pjinca

Friend, you have GOT to go to Miami - it is a bonanza there, puts LA to true shame
Me, I just don't believe in giving a reason to get pulled over so I leave the plate on. Like I said before: Ever been pulled over when it was convenient? No, it's usually when you need to get somewhere

bindoy

I haven't gotten in trouble for not having front plate while I was in Seattle. Probably coz I still have my AZ plates on. And I'm actually in Oregon for work and I think front plates are required here too.

NguyenAzn

its time for this
lol

bighersh

I see a LOT of BMW drivers in in TX (A 2-plate state) tht don't hve the front plate (or the bracket) on their cars. The ones I've paid atention to have TX plates on the back , jut not on the front. I just assumed the BMW folks thought they were special, or that the front plate messed with the lines of their cars.

This is especially true of the 3-series sect. If I see ten 3-series, seven of them won't have a plate or the bracket on the front. I just assumed the dealership was leaving it off.

In a large metro area like Dallas, they may drive that car for years and never get pulled over or cited. But, oh- if you are pulled over- break out your checkbook.

One of my wife's friends was driving her car- and she was "riding dirty", meaning- she should have known she was wrong. When it was all said and done, she had nearly four figures worth of fines.

Speeding in a residential area. That's $200 by itself. Then, there were the add-ons. State inspection expired (Cha-ching), turn-signal not working (cha-ching), no front plate (cha ching), license plate frame around rear license plate (Cha-ching)- yes, we can't have those in TX anymore (Circa 2006), because if the frame obscures the plate in anyway (Partially covering any of the letters in "Texas" or "The Lone Star State"), you can be ticketed. However, you'd never be able to tell as 50% of the cars you see either have the dealership frame around the plate, their favorite university/alma mater, Dallas Cowboys/Stars/Mavericks, or their fraternity/sorority affiliation.

So, it all depends on the cop. I got pulled over in 2008 in August, which made it twice in 2008. This time for doing 34 in a 30 (residential area) rather than 84 in a 70 (Interstate, $184.00). I was about 3 blocks from my house. My insurance card had expired (2 months earlier) and I didn't have the new one in the car. I didn't have my driver's license on me (but I've memorized my DL#). And, I still had teh frame around my plate (which I kept intendign to remove, but never had).

I thought for sure I was about to contribute at least $200 - $400 to the TX highway fund. But, the officer let me go with a warning. He told me anyone driving a beautiful truck like mine, woudl surely have insurance on it, I assured him I did. He decided to give me a warning and let me go on my way. I usually don't et warning, no matter how nice I try to be; so I felt truly blessed that Sunday.

I thanked him, and went home having not lost another dollar.

So, whiel not having a front plate may not be reason in and ofitself to stop a car. The extra $200+ it can add to another ticket you were goign to get, can add insult to injury...

TexaZ3

Once again, its a fix-it-ticket.

mrfva

Agreed although TX/OU was this past weekend, and
there some hotties out in downtown. I highly suspect that
most, or some, of these women were hiding out in Austin.

Sorry OU/OK, no offense

dowe

true, that. i got pulled over for speeding a couple months ago, but the officer didn't say a word about the missing front tag...

-d

968turboS

You need to have a front plate to pass inspection in NJ unless you go to a private place.
Raj

bighersh

Well, certain things were "fix-it" tickets, but she only had a certain amount of time to show she had fixed it (the insurance card, and a few other things) but, if she didn't have it fixed in the time alloted- the fines would stick. That was in Plano, so maybe that varies from city to city in TX.

I asked a Texas DPS trooper about this and he told me he can write the ticket either way. TX state law requires the plate be afixed to the front and rear of the vehicle. So, all those cars we see that the owner is too cool to have the plate on he front of his/her car- but they have it laying on the dash, are all ticketable offenses if the officer decides to make it an issue. Having it in the car doesn't get them a free pass. They can mess with you for anything- having tint that extends below the AS1 line on your windshield, muffler too loud, music too loud, revving your engine at a red light, squealign the tires on take off from a red light, having lights on the front of your car that are any color other than a variation of white or amber- or from the rear of red or amber, having those multi-colored lights under the car (a 90's fad that seems t be makign a comeback). If they wanted to eff with you- trust me, they could eff with you. They have many ways...

So, why go through the hassle? I don't like the two plates either, and I'll dance in the street the ay the law passes that lets us take the front plate off.

I thought they were really stupid about the license plate frame thing. I'm glad to see that law has been revised. I can now put my wife's University bracket back on her car. (URL: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R...df/SB00369F.pdf )

I could see their point for those with tinted plate covers, or the ones the block out your number when photographed from certain angles- clearly those are people trying to break the law (speeding, driving on the tollway with no toll tag, not paying tolls, etc...)- but to be petty to the point that if the frame touches the letters you can be ticketed?! I think that's just a way to get additional $$$.

It's easy to see what state a plate is from. If a cop's eyesight is that poor, then he or she shouldn't be driving or carrying a weapon.

or_550i

Was it WSP or SPD? Seems like SPD would not care but WSP... We are their customers. I'm fresh out of good excuses but you might be able to come up with something to the extent of the mounting fell off and you didn't notice. In the mean time make a claim with the DMV, although I always think of King Co. being a bitch to deal with [Kitsap FTW!], that you lost one of your plates. Then show proof at to the judge that you've lost your plate because you've gone to the DMV to get a replacement and you are resolving the problem.

I've seen $600 tickets get thrown out in King Co. with out so much as an eye lid batted.

However, that was in years past when there wasn't so much financial foolery and places like Auburn about to flood because of some crappy dam built 50 years ago...