Got a chance to show the police my CHL!!

[gregthehand]

I don't have one on the front of my Ferrari and have never gotten hasseled for it......






Of course it's a model car so it never gets any street time.....

[Venus Pax]

Has anyone ever actually gotten a ticket for this?

A friend from college got a ticket for driving without a front plate on her Corvette. Knowing her, she probably sealed the deal with her attitude.

[MAFWG]

About 7 years ago I was stopped by Grapevine PD (on southbound 121 at the 360 exit) for no license plate on a '94 Camaro. The officer who wrote me the ticket made it very clear that the reason he was writing a "No Plate" ticket was because he was not able to get his LIDAR (Laser radar) to read my speed without a front plate to bounce the light off of. Well, the "No Plate" ticket was about $70 (no option to reduce the fine by installing the plate) and did not count as a moving violation. Whereas the ticket for 80 in a 60 that I would have received had the plate been installed would have cost much more and would have been a (quickly) moving violation. This convinced me that there are advantages to no front plates on sports cars other than the obvious appearance upgrade.

DISCLAIMER: I do not advocate the removal of front license plates to avoid speeding tickets. The best way to avoid speeding tickets is to not exceed the posted speed.

Hunter

[gregthehand]

The officer who wrote me the ticket made it very clear that the reason he was writing a "No Plate" ticket was because he was not able to get his LIDAR (Laser radar) to read my speed without a front plate to bounce the light off of. Hunter

UUUMMMMMM Lidar doesn't need a plate to bounce off of............

Now having a front plate HELPS a Lidar get a speed at a longer distance. It can still easily get a speed on a car with no front plate from 500 feet.

[MAFWG]

The officer who wrote me the ticket made it very clear that the reason he was writing a "No Plate" ticket was because he was not able to get his LIDAR (Laser radar) to read my speed without a front plate to bounce the light off of. Hunter

UUUMMMMMM Lidar doesn't need a plate to bounce off of............

Now having a front plate HELPS a Lidar get a speed at a longer distance. It can still easily get a speed on a car with no front plate from 500 feet.

Sorry, I tried to keep the story brief and left out some relatively unimportant (I thought) details. At the time he originally lased me (according to my Valentine One), I was between 1/2 & 1/4 mile away from him. When I reached the 500 foot mark (or thereabouts) I was down to 65-70. The officer told me that when he was finally able to get a reading, he clocked me at 68 MPH. Since this was a 60 MPH zone, I was surprised he didn't write me up for 8 over. However, he was quite vociferous about the missing front plate being the reason he wasn't able to write a much more expensive ticket.

I am not an expert on LIDAR. However, I understand that it has several issues tied to its operating principle of measuring the change in pulse return times vs. the Doppler frequency shift approach that Traffic RADAR uses (which imposes its own set of issues). One of those LIDAR issues is poor return signal strength, which is exacerbated by a lack of perpendicular surfaces to reflect the infrared pulses. Hence the lack of a front license plate causes issues with speed acquisition when LIDAR is used on a 4th generation Camaro, which is basically a wedge with almost no vertical front surfaces.

Please note that I have slowed down considerably since then, especially in that part of Grapevine!

Hunter

[DoubleJ]

What if you angled the plate just a bit? like a 15 degree cant?

[Liko81]

What if you angled the plate just a bit? like a 15 degree cant?

That's part of the reason the plate is painted with stuff similar to what they use on road signs and lane lines. At almost any off-angle, shining a light onto it will get you a significant return. Try it sometime at night with a good flashlight.

Now some companies sell polarizing plate covers. You can see through them up close, but they obscure the plate from a distance, and also prevent light return from any angle other than directly behind. I do not know if these are legal to have in Texas; considering that technically any license plate frame that obscures any part of the plate is illegal I would guess not.

[03Lightningrocks]

I received a ticket for no front plate as "gravy" while being ticketed for speeding. When I went to take care of the tickets, the lady behind the glass ask if I had put the front plate on yet. I told the truth and said I just couldn't bring myself to drill holes in the front bumper. I believe I paid 150 bucks for that ticket. She told me that had I just put the plate on, she could have dismissed the ticket.

[KBCraig]

I received a ticket for no front plate as "gravy" while being ticketed for speeding. When I went to take care of the tickets, the lady behind the glass ask if I had put the front plate on yet. I told the truth and said I just couldn't bring myself to drill holes in the front bumper. I believe I paid 150 bucks for that ticket. She told me that had I just put the plate on, she could have dismissed the ticket.

Again, there's no requirement that it be mounted on the bumper, nor "mounted" at all. It only has to be visible from the front of the vehicle.

[03Lightningrocks]

I received a ticket for no front plate as "gravy" while being ticketed for speeding. When I went to take care of the tickets, the lady behind the glass ask if I had put the front plate on yet. I told the truth and said I just couldn't bring myself to drill holes in the front bumper. I believe I paid 150 bucks for that ticket. She told me that had I just put the plate on, she could have dismissed the ticket.

Again, there's no requirement that it be mounted on the bumper, nor "mounted" at all. It only has to be visible from the front of the vehicle.

LOL....yeah...I'll get an attorney right on that. I have found very few Police officers willing to debate the intricacies of the law during a traffic stop. The usual response is "Tell it to the judge". The last thing I am going to do is spend my valuable time in a court room arguing about the laws concerning license plate location. It's easier...and cheaper, for me, to just pay the fine and move along.

It's not an issue for me anyway as there is no way on earth I am going to put a metal license plate at head level inside the cab of my 10 second truck and risk having a guillotine blade flying around the cab of my vehicle in an accident.

[gregthehand]

Again, there's no requirement that it be mounted on the bumper, nor "mounted" at all. It only has to be visible from the front of the vehicle.

Ok this is not really an argument but just how I enforced this (when I did).

502.404. OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITHOUT LICENSE PLATE OR REGISTRATION INSIGNIA.
(a) A person commits an offense if the
person operates on a public highway during a registration period a
passenger car or commercial motor vehicle that does not display two
license plates, at the front and rear of the vehicle

Now one time I encountered a guy who was driving a Honda Civic with one of those huge bumper wind scoop things on the front. He didn't want to drill holes in it so he did the suction cup thing and put it behind his windshield.

Now it was day time and we passed each other. I didn't see a front license plate so he got pulled over. You see when you put it behind the windshield the curvature of the windshield makes it impossible to see unless your standing right in front of the vehicle. This is especially evident when the sun is shining on the windshield since the glare makes it impossible to read the plate (even from right in front of the vehicle). Now this guy told me in a snooty tone that he had one and pointed to it on the windshield. I explained to him that the windshield was not the "front" of the vehicle; more like the middle. FURTHERMORE even if the dashboard/windshield was considered the "front" (fat chance on that one) it breaks another law having a curved windshield that distorts the view of the license plate from an off angle.

§ 502.409. WRONG, FICTITIOUS, ALTERED, OR OBSCURED
LICENSE PLATE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person attaches to or displays on a motor vehicle a number plate or
registration insignia that:

further down past all the obvious stuff.....

(7) has a coating, covering, protective material, or other apparatus that:
(A) distorts angular visibility or detectability;

Did he get a ticket for it? Nope. But he still got hasseled and if it really got pushed he could get a ticket for it. He could go and fight and maybe win but it would still be a hassle. They do make little Euro holders for jap cars that mount inbetween the bumper and grill and hold the plate so that's one option. Anyway this is just how I see it. I don't think it's right and I don't like front plates either. I've driven my own vehicles a few times without them and gotten hassled three times by State Troopers for it; once on my Z-71 with a winch mount, and once on my Dodge 4x4 2500 with one of those full replacement winch mounts. The third time was on the same Dodge. Once the trooper told me to put it on I went ahead and mounted it behind the expanding metal on the grill guard. I was leaving San Angelo and got pulled over on Christmas Eve on my way back to Ft Hood. They had just passed 502.409 (above) and he said since my license plate was obscured from the front it was illegal. I got a warning on that one though (as well as the others).


Edit to add: My company truck right now doesn't have one but then again it's registered in Louisiana where they won't even issue you one for the front!!!

[israel67]

... was stopped yesterday by a real cute blond lady cop for no front license plate on my Corvette .

This thread reminds me of a Summer day in 2001 when I was cruisin' around Paris on my FJR1300. I pulled up at the lights next to a police van like this one. The side door was open and there was this really hot brunette cop sitting there. We smiled at one another and said 'bonjour'. Great teeth (I really dig good teeth).

'You want to see my ID and insurance?' I asked her.
'Why?' she replied.
'Well, 'cos then you'd have my telephone number...' I said.

She just sort of laughed, shook her head and the van drove off.

Would that get you a ticket in TX ? Are you allowed to ask lady cops out for dinner, if they're in uniform?

[HerbM]

Now most Corvette owners know that having a front plate on a Vette is worse than running around with your fly open

Apparently it's also a sin on a BMW; I have it on good authority from my boss that at least one DFW dealer won't put the front plate on when you buy a new Beemer unless you ask them to do so. Dodge has similar front end pride with their Vipers. I'm not even sure it's possible to put a front plate on a Lambo.

If you are driving a Corvette, BMW, Viper, or Lambo, you can afford the ticket. Us Nissan drivers on the other hand...

Well, I don't know about that -- my BMW 740il has a front plate.

I can't afford the $200 which I could spend on guns or ammo, and I am not always doing 155 so someone MIGHT get to see it.

What do I care -- if they can see it good -- if they can't then it won't ruin the view.

[stevie_d_64]

What if you angled the plate just a bit? like a 15 degree cant?

Mr. Stealth

Yep, that's yer new nickname...

I would "cant" or angle the plate to reflect up...A couple of "shims" will do just fine...

...Not that I am advocating doing something illegal...No! Never...Nuh uhhhh, no way, fugetaboutit...

[matrxx]

Well.
it got nothing to do with your car, your CHL, you break the law, you pay for it.You just got a lucky day, there is no front LP,you may just got a warning for it.