Hi speedsters,
Has any one, in California, gotten
a ticket for not displaying a California
license plate in front of your Speedster?
I'm considering either no front plate (as long
as I don't get in trouble) or a front euro plate
in the front. Los Angeles cops can be nasty
and vicious sometimes.
Thanks.
Blasco.
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Blasco;
The greater LA area has about 19 million people. They are not all laid back speedster owners.
There are several PO's active on this site, perhaps, one will give us the low down on front plates in Calif.
This topic has come up before, try a search. Not sure if it was Calif. specific.
Art
Ok. At the risk of being called a scoff law, drive it without the plate until you you get nailed then put it on, pay the fine and take it off again. Life is too short to worry about getting a no front plate ticket.
What about folding the top inch or so (above the numbers/letters) horizontally 90 degrees to make a flange and then bolting it to the underside of the bumper, near the middle or back edge, so it's not so conspicuous? Another fold below the characters to angle back the bottom part, so it's even more un-noticeable?
And Rusty, if the young lady that hit you is anything like a lot of the yahoos up here, don't hold your breath. There's a girl in the Vancouver area who's been ticketed for texting and/or using her phone while driving so many times (more than 30?) and when asked to comment was rather unrepentant. Up here we call it "Distracted Driving", and it's been classified as a "high risk" offence. The fines in British Columbia has just been increased to $543 for the 1st incident (and a possible licence loss for new drivers), and $888 for the 2nd within a year (and licence review for any other driver).
The plate is huge, but looks a lot better under the bumper than on top (or on the front)-
They do make a hide away bracket.
I'd roll without until caught! I keep mine behind the passenger seat just in case...sorry officer, I have it right here and am going to mount it as soon as I get home.
Troy is a scoff law! 
Yup in my Boxster! Cost $25 and a signed summons by an Officer who verified it was there! Still don't have one on my Speedster, Boxster, 1958 356A, .......LoL
I'd discuss this subject openly here with some candor, but prudence tells me not to.
The CHP may not monitor this forum, but Murphy does.
Mitch;
Would that be Officer Patrick Sean Murphy? Cheers 
Blasco - CA law requires display of front license plate. But like a lot of other CA automobile laws (no tint on driver or front passenger window, vehicle ride height, posted speed limits, etc.) its a roll of the dice whether you get pulled over or not.
FWIW - In 18 years driving the Speedster around Orange County I've received 1 ticket for no front plate (in Newport Beach). 
Google 'Retractable License Plate bracket' for other options.
Connecticut is an odd license plate state.
The plate stays with the owner and not the vehicle when changing ownership. Several decades ago DMV dropped the two plate display in favor of only issuing one plate. After a couple of years when a two plate regulation was reinstated the police simply ignored a missing front plate as a violation. So it's theoretically possible that a brand new vehicle right off the show room floor can legitimately be tagged with only a rear plate.
Driving responsibly without obvious hot-dogging and 'one license platers' , like me, avoid being hassled... (although I stash the absent front plate under the seat!)
CA Vehicle Code sections 5200-5201 state what the rules are for display of plates in CA.
To put it simply if two plates were issued for your car both plates must be displayed. One at the front of the vehicle and one at the rear. The only members of LE that I know that sweat this are those assigned to traffic divisions. The majority of LE officers probably aren't going to give you a second glance. In fact the next time you are out driving look to see how many front plates you see on high end cars like Porsches, Corvettes, Teslas, Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, and etc. A lot of those cars are put on the dealer's lot without a place to secure a front plate. It is something you're expected to do when the plates come.
I would just drive it until you (when/if) get a ticket. Then, put the plate on in a way that satisfies the requirement, have it signed off, pay the small fee, and submit the paperwork. Then I'd take the plate off again and see how long it takes to get another citation.
There are probably a dozen ways from Sunday to mount the plate without drilling any holes in the bumper.
PRODUCT SUGGESTION for AIRCOOLED BRUCE:
A stainless steel frame that clamps to the bumper bracket and holds the license plate. All license plates are universally the same in regards to the mounting holes. You could come up with a classic version that clamps to the bumper bracket and an outlaw version that clamps behind the body and protrudes from under the body.
In Washington they have the same law... Drove it till I got a ticket... Over 2 yrs... Last summer same officer pulled me over 3 times in a 4 week period... Got a ticket it after two warnings. I now have one of these installed...
funny thing that neither my Q7 nor 911 have front plates.. Came this way from the dealer... Never been pulled over, no tickets. ( knock on wood.)
I did a quick survey on my way home today. From the last location I worked to my home was a 10 mile drive. In that 10 mile drive I counted more than 30 vehicles with no front plate. More than 75% were high end cars and the rest were average everyday vehicles. I would not have wasted my time pulling any of them over for not having a front plate. There are better reasons to issue tickets than a fix-it for no front plate.
Years ago, I was a cop in a small Orange County municipality. I don't think I ever wrote a ticket for missing front plate unless there was a litany of issues with the vehicle.
I always thought the only value in a front plate to law enforcement was if we were looking for a specific vehicle and we had a partial or complete plate and we suspected the vehicle was close. For instance a robbery occurs and the vehicle is a two door white Ford with a partial plate of SOC, but no numbers.
You could be looking at cars from behind and those coming at you for those distinguishing characteristics. Long shot, but occasionally it helped to be able to see front plates.
Florida issues one plate.
That does it. I'm moving to Florida!
Most southern states (except Texas) are one-plate-only. Come on over, Troy!
Come on down, Troy! Plenty of room and I would imagine a good market for your "hobby/business".
You will not pay a toll on the Bridges in the Bay Area if you do not have a front plate and use the FAST PASS lanes. The cameras only take an image of the front of your car. This is a problem not just for one plate cars, new cars lacking plates, scofflaws, etc. I read the toll authority was of course investing millions to put in rear cameras now. Probably 10 times what they are losing in tolls.
Lfepardo posted:In Washington they have the same law... Drove it till I got a ticket... Over 2 yrs... Last summer same officer pulled me over 3 times in a 4 week period... Got a ticket it after two warnings. I now have one of these installed...
funny thing that neither my Q7 nor 911 have front plates.. Came this way from the dealer... Never been pulled over, no tickets. ( knock on wood.)
I had the same issue on my custom 06 300SRT.
Fricken cop waited for me every day on my way to work, he gave me a few tickets right down to the blue (when off) hue that my turn signal bubs had, they where yellow as yellow could be when on. I finally sold the car because of this over zealous super cop...
PS
I took him to court and had all the tickets dropped, after that he just waited for me every morning and pulled me over and over...
Nebraska has an option to use a plate the same year as the car title. You can restore the plate and run it on the rear only. It costs a one time fee of $79 and its licensed forever. The car has to be at least 35 years old and you are not supposed to drive it daily but no one ever checks that. My car has a 61 pan so it is titled as that year and I got a new 60 plate for $25 so I didn't have to repaint it. I could use the 60 because no plates were issued in 61. It's nice not to have to worry about the yearly trip to the dmv.
