KathyW

Today I got a ticket.....no, not for speeding....for no front license plate.When I explained to the nice lady sheriff that there was no place for me to hang a front license plate I was also ticketed for no front bumper?????? When I tried to explain that my '89 RX7 Conv. was manufactured in the configuration it now appeared I was told that I would have to have proof for the judge that this was how the car was made. BELEIVE IT OR NOT
Is there somewhere I can get a mounting kit for a front license plate?? or do I have to drill holes in the front of my car (that would make me cry )

actionhank

when I got my ticket for the same thing, i zip tied mine on there for the time being. I had some suports in the bumper so i used those and a zip tie anchor i guess. Went to court and they oked it. You could try that.

blazer1313

i work at a dealership and from the factory almost all vehicles do not come with lic plate brackets. we have to drill and rivet them to the vehicles. I know you have to go to mazda and order a bracket....sorry.

porsche4786

How can they give tickets for that? Who actually drives with a front plate?? Hah. I took mine off over a year ago now, and no problems. Sunset and carrera motors do not put a front plate on their porsche's unless you tell them to, I believe. I can't believe she put no front bumper, that's funny. How much was the ticket for and where did you get it? Also, It's easy to make a front bracket, there are 2 studs kinda under the front bumper towards the top (not easy for me to explain, I'll try to take a pic when I get home) and you can just bend a couple of stripes of metal and bolt a plate on that, that's what I had for a while.

Se7en85

Why don't you just mout it to the interior of the windsheld, that works.

Bad_Karma7

According to a rookie state trooper that pulled me over, that's not enough. He said that it had to be on the very front of car. I tried arguing the case with him, that is exactly what he said. He didn't give me a ticket, so I dropped the argument.

porsche4786

I know that's not legal in oregon, and I would think it's not legal anywhere else.

flight_of_pain

if the car didnt come with a front plate originally you have a very good chance of taking it to court and winning, i have had this problem before on older datsuns.


isaac

Blake

I was in a friend's car (3-rotor '88 Anniversary) at the Apple Blossom Festival last year and we got pulled over for no front plate. He had it inside the windhield on the dash. The nice officer gave a verbal warning and presented us with a pamphlet on the plate laws. Funny...according to the pamphlet, the front plate must be between 1 and 4 feet off the ground, facing forward and "conspicuous". Nothing about being on the bumper or even outside the car. It does, I believe, use the term "mounted", but as long as it can be read from the front, it should not be illegal if you use some sort of dash bracket. But to be realistic, you must remember that the traffic courts are there to separate you from your money and the cops are the revenue generators, so they are unlikely to take your side in anything but gross abuse. This offence, however, is a "fix-it" ticket, so you can show up with a photo of your car with properly mounted plates (where they like it, on the bumper) and you should get let off.

F0RSAKEN

I was under the impression that if a car rolled out of the factory/off the sales floor without a front plate, that it wasnt required to have one? Because Ive NEVER seen a new Corvette with one. Ever. I also never seem them or hear of them pulled over for a no-plate ticket.

Maniacmikey

I got pulled over in Gresham for no front plate years ago. I asked the officer what the square thing on the front bumper was? She looked up front and sure enough there was a plate on my bumper.

Bad_Karma7

Oh, I hear what you are saying. But the cops are the ones with a ticket book, and I'd rather not waste my time having to show up in court to beat the rap.

porsche4786

So I guess just take a picture of the car with the plate on, then take it back off, and keep that picture in a good place.

Blake

No car manufactured comes with a front plate...nor with a rear one. Do you mean with a bracket? Anyway, I don't believe that's true. The laws in Oregon and Washington require to you have a front plate, period. Just because the car manufacturer makes a car without a front plate bracket does not circumvent the law, or no manufacturer would make the brackets. It's kind of like supposing that because your car has a 140mph speedo, it's legal to drive that fast. Things don't work that way...unfortunately. The states really started enforcing the front plate laws when photo radar got popular. Hard to give a ticket to a car without a visible tag. They also like them for reflecting hand-held RADAR and Lasers.

The big thing to remember is that fix-it tickets are not moving violations and you can usually get them dropped if you fix the problem. Police mainly use it as an excuse to pull over suspicious cars. At Apple Blossom Festival in Wenatche, WA the enforcement is downright oppressive, finding any excuse to pull you over. As I joked at the time, my friend Brad was pulled over on "suspicion of being a teenager" with the missing plate as an excuse. When he was discovered to be in his late 30s, the cop let him go. Same thing everywhere else, but not so obvious. The beaters, ricers, and non-white drivers get pulled over for minor violations as an excuse because they might be able to nail them for something else, like no insurance or hiding a stash in the glove compartment. Profiling with an excuse. I've driven without a front plate for over a year without a second look, but my car is in near-showroom condition and I don't give them other excuses.

notveryhappyjack

iTrader: (4)

I took my plate off when I bought my car put it in the windshield under the wiper. I was driving through kirkland one night and saw one of the digital speedlimit reading signs that tell you your speed, so naturally I wanted to see how fast I was going by the time I got to it so I took it to redline in 1st and 2nd gear and right as I got close to the sign it made a bright flash and took my picture, lucky for me my wiper covers right in the middle of the plate number and it can't see the plate. I haven't gotten anything in the mail so I assume it works.

I drive through kirkland (85th street) all the time and never have had a cop even metion it to me, so until they do I will keep rocking it in the windsheild.

You should tell the cop/judge somebody backed into your car in a parking lot and ripped the plate off last week and you haven't had any time to fix that, but in reality you never put it back up front cause they make the car look ugly, and just reuse the story everytime a cop stops you....I wonder if cops are idiots

dr_strangelove5.com

I too have been screwed by a cop with a good eye for front-license plateless vehicles. Surprisingly it was the only ticket I have ever gotten considering my car is bright yellow and I rarely obey the speed limit. However, I just bit the bullet and installed a front license plate since I'd just as soon not hassle with an ******* cop if I don't have too.

Hyper4mance2k

iTrader: (40)

WA state law says that the licence plate must be mounted on the front most part of the vehicle in the factory mounting location. True as stated above that most manufacturers don't provide a bracket, but by law the little flat spots on the bumper are ment to be drilled. WA law says that you can get a waiver if there was no manufacturer mounting position though. You need to schedule an inspection at state patrole and they can give you a waiver to run without it. there are 13 states that only run a rear plate. Florida is one they have no emmissions, nude beaches, mad hot women, and great weather. I'm moving...

bookmark this link: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx

aand here: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46


here's the licence plate law: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.16.240

actionhank

Each vehicle license number plate shall be placed or hung in a horizontal position at a distance of not less than one foot nor more than four feet from the ground and shall be kept clean so as to be plainly seen and read at all times: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That in cases where the body construction of the vehicle is such that compliance with this section is impossible, permission to deviate therefrom may be granted by the state patrol

let me see if im understanding this right.... if I cant put a front license plate on the front because of my car's construction, I.E. no front bracket or such, that can be acceptable by the cop's discretion?

midlife

Do I little research on the laws of Washington state. I was told that you have to have a license plate ONLY if your car came with FACTORY installed brackets. Check out Most newer Corvettes. They do not have them and are not required to, since they come from the factory that way. You might start with the Revised Code of Washington. And yes you will have to prove that the car came that way from the factory/dealer originally.

alex_the_hipple

Every car I've had (I've lived in WA since I was old enough to drive) I attached the front plate to the passenger sun-blocker with rubber bands. Whenever I saw a cop down the road ahead of me I would flip it down. I was never pulled over for that (I got pulled over for bad tags once) but when I was pulled over they didn't say anything about the front plate. Just a suggestion, who knows if it works for everyone.

Regards,
Alexander Hipple