Front License Plate ?

I'm debating whether this is a 'should have' or just take my chances. The 'law' here in Ca. is that you should have one, and it's enuf to get pulled over if a bored peace officer happens to spot you. I do like the look of 'no-plate' better, but am interested in feedback from others, especially the Ca group. Yes I could wait till April to get a general concensus, but, thx in advance for your input.

Dale I think the law is if your car has a place for a plate it must be in place. Anyone else have more on this?
DS

NJ=must have

IL- yep

California law says you must have a front plate. Enforcement in some large cities has been stepped up owing to the "red light cameras" installed at many intersections. If you do get ticketed for NFP, you'll have to pay a small fine (first offense I think is $25), put the front plate on, and have the Highway Patrol certifiy you've done it. All in all kind of a pain.
Having said all that - I don't have a front plate on my Speedster. It's been that way for 18 months without a problem. If I get ticketed, I'll just put it on then.
Actually, you're most likely to get written up for NFP when you get a parking ticket!

VA. must have front plate. Having said that the plate fell off my ford ranger a year and a half ago and haven't been hassled yet.
ed

Required in Maryland, fine is $50. I drove the car for eight+ years without a plate and then a bored (?) police officer stopped me. He asked me where the plate was, I told him it was at home on the workbench, he said most guys keep it in the backseat and led me to believe he would have let me go if that was where mine was. I went home, drilled two holes in the front end and mounted it...one less silly reason to pester me on a drive!

TN - nope. Our state only issues rear plates. I wonder what the fine would be if I left that one off?

RI and Mass both require them. Same deal on having it somewhere in the car, though......$50 and lots of hassle if you DON'T have it, probably let you go with a verbal if you can produce it (from the trunk or somewhere) - "just get home and put it on"....... I finally put my front plate on - thought it would look sucky but it turned out OK after all.........gn

CA dreemun,
I run a front plate, it's a Europeen plate, no relation to the back plate. My night of infamy, when that proverbial bored PO pulled me over suspecting he had uncovered some stolen car ring,( I was trying to sneek home and I had no headlamps) made me hop on one foot, recite the alphabet, etc AND put the correct plate (JETZOOM at the time) on my car...failing to see the humor in running a bogus '56 CA yellow plate.

I guess it depends on whether the local gestapo are vigilant. Reminds me, I gotta see where my stickers are for the ol truck. Hmmmm.

NE - the law to have em both on.

anybody seen these plates? :( It should be a crime to have to have em on the car at all. The design was chosen, then the colors came out brighter than the artist intended. HUGE uproar from the community made em change the design... maybe next year i can get new plates. www.pl8ster.net/NE/ne.html

here is how bad it was, they are letting people vote for the next ones. www.omahariverfront.com/articles2003/20030508_neplates.htm

Anyway, I dont have a front plate, but know that they are nicer when you have with you from experiences with my camaro not ever having one on.

Dale, Nor Cal. no front plate over two years. Eddie

Ohio- supposed to have both. I've never had a front plate, EVER. No problems to date. *Knocking on wood*

Oklahoma - some have rears, and that's "OK". Others have fronts that say "Go Sooners" well... until Sunday night. Now the Smoot, Hash, Parker, and Harper clans don't have tags at all.

NY- The law requires that both front and rear plates be displayed. However, I ran my 69 Porsche without the front one for many years and never had a problem. I think it really depends on what kind of day the cop who stops you is having.

John Leader seems to have "the drill" on this one.

Not sure if the motivation is the photo enforcement of red light runners, though. I drove around for three years without a front plate, then through a change of circumstance, I had to park overnight on a residential street that is posted for street cleaning (different days for different sides).

The meter maids would leverage the productivity of their visits by writing violators of the street cleaning prohibition then cruising the other way to write the no front license tickets on the other side. I thought it was the Gray Davis effect. They never did clean the street!

Before the budget crises I saw many parking enforcement officers riding two to a car. I think the passenger was the "Brakeman". A chicken in every pot, as they say.

Neglected to mention under the above situation I got three tickets in 11 days.

Texas requires them. In three years of ownership, I've never been ticketed in one. I did get a ticket in my 73 vert vette about 6 years ago. Got a mechanical cite. Took a picture of the plate hooked to the bumper with one screw. Took it to the court. Charge dismissed. Took the plate off that afternoon.

In Oregon to register our cars as an orddinary vehicle the State requires both plates. But to register them as a collector, antique or a specialty vehicle only requires one plate and a one-time (for the life of the car) $40 fee. No annual tags.

Scott,

Thats good I guess, I didn't get the collector plate for the Speedster but opted for the CL, Crater Lake Plate as it is a pretty sky blue and looks nice against the red car, (fashion plate). I am only running the rear plate but do carry the other one in the front boot. Guess if I get stopped I'll mention the antique one plate only if I'm out of other excuses. In Illinois I never got stopped in about 10 years with my rear plate only Studebaker Avanti. Guess it is a crap shoot. I make sure I never have any Molson open between my legs when driving the Speedster. If I ever got stopped for one plate and they saw the open can of Golden Goodness, bad scene!

Bruce

I bought a really primo vintage '56 plate at the big swap meet here in Portland last Spring and wanted to use it on the car. The yellow letters on the dark blue background looks good and the date stamped on it originally eliminates a lot of questions when people want to know what year the car is. No one even questions if it's real or not. Go figure!