Ducky

Here's an oldie but a goodie...

I just got my plates, im guessing its illegal to put it in the front windshield...

From the PI:

ISSUE 1: Why bother with front ones?

"The law says that cars have to display a front license plate unless there is no place to mount it," wrote Mike Garrison of Covington. He said he keeps a front plate on his car but "many people don't like to use the front license plate, and many cars are designed to look better without one. ... My Honda S2000 would look better without a front license plate."

"I do emissions control work for Boeing -- the issue is just one of aesthetics. I've never been ticketed for this because I do run my front plate. I just wish I didn't have to.

"Supposedly, the main advantage of the front plate is that it makes a convenient target for speed enforcement laser beams. Why does the state still require front license plates? How much money could be saved if they were no longer required? How much money does a single license plate cost, anyway?"

Answer: Brad Benfield of the state Department of Licensing, a veteran at fielding these questions, said state law requires two plates on passenger vehicles and most trucks, and the reason, he said, "is simple -- safety."

Front plates can help police identify a vehicle that's stolen or being driven by someone suspected of having committed a crime, Benfield said -- providing a way for a robbed convenience store clerk to identify a bandit's getaway car, for example. In addition, the reflective paint on a plate can help drivers spot a disabled car on a dark night.

Benfield, anticipating the other question, said the two-license-plate requirement "predates laser speed limit enforcement by decades. Claims that laser speed enforcement is the only reason for front plates ... seem to run wild all over the Internet these days, but they simply aren't true."

A set of Washington state vehicle plates costs the state $2.13, or just over $1 per individual plate, so Benfield said eliminating the two-plate requirement would save about $1.4 million a year because the state issues about 1.4 million sets of general-issue plates annually. Most states require two plates; Connecticut changed to requiring just one plate in 1980 but changed back to requiring two again in 1987. A state spokesman didn't return a call to explain Connecticut's about-face.

ISSUE 2: Can you display a front plate in your windshield, so you don't have to invent some awkward way of hanging it on the front?

Jerry Millar of Mill Creek wants to know, because he doesn't want to drill holes in the front end of his special-edition Golf to mount the plate on the outside. He said he's seen county trucks display plates in the windshield because front-mounted winches limit license-display space. He says he's also been told by his dealer and by one state licensing outlet that putting them on the windshield is OK "as long as it's visible."

"I'll do a lot of things to my car but I will not drill it," he said. Why not? "Why will people pay $2,000 a year for season tickets to watch a losing team? Cars are my hobby," he said. "That's what I do," he said. But, he asks: "Am I going to get a ticket for having a front plate in my window?"

Answer: He might. The Licensing Department's spokesman, Benfield, said state law requires plates to be displayed "at the front or the rear of each vehicle" and that the position of his department and the State Patrol is that it's illegal to display the plate behind the windshield.

"I wouldn't consider behind the windshield as the 'front' of the vehicle," he said. "It's actually close to the middle. I believe your reader is risking a ticket by displaying the plate behind the windshield."

He said drivers should purchase a mounting bracket and put it on the front of their cars if the vehicles don't have a specific place to put the plate. "I myself had to drill holes in my beloved Alfa Romeo to accomplish this," he added.

I guess im answering my own question... Ugh i hate when i do that...

kristopher_d

Plateless for 2 years, and no intention of complying with a moronic mandate based on nothing but color of the governors shoe laces.

jisoo26

I used to have my front plate on, then took it off for my 3M clear coating....haven't put it back on since and no problems so far. My suspicion is that 99% of cops won't pull you over just for having no front license plate (they probably have better things to do). But if they pull you over for something else like speeding, changing lanes w/o blinker, etc. then they'll probably tack on an extra ticket for no plate.

shaunv74

I will continue to practice civil disobedience just like my illegal use of my horn.

kristopher_d

? Are we no longer allowed to honk?

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

"Not" is the answer

Revlis

No Front Plate on either car for about 5 years, No problems. Even when pulled over I have yet to have an officer write me a ticket. (Knocking on wood).

BUT

The law says you have to have one on there so I am ready at any time to be pulled over and have a couple hundred removed from my wallet. That's the way of things...

shaunv74

According to a recent article Jen sent me in the State of Washington you are only "allowed" to use your horn in an "emergency."

My definition of an emergency: If the driver in front of me doesn't get their head out of their *** and get in gear they will have to come get them in an ambulance unless I honk at them to wake them up.

grinn253

Sup!

fwiw, I've been pulled over a few times (~3) in my FD specifically for no front license plate, received a ticket each time as well -- this is in the U-District area. Two other times I ran out of time at a parking meter, and also received the no front license plate ticket in addition to expired time on the meter, doh!

Nonetheless I still have no front license plate.

Laters!
Edgardo

SkyLee

No Front Plate on either car for about 5 years, No problems Our car looks hella gay with a plate so i take it off

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

I haven't had a front plate on my past 4 cars (2 S13's, FD and my 8) and never had a problem until last week. I got pulled over by a WA trooper specifically for no front plate (wasn't speeding or anything else). However, he just walked up, took a quick look at my license (not my registration or insurance) and then just gave me a mild verbal warning. Still plateless.

Spinning Sushi

iTrader: (21)

I hate front plates, when I see an 8 with them on, it makes me cringe.... anyways, no tickets for not having the front license plate on ever since I got my car. That goes the same for my previous car as well.

laythor

Had my front plate on for a few weeks... been plateless ever since.

pdxhak

iTrader: (2)

Do you think that is because your car is registered in another state? I know when I was in Ohio, the police would not give me a ticket for my windows being too dark because they were legal in Texas which is where the car was registered.

pdxhak

iTrader: (2)

BTW no front plate here...

FABRO

I got my front plate on. I really don't think it looks that bad. But I do have a bunch of stuff on my car that would bother a cop like my illegal tint, clear corners and exhaust but haven't been pulled over for any of that in the last 2 years.

Ducky

Are clear corners bad? thought they were fine with a yellow bulb....

jisoo26

Clear corners are fine with yellow bulbs. Unfortunately a bunch of us have the "stealth" bulbs which cops don't like very much.

ddub

I haven't ran a front plate since I got my first car 7 years ago.

I've never been pulled over for not having a front plate. Once I was pulled over for having too loud of exhaust on my rx8, it wasn't to give me a ticket, just to lecture me. Anyways, when he pulled me over he also mentioned I had no front plate and needed to fix that. I kept my cool and just said "I bought this front bumper from Mazdaspeed, a subsidiary of Mazda, and there's no way to mount it" when in reality I have a replica front bumper and there is a way to mount it. Cop just said "Oh well, try to look into it" and walked off. That's the only incident I've ever had, and he didn't even seem to care.

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

I moved across the river to cut down my commute, so I'm registered in WA now(suppose I should update my location). I'm not sure why he let me off so easy, maybe he was just checking me out and when he saw a guy in his 30's with a kid in the car he decided not to hastle me.

Actually, both OR and WA require the corner markers to have a amber reflex reflector. So technically clear corners are illegal although I've never heard of anyone being pulled over or ticketed for that (I have clears myself).

kristopher_d

I'm sure the plate is used mostly as an excuse to pull otherwise well behaved folks over and see what they can find. Not that I'd know anything about being well behaved.

FABRO

That's the reason why I leave my plates on. I got other stuff I want to hide that I don't want them to find if they inspect my car.

DiSfUnCtIoN

i dont have front plates ive been pulled over before cause the cop thought i didnt have any plates in the front then i told him it was in the windshield and he said oh ok and just drove away

Chixican

The plate doesn't have to be on the front bumper RCW doesn't state that. It just has to be just under 4' off the ground displayed in the front of the car horizontally (meaning so that you can read the plate normally, none of that sideways stuff like the bikers do). That's it. Most cops will also try to give you a ticket if your plate is not secured (i.e. thrown up on the window). What I did is use 4 small suction cups to secure the plate to the windshield. It is readily visible, readable, and completely legal.

RCW 46.16.240
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=46.16.240

Know the law, it's way more fun if you get pulled over.

Also, if your plates are from a different state, they cannot enforce plates on the front, or other modifications to the car because as far as I know they don't have any jurisdiction for a car that is not registered to their state. For example, you have washington plates with an SR20 swapped S13. If you drive around in cali with the intercooler hanging out the front bumper and what not, they cannot ticket or impound the car because you're not registered in Cali, none of their smog compliance laws apply to your vehicle. However, if you're speeding you'll be ticketed for that particular infraction. Make sense?

DiSfUnCtIoN

got cha