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.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

BTW, we've all gotten a little off-topic. Steve opened this thread by talking about problems with window-tint after getting stopped.

 

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

You know that some of us in PA do venture into the state neighboring to the East?

 

In California, window tint laws are well documented but inconsistently administered and/or enforced. Tint from the factory and built into the glass is allowed.

Aftermarket tint is limited to rear side and back windows when the car has two side view mirrors (can be 5 per cent). No tint is allowed on the front driver/passenger side or front windshield. Most people ignore the rules and shops will install what the customer requests. I have 20% on the sides and rear of the SC but later added the new 80% almost clear product for UV and heat protection; appears "clear" compared to the 20%.

A lot of cars in CA have illegal tint and it all comes down to local police policies and practices. Same with front plate practices. Both "infractions" are used mainly as a cause to stop a vehicle and attempt to discover other more serious issues (lack of insurance, warrants, drugs, etc..).