Kalaries

Ok so, I thought I'd check around and see what other people's thoughts and experiences are with NOT having a front license plate.
I've talked to some friends about this and we usually end in disagreement.
In Washington state you are required to have your tabs on the rear license plate and have a "front plate".

Heres a picture of my registration which restates the law



Once again, tabs required on "rear license plate" and "front plate required". It does NOT say "front license plate required"

What I'm getting at is that I have a friend who has a charger without a front license plate, but he has a plastic one that says "charger"

My dad's Benz he had a Mercedes Benz of Lynnwood front plate, and he got pulled over so much he finally gave in.

I don't have a front plate because when I bought the car it was previously ripped off in an accident.

And I don't really like the look of front license plates. I'd much rather have a "LS400" license plate, but can I get away with it in an argument with the police or judge? I know every states laws are different but I'm sure some stated are similar to washington.
And or someone else is feeling the same way.

Or maybe we have some Law Enforcement on the site here..

FrankReynoldsCPA

I can't see why they would require you to have some sort of plate, any type. It makes sense to me that if they require a front plate, it obviously means a license plate.

Utah requires a front plate. My 89 Firebird had no place for a front plate, but in 3 years I only got stopped for it once.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Your state vehicle code will specifically outline the details of required equipment that is to be on the car to be street legal. The sheet printed on the registration is an abbreviated version in the hope most owners registering the car will apply what the true meaning is.

In CA, enforcement varies. If you do not have a state issued license plate for which it is registered for front and rear application, it your responsibility to contact the DMV and obtain a set. Any deviations from this is a citable equipment violation. The no license plate mounting holes on the bumper or prior owner didn't include one is irrelevant. As the car owner it is your responsibility to maintain the car to be operational on the public roadways. Your signature on the drivers license indicates consent you have read and understand the rules for operating a motor vehicle.

In CA, the kids put the plate on the front dash. This is illegal and does not conform to the CVCC as well as makes it an in car hazard in the event of a crash. A license plate turned into a projectile inside of the car during a crash seems pretty cool. I see two scenarios for the passenger side if the plate is stuck on that side of the dash. The air bag is cut during deployment or it is propelled into your passenger.

Aesthetics aside, giving the LEO's a reason to stop you just doesn't appeal. We all go through it if we play that game. I had similar encounters back in my days with lights, ride height, tint exhaust... When you get older, you want to get from point A-B without unnecessary complications.

Rant over.

Lextrician

personally it all depends, If you need a reason for the law to pull you over then there it is, alot of times they dont bother if your legit but you never know. I have been pulled over but the main reason was not the front plate he just noticed it, but I told him that it never came with front plates, it clearly showed that the bumper was never drilled for a plate and I told him I wasn't going to do it. But like I said it all depends I say go for it, its just like window tint.

whit3b0y

Not worth the hassle. This is something they can pull you over for. Like a light out or not using a signal. Its your own fault if you tell them to pull you over, and they find an your squash scented air freshener, or you had two drinks with dinner.

Kalaries

im aware of the implied law, i was looking for loopholes. I just dont feel like going out and paying the DOL any more of my money to replace it. and it would look better if i had a something that said "LS400"
but i dont want to pay money for a ticket either....just curious of other ppls experiences...

cdtran2

I got 2 tickets within 2 weeks of each other...Called the seattle city attorney that handles traffic tickets and basically told her, "the law states if you were only issued 1 Plate, it must be on the rear of the vehicle" there is basically nothing that says the state either gave you one plate or two. I had the city drop both tickets the next day...

basically, as long as you stick to the "fact" that you were only issued one plate, you're not really breaking and laws

whit3b0y

you can pay extra for a non state front plate. My brother has a 56 ford pickup, he has a Montana custom plate 56 FORD. He has no WA issued plate in the front

1985zcar

iTrader: (1)

I've used the single plate excuse several times along with other excuses. I've never got a no front plate ticket and I haven't ran one on any of my cars haha

Kalaries

Cdtran- that's what I wanted to hear when I started this thread, so did you get the tickets dropped in court or what?

Kalaries

And I honestly did buy the car without a front plate. I eventually will put on a front plate once I switch to a personalized plate

cdtran2

Prepare for a novel...

The "un lawfull" crap:

So this all started one morning when I was dropping off my girlfriend for work in downtown seattle. We're up near northgate, so we always take the express lanes to get down town. For a solid month, SPD was doing HOV checks at the exit on to Pike street. I was like whatever, since I obviously had carpool (even though they couldn't see anyone in the car because of my all around tint) so this annoying cop walks up to me and ask me to roll down my window, I do thinking I haven't done anything wrong (10 years without a front plate on any of my cars) anyways, she proceeded to write me a ticket for not having a front plate...so for everyday after that, as I passed her in the morning, she would give me the most annoying look ever. about 13 days after the first ticket, she decides to walk up to my window again and writes me another. At this point I'm beyond pissed and started calling everyone I could and even considered legal action against that officer for harassment .

Now for the legal stuff:
Since the exact same cop wrote me both tickets, I started a formal complaint against her through ever avenue I could. I filled claims with her direct Sargent, the sargent for her division, the union, and even with the city too. I also called a few law firms to see if they would be interested in filling something against her.

For my ticket itself, I just marked contest on both tickets and sent them in after 13 days on the first one, and within 5 days for the second. What City of seattle does is they always try and schedule a pre-hearing settlement conference. I declined both and requested a hearing date. At this point, I was able to contact the assistant city attorney (The city attorneys can't do anything until after a hearing date is scheduled) I called her because my hearing date was a few days away and I didn't want to wait for an email response. I explained to her that I was within the law because I was only issued one plate when I bought the car. she asked if that was one I was sticking with and I said yes. I told her that if we went to court, thats what I would be telling the judge, and based on the RCW 46.16.200-5iiA (refers to license plates) I was only issued one plate and it was attached to the rear of the vehicle. I asked her if she would be willing to just drop the charges now instead of wasting the city's money and time by going to an actual trial. She said she could understand that and would have documents drafted to drop both charges. she told me she'd call me after the judge signs the documents. The next day, she calls me back to confirm and also sends me a copy of the signed documents.

Pretty simple to handle these dumb tickets if you know how to look up RCW's and procedures and are able to figure out how the prosecuting attorney is. You can always call the court and they'll atleast point you in the right direction to find the attorney.

2BENVD

iTrader: (1)

not sure if it's required but i know many get away w/ it

Sango

iTrader: (10)

I have mentioned this before and my co-worker has mentioned this to me which applied in the past but not sure if it's still applicable.

Federal law supersedes state law. Federal law states if a foreign car did not come with a built-in factory license plate mount, the front plate is not required. Ie. Lexus, BMW, etc... Now if it's a domestic car, it is required because they typically do have a factory mount built-in.

I recall because my co-worker back then owned a Ford sedan. WSP pulled him over and asked him about his plate because he did not have the front one however the car has a built-in mount. Since the co-worker has the front plate in his compartment, the officer asked him to put it on or gives a ticket. So he asks if the officer has a screw drivers, so he gives it to him and he goes put tee front plate on and was on his way with no ticket. Since he switched a a BWM M3, he has no plate and does not have problems; car did not have a built in mount.

I am not funning a front plate myself and have no problem in BC or WA. My car is the one on the left.