is no front plate legal in NJ?
04-28-09, 09:35 AM
#16
Driver School Candidate
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Location: New York
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its funny, I actually just got pulled over the other day, I have the chrome license plate cover, and also the blurred plastic to cover up the license plate, I never usually have it on unless its winter and im doing something dumb, but the chrome part covers up The Empire State, on the plate, and apparently its completely illegal to have that covered up, and the cop was a big enough **** to give me a ticket for it too..... troopers..
04-28-09, 09:32 PM
#18
i think you're more likely to be pulled over having a plate in your windshield... it's not legal and it's more obvious (not to mention dangerous). it's better not having one, i've only been pulled over for not having one time out of the 12 years of never putting one on (and was not ticketed - i was out of my home state anyways), and got another "add-on" ticket for no front plate after being pulled over for other stuff.
back to my point, i always notice when people put their plates in the windshield, i hardly notice missing ones (maybe in the opposite land at a red light - when i'm actually looking for it.)
back to my point, i always notice when people put their plates in the windshield, i hardly notice missing ones (maybe in the opposite land at a red light - when i'm actually looking for it.)
05-01-09, 11:38 PM
#20
It MAY be possible that we can get a ticket for it. But I know for a fact that I have been driving around with no front plates and haven't gotten a ticket for it.
05-02-09, 08:46 AM
#21
There is no need to guess whether or not something is illegal or not. The driving laws of NY State are clearly spelled out. If you're going to spend the next 40-50 years of your life driving a vehicle, it would make sense for everyone to take some time and read up on the laws that are currently on the books for your state. Every NYS Law can be found here NY Law got tothe section marked VAT (vehicle and traffic law). You may want to spend some time in section 9 (motor vehicle equipment). What is legal or not is clearly spelled out.
I checked with a couple friends on the original topic of this thread and:
Yes, no front plate is illegal and you can receive a ticket
Plate on dashboard is illegal and you could receive an additional ticket besides the no front plate ticket for 'Improper display' (I didn't find out the cost)
No you won't get a ticket for not having your front plate on out of state vehicles as officers can only enforce the laws applicable to their state when it comes to equipment violations. It's not across the board though because you cannot drive in NY with an expired out of state registration or inspection sticker.
BUT it is a reason for an officer to pull you over if you are driving in a 2 plate state (Only 19 out of 50 states have a one plate requirement - DE and PA are the closest to us). Once the officer notices that your rear plate is out of state they should send you on your way unless you have other violations (drugs, dui, lowered car, tint too dark, muffler, etc) or are being an azz...
Here are two interesting cases where the probable cause was 'no front plate' which ended up leading to drug arrests.
http://www.ck10.uscourts.gov/opinions/00/00-3407.pdf (Kansas does not require front tags but the court upheld the California vehicle stop)
http://www.ck10.uscourts.gov/opinions/07/07-4040.pdf (Utah requires front tags and court says they can stop California vehicles for that in these 2 cases)
So no front plate is a valid reason for a stop in a state where it's required.
Just some extra info:
Here are some officers responses on the issue from a cop forum that I frequent often (I strongly suggest people to do this and you'll see that what you get pulled over for varies from area to area. What you may find out is that a certain mod in your area will automatically trigger a stop and you may decide that the mod is not worth the hassle) and you can see how varied they can be by officer. Some are turds, most aren't...
Hope the info helped. All of this information is readily available on the web as well.
I checked with a couple friends on the original topic of this thread and:
Yes, no front plate is illegal and you can receive a ticket
Plate on dashboard is illegal and you could receive an additional ticket besides the no front plate ticket for 'Improper display' (I didn't find out the cost)
No you won't get a ticket for not having your front plate on out of state vehicles as officers can only enforce the laws applicable to their state when it comes to equipment violations. It's not across the board though because you cannot drive in NY with an expired out of state registration or inspection sticker.
BUT it is a reason for an officer to pull you over if you are driving in a 2 plate state (Only 19 out of 50 states have a one plate requirement - DE and PA are the closest to us). Once the officer notices that your rear plate is out of state they should send you on your way unless you have other violations (drugs, dui, lowered car, tint too dark, muffler, etc) or are being an azz...
Here are two interesting cases where the probable cause was 'no front plate' which ended up leading to drug arrests.
http://www.ck10.uscourts.gov/opinions/00/00-3407.pdf (Kansas does not require front tags but the court upheld the California vehicle stop)
http://www.ck10.uscourts.gov/opinions/07/07-4040.pdf (Utah requires front tags and court says they can stop California vehicles for that in these 2 cases)
So no front plate is a valid reason for a stop in a state where it's required.
Just some extra info:
Here are some officers responses on the issue from a cop forum that I frequent often (I strongly suggest people to do this and you'll see that what you get pulled over for varies from area to area. What you may find out is that a certain mod in your area will automatically trigger a stop and you may decide that the mod is not worth the hassle) and you can see how varied they can be by officer. Some are turds, most aren't...
andy5746
Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: So. Cal
Posts: 903 Here in So. CA we see lots of Arizona cars - no front plate requirement in AZ, but there is in CA. Most CA cops know about AZ plate laws, but there are 48 other states that we may or may not know if it is required. So basically, you can be stopped for no front plate in CA. If your state does not require a front plate - and the officer knows this - you will be on your way once he/she figures that out. However, if the officer does not know about your state's code requirements, he/she can still issue you the cite - and best not to argue - you will be able to get it dismissed easy enough after the fact. If you do a lot of interstate driving, I might suggest keeping a printout of the Vehicle Code section from your state with your registration - that way the officer can have a reference and make a more informed decision.
One small department I worked for actually took the time to make a list of all the states & their plate requirements and gave us each a copy - don't know why we don't all do this, would save a lot of time on both sides.
Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: So. Cal
Posts: 903 Here in So. CA we see lots of Arizona cars - no front plate requirement in AZ, but there is in CA. Most CA cops know about AZ plate laws, but there are 48 other states that we may or may not know if it is required. So basically, you can be stopped for no front plate in CA. If your state does not require a front plate - and the officer knows this - you will be on your way once he/she figures that out. However, if the officer does not know about your state's code requirements, he/she can still issue you the cite - and best not to argue - you will be able to get it dismissed easy enough after the fact. If you do a lot of interstate driving, I might suggest keeping a printout of the Vehicle Code section from your state with your registration - that way the officer can have a reference and make a more informed decision.
One small department I worked for actually took the time to make a list of all the states & their plate requirements and gave us each a copy - don't know why we don't all do this, would save a lot of time on both sides.
StudChris
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 1,900 Quote:
Originally Posted by DeputyZee
How is stopping a car for improper display of tag a cheap stop? I mean yeah, if you're not into getting drug arrests (you're from Wisconsin so you probably don't know the Texas-Florida drug connection), or at the very least failure to register a motor vehicle or license not valid arrests... then sure I wouldn't want to get into that practice either.
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 1,900 Quote:
Originally Posted by DeputyZee
Originally Posted by DeputyZee
That's a cheap stop. I wouldn't want to get into that practice personally.
NE75
Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Northeast
Posts: 85 Quote:
Originally Posted by StudChris
It's not a cheap stop in my opinion either.
I stopped a car for no front plate and no inspection sticker. I'm in the Northeast, this car had one rear Missouri plate. And it wasn't a typical no front plate Violator like a Miata.
Let's see..... Car was stolen out of PA, Tag was stolen out of MO, driver had warrants, bag of coke in his pocket, passenger had felony warrant.
I don't know about you guys, but for some silly reason cars with missing plates, not inspected, etc are often driven by people who have, shall we say, "issues".
Yeah, me and my cheap stops.
Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Northeast
Posts: 85 Quote:
Originally Posted by StudChris
Originally Posted by StudChris
How is stopping a car for improper display of tag a cheap stop? I mean yeah, if you're not into getting drug arrests (you're from Wisconsin so you probably don't know the Texas-Florida drug connection), or at the very least failure to register a motor vehicle or license not valid arrests... then sure I wouldn't want to get into that practice either.
I stopped a car for no front plate and no inspection sticker. I'm in the Northeast, this car had one rear Missouri plate. And it wasn't a typical no front plate Violator like a Miata.
Let's see..... Car was stolen out of PA, Tag was stolen out of MO, driver had warrants, bag of coke in his pocket, passenger had felony warrant.
I don't know about you guys, but for some silly reason cars with missing plates, not inspected, etc are often driven by people who have, shall we say, "issues".
Yeah, me and my cheap stops.
DeputyZee
Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 296 You are stretching my words here I think. I'm only talking about out-of-state no front plate. If it is in-state, sure, go for it. If it is broken tail lamp, head lamp, loud exhaust from any state, sure, go for it.
Also, how can one claim to be familiar enough with the out of state rules to make such a stop? WI requires front plate, but....... not every type of vehicle has to have it. Do you know which do and don't? I certainly don't know what the exceptions are for Illinois plates.
I guess my final point would be that there are tons of vehicles you can stop for tons of reasons, there is no need to dip down as low as an out of state no front plate stop. Maybe it would be ok there, but it wouldn't fly here.
Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 296 You are stretching my words here I think. I'm only talking about out-of-state no front plate. If it is in-state, sure, go for it. If it is broken tail lamp, head lamp, loud exhaust from any state, sure, go for it.
Also, how can one claim to be familiar enough with the out of state rules to make such a stop? WI requires front plate, but....... not every type of vehicle has to have it. Do you know which do and don't? I certainly don't know what the exceptions are for Illinois plates.
I guess my final point would be that there are tons of vehicles you can stop for tons of reasons, there is no need to dip down as low as an out of state no front plate stop. Maybe it would be ok there, but it wouldn't fly here.
05-02-09, 09:14 AM
#22
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
thanks for all the info man. you know your stuff. i heard somewhere that cops now are required to give you 24 hours to put a front plate on if it is not on already before issuing a ticket. do you know if this is true?
05-02-09, 09:32 AM
#23
If anything, it would work the other way around most likely if true. You get a ticket and then have 24 hours to fix it and then bring the proof to a court to get it dismissed. But can't see that either because it's just two screws and if you could fix it on the spot, then why the need to give a ticket at all? State would make no money by giving leeway on no front tickets. I think if you get pulled over for it, you're getting a ticket and you're paying it 98% of the time.
05-02-09, 12:15 PM
#24
Well we're all from different states so those residing in those state can do whatever they would want to do. It seems more reasonable for someone to make a comment if they're in that state. Discussion has ended please close this post.
05-05-09, 12:00 AM
#25
Lexus Champion
install a front plate if your state has given you two. Thats the best way to avoid legal problems.
I used to drive both 911s without a front plate (actually put a german one on the old one since the bumper was designed for one), never got stopped. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was the car.
I have a plate on my Lexus because its just that, a Lexus. It looks perfectly fine with a front plate and my bumper actually fits it perfectly where the winch goes. When I get a winch, its coming off...if I get stopped oh well, I'll pay the fine.
And I'd never put one on the dash, that's a bad thing waiting to happen.
I used to drive both 911s without a front plate (actually put a german one on the old one since the bumper was designed for one), never got stopped. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was the car.
I have a plate on my Lexus because its just that, a Lexus. It looks perfectly fine with a front plate and my bumper actually fits it perfectly where the winch goes. When I get a winch, its coming off...if I get stopped oh well, I'll pay the fine.
And I'd never put one on the dash, that's a bad thing waiting to happen.
06-12-09, 08:32 PM
#28
Where did you get pulled over?
I was on rt206 near the circle last night and there was a semi out of commission so there were cops standing there closing a lane off, and just my luck the light was red and I stopped by the cops. They were pointing their flash light and checking out my car but didnt approach me about my plates which were not there... and I was 4 feet away lol
I was on rt206 near the circle last night and there was a semi out of commission so there were cops standing there closing a lane off, and just my luck the light was red and I stopped by the cops. They were pointing their flash light and checking out my car but didnt approach me about my plates which were not there... and I was 4 feet away lol
06-16-09, 07:18 AM
#30
You could always go with a retractible license plate. A little bit of work...but some serious cool points!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjOn_jWHxLk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s1Wrz2MZKk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvM2dNzgHjI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejl1BzoE69w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjOn_jWHxLk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s1Wrz2MZKk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvM2dNzgHjI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejl1BzoE69w