Don't they have better things to do? I live in the South Bay and I have not been pulled over or cited by anyone for having no front license plate in the five years I have been driving the 8.

Time to get four plastic zip ties, put it on, get it signed off/pay money, and take it off again.

The last time I got cited for this was with my Integra GS-R and I was visiting LA and a meter moron gave me a fix-it ticket. I had that car for 11 years and it only happened once.

 

damn these cops and them actually enforcing the laws!
zip ties won't pass inspection in CA anymore.

 

I just got a ticket yesterday for the same thing.
Nadda to do but pay up

 

The classic " I have been getting away with this for years" Did you tell the officer that? He might have let you off. Or you could have gone with my favorite, "there are real criminals out there and your wasting your time harassing me". I love hearing those two.

There are several good reason for the law and the officer is just doing his job. I have seen many hit and run drivers identified because the front plate was left at the scene, read by a witness, spotted in a security camara and even the letters being imprinted on the victims car.

Will the world be a safer place because you got stopped and now have to install your front license plate? Probably not, but having a front plate law and officers enforcing the law does make the streets safer. I know its hard to believe but it is true.

There is nothing in the vehicle code that suggests Zip ties are not able to be used. I beleive the section says securly fastened. So as long as the plate is not swinging, your ok.

 

My plate fits perfectly in my glove box. If I were to get pulled over, I would claim that it fell off and that I needed special bolts from the dealership to hold it on.

 

Although that sounds like a good idea, it wont work. Part of the responsibilities of being a MVO are that your vehicle must be in legal working condition before operating .... therefore if your license plate cannot be installed due to a "special bolt", then the car must not be used until it conforms to laws

 

Arizona ftw.

No front plates required.

 

I didn't really try to give any excuses about the front license plate. I did mention that it was in the trunk.

I was just glad I didn't get cited for anything else. Although, I wasn't breaking any other laws.

Oh well, at least it is correctable.

 

Worked in Texas, Haven't tried it here yet.

 

Oh come on, if you know that you were cited in Los Angeles, what priveldge do you get because you live in the Bay? If your car is registered in CA, you are required to have front plates. Unless your vehicle has an out-of-state plate like AZ. Zipties won't fly anymore, the Sheriff who will inspect it will make sure it's mounted and secured. And even if your paint on your plate is faded, you're likely to be ticketed.

Excuses like "I don't have the right bolt for the plates, I recently got my bumper repaired or had a front accident and haven't had the time to put the front plates, or I only have one plate" will not work anymore. I did all kinds of zipties and mounts(even the plate on the dashboard), and used the excuses above, yet no avail. No front plate citations are now $60 and up, new plates are $40 from DMV... Set of screws from Home Depot is less than $3. Go figure

 

not to single you out but i did so here it goes


There is no excuse that hasn't been heard by the officer giving you the ticket. It is better to just sit quietly, be polite, and take the ticket. It will save everyone some time and it will send the officer on their way to catch "real" bad guys.

 

I thougt in the front window was legal?

 

My friend got pulled over for it as well and took it to the police dept. and the person just asked did you put it on and signed off on it without even looking. I need to go there.

 

No, the windshield wont work.

5201 CVC: "License plates shall at all times be securely fastened to the vehicle for which they are issued so as to prevent the plates from swinging, shall be mounted in a position so as to be clearly visible, and so that the characters are upright and display from left to right, and shall be maintained in a condition so as to be clearly legible. The rear license plate shall be mounted not less than 12 inches nor more than 60 inches from the ground, and the front license plate shall be mounted not more than 60 inches from the ground"

(f) A covering shall not be used on license plates except as follows: ( The windhsield is a cover and none of the exceptions allow for it).

 

no, it's not.

 

You rolled the dice and you lost.

Sometimes I remove the front plate (because it ruins the design of the grille, which some talented designer kept playing with to "get it right"). I went 5 years without one before getting ticketed while parked; I paid the $65. No anger from me.

 

My car is registered in Arlington, Texas so I have Texas plates. Could that be why Im not bothered about not having the front on? Of course, only having two police officers in my town probably explains why I haven't gotten in trouble for it yet.

 

My front plate (which they only give you two plates if you have a specialty plate) is stuck to the pushpin board on the back of my computer desk.
Yes, Arizona and it's one plate law.


Edit: You break law. You pay. Don't blame the cops. They didn't break the law.

 

Yes being out of state is probably why you dont get bothered, however if texas issues you 2 plates you need to put both on.

5202 CVC – Every license plate issued by this State or any jurisdiction within or without the United States shall remain attached during the period of its validity to the vehicle for which it is issued while being operated within this State.

 

Yeah, they probably wouldn't bother unless you own a Silvia/240SX that's suspected to have an SR20DET in it... You could always say that you're a visitor. As a visitor, I believe you can drive an out-of-state vehicle in CA for 30 Days before you have to register it.

 

Well because I am under 18, I do not legally own the car. My dads name and address is on the title and my registration and inspection is current until june of next year. I will be 18 in May of next year which is when I will get the title switched over to my name and get the car registered here in Cali. In the mean time, if I were to get pulled over, I would say that my dad drove to visit me and I am borrowing his car. Pretty believable story because of how nice the car is.

 

In berkeley, $20 here, and zipties? no way, I get my tickets signed off by duct taping my plates on :P

Seriously, done it twice now.

 

As long as no one sees flames coming out of my exhaust on the 5, I'm good right? :D
Florida USMC plates FTW!

 

Got it signed off by at the police dept. in town. No fee for them doing it if you're a resident. The municipality next door charged $39 if you're not a resident just to have an officer sign it.

I ended up using two zip ties - the officer didn't seem to care or notice.

Now the San Francisco court wants $25 for the correctable violation processing fee. If I wanted to pay the complete fine it would have been a whopping $194!

 

^ What? Thats ridiculous... Cali needs that money...