my area ride around without one.
There has been talk here of VA doing away with it to cut costs, basically they want to charge you the same fees but in return only have to provide one license plate so the DMV would only need to provide 1/2 as many plates effectively reducing the costs that they have in it. I doubt they ever will because the police are totally against the idea of it, they're always stating they need to be able to see everyone's front plate especially if it's a BOL.
Required here in Washington State. However I'd say about 10% of the cars here don't bother putting the front plate on. I didn't really want to put one on my Miata....but I figured I didn't want to take the chance of being pulled over so I fell in line.
Not required in the great state of Indiana
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