Got stopped for slightly illegal tint...
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
How do they muddle? Obviously, with more difficulty, though that doesn't mean it can't be done. The vast majority of police and law-enforcement people are in favor of dual-plates...and almost all of the ones I have discussed the issue with are.
Given the choice, I myself would take rear-only......but, of course, I'm not a cop. I dislike the front plates because they (and the plate-housing) make the front end harder to hand-wash in all the crevasses. I respect the law, though, and run them both. I see a number of vehicles in VA, though, with rear-only plate. They either have had the front plate stolen (which is fairly common....I've had that happen myself) and not had a chance to replace it, or simply are thumbing their noses at the law. In the majority of cases, though, I'd bet the latter. And there is such an enormous number of cars in Northern VA that the chances of getting caught are slim.
Last edited by mmarshall; Jul 7, 2018 at 03:09 PM.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,571
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
I fully agree from a law-enforcement perspective. But, from a private one, for people like me who hand-wash, it makes the front end more difficult to clean all the dirt out from the crevasses in and around the plate and its housing....particularly when you have salt in the winter.
Where you are in Toronto and NY state, it's probably too cold during much of the winter for hand-washing. Here in the D.C. area, I try to do it whenever the temperature is warm enough and the car is dirty enough.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,571
Likes: 265
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Does Canada have a nationwide regulation on that, or does each province set its own single/double requirements? I notice that each Canadian province has its own actual license-plates, like the 50 U.S. states and D.C.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: ON/NY
I fully agree from a law-enforcement perspective. But, from a private one, for people like me who hand-wash, it makes the front end more difficult to clean all the dirt out from the crevasses in and around the plate and its housing....particularly when you have salt in the winter.
Where you are in Toronto and NY state, it's probably too cold during much of the winter for hand-washing. Here in the D.C. area, I try to do it whenever the temperature is warm enough and the car is dirty enough.
Where you are in Toronto and NY state, it's probably too cold during much of the winter for hand-washing. Here in the D.C. area, I try to do it whenever the temperature is warm enough and the car is dirty enough.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: ON/NY
No idea about the rest of Canada. NY and Ontario both have played on front and back. I can’t think of the top of my head which states don’t have both but I would assume as you go south, it is more likely to have just one.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 8,224
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From: New York
Front plate makes the car look worse, drills holes in bumpers, harder to clean, and probably makes the drag coefficient higher!
There really is no benefit for law enforcement at all otherwise every state would have the requirement. I think 50% of states you dont need it.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,571
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
That, I'll respectfully have to disagree with. Not all states have the same population or level of auto-related crime. Wyoming, for example, which is mostly empty forests and mountains, has nowhere near the level of car-thefts as, say, the Los Angeles Basin or New York City. Compton, CA, in the L.A. region, has a reputation for being the car-theft capital of the nation....it was the featured city in the TV "Bait Car" series.
Last edited by mmarshall; Jul 7, 2018 at 04:44 PM.
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Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: ON/NY
LOL well then you probably have bunch of bumper stickers too.......
Front plate makes the car look worse, drills holes in bumpers, harder to clean, and probably makes the drag coefficient higher!
There really is no benefit for law enforcement at all otherwise every state would have the requirement. I think 50% of states you dont need it.
Looks don’t bother me, I guess because I am just so used to it by this point. Once you have seen it for your whole life, drill holes and plate holders matter very little.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 35,514
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From: ON/NY
Saving money by not having a front plate makes some sense as welll
Last edited by Toys4RJill; Jul 7, 2018 at 05:07 PM.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,589
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From: Illinois
I just read 31 states require a front plate and the remaining 19 do not. It would be interesting to know from the states perspective why some feel they are needed while others do not.
I live in Illinois where front plates are required. This is fine by me as it's not a big deal. I'd prefer just a rear plate. Two states which border IL (IN and KY) don't require a front plate while the remaining 4 bordering states do. As mentioned in this thread, very inconsistent.
I live in Illinois where front plates are required. This is fine by me as it's not a big deal. I'd prefer just a rear plate. Two states which border IL (IN and KY) don't require a front plate while the remaining 4 bordering states do. As mentioned in this thread, very inconsistent.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,571
Likes: 265
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
I just read 31 states require a front plate and the remaining 19 do not. It would be interesting to know from the states perspective why some feel they are needed while others do not.
I live in Illinois where front plates are required. This is fine by me as it's not a big deal. I'd prefer just a rear plate. Two states which border IL (IN and KY) don't require a front plate while the remaining 4 bordering states do. As mentioned in this thread, very inconsistent.
I live in Illinois where front plates are required. This is fine by me as it's not a big deal. I'd prefer just a rear plate. Two states which border IL (IN and KY) don't require a front plate while the remaining 4 bordering states do. As mentioned in this thread, very inconsistent.
Chicago's crime and car-theft rate, particularly in the notorious South Side, is the (probable reason) why IL requires two plates.
My own state of VA requires two plates, yet it is not a particularly high-crime state, particularly in super-affluent Fairfax County where I live. I'm not sure why it requires two plates,
except that Virginia, being also a Commonwealth, tends to require almost everything. You even have, in addition to state registration (with double-plates) a County or City registration fee as well (VA is the only state in the country with independent cities), a yearly Safety Inspection, and a yearly vehicle-tax based on the car's KBB-assessed value, similar to the real estate tax you pay on your house. That's because by law, we have no County income taxes...these other fees make ups for it.
Last edited by mmarshall; Jul 7, 2018 at 05:51 PM.
Thread Starter
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
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From: Maryland
Having to run the front plate isn’t a huge deal to me. I’m so used to having a front plate. My current one doesn’t have one, but that’s because it came that way from Alabama, and I just left it off. I like it better without it, but if I had to have it put on I’d do it.
I think whats more at issue is cops stopping people just for stuff like a front plate or window tint and issuing tickets...
I think whats more at issue is cops stopping people just for stuff like a front plate or window tint and issuing tickets...
