alright. can someone give me a concrete answer. is a front licence plate required in Texas? i've heard yes, unless the front air dam did not come with a front mounting bracket. someone help

 

Yes you have to have it. BUT you can fight it also. Easy to get out of. If the dealer sold you teh car without the bracket then you can get out of it. I just ended up going and getting the damn bracket from a yard.

 

I've always heard that it is always required. FYI, all RX-7s had front mounting brackets.

 

No exceptions... front license plates are required in Texas. Nearly every year a bill is introduced to remove this long standing law, and every year that bill is either withdrawn or defeated.

Two reasons that will keep that law in effect for years to come...

#1 - the added benefit for law enforcment, to identify your vehicle.
#2 - the added "target" location when a laser or radar unit is pointed at your vehicle.

I am sure there are other reasons, but I can tell you the conservatives that run Texas, will keep this law around for quite a while.




FWIW - yes the tickets are usually fix it tickets.. and are usually easily defeated, but are still a pain in the a$$. Many police departments do not enforce this law, while other departments rely on this for their bread and butter.

 

The last post was right on the money. Some cops don't enforce it others rely on it.

It is strange because most of the new European cars don't have front plates.

 

under what section is the law written? is it under vehicle laws or the transportation code? I know its not in the penal code I have a compleat coppy.

 

I can tell you its a chance game with the front license plate. I used to not have it on and have got pulled over in small towns and big. Most officers just ignore it, don't notice it, or just plain don't care. You will have the rookies trying to change the world that will pull you over. If you like to hang around the "cruise" or "race" area's, put it on. They will pull you over, that's a promise. If you stay away from the 2 areas I mentioned then you will probably get away with it. God my car looks so much better with out it but I HAVE to have it on.

 

I have never had a front license plate on either my old S-10 or my Rex. Been popped in both, and neither cop said a word about the license plate.

 

Once the Houston RX-7 Club got bustd by the cops on a high speed run from the museum dist. to a local eatery... once we got there 10 miles and 7-8 cop cars later.. not one of us had front plates... none of us got tickets nor did we get warnings about them.... however they did tell us it was a violation...

I will tell the details to that 120+ mph story another time.

 

I loaned my previous car (M3) to a friend in town from France who took it for a few days to the Big Bend area. He was pulled over 2 times in his 1 week trip out there for no front license plate.

Both DPS officers and got away with 1 written warning and a picture in the middle of the desert with a huge DPS officer wearing the huge cowboy hat. What every French tourist dreams of I'm sure!!

Police can also use that as a reason to pull you over when they really just want to "check you out". Has happened to me before, when I really think he just stopped me because I pulled out of a bar parking lot and wanted to see if I had been drinking too much. Didn't even write me a ticket for it.

 

yup the olde' "Go To Jail" free card.. hehehehe

my personal record.. stopped for no front plate 3 times.. 1 official warning.. 2 verbals.. no tickets..

 

I get pulled over for this on about a bi-monthly basis. Got stopped for it last weekend. I just carry it in the cabin and drop it on the dash if i think I need it. Works like a charm.
Ryker

 

damn i didnt know it was illegal!, i never had a front plates on both of my cars, plus i got pulled over in my rx7 2weeks ago and no mention about the front plates either

 

i got pulled over once for it, cop was a dick, asked me what i was doing and all the stanard bs.....then he just gave me a verbal....

 

I got arrested for no front plate in farmers branch, on a sunday afternoon. but it was later dismissed, so I spent a day in jail for nothing

 

A day in jail--****, that's a bit much.

Correction on the earlier statement that the conservatives in Texas will keep the law in place, actually it is the liberals who allow those overbearing laws to pass. Us conservatives are against laws that infringe upon our freedom and the pursuit thereof.

I now live in Idaho, another damn dual plate state, and have yet to add the front plate. When I purchased the car it did not come with a plate holder and I'll be damned if I am going to drill holes in my front bumper to attach a freaking piece of metal that will totally ruin the lines of my beautiful red vert.

Rage against the machine!!

 

I think that both parties, liberals and concervetives, are responsible for the BS laws.

 

yea when i got ma car it didnt have any front brackets *looks around, and then runs*

 

all i have to say about this is that i have gotten 4 tickets for not having a front plate. and Tito (with the red fb) got pulled over last night for the second time for not having one, sucks thou doesnt it?

 

running w/o a front plate now for 3+ years. 0 tickets for it.

 

I've been stop a few times but only by the DPS the city usually don't care but the DPS always like to stop people here for any reason. It really depends on the cops in your area. Most of the time I think they stop people for dumb stuff like that just to get commission or just to see who is driving the car.

Chris

 

think it was last year the texas legislature passed a law giving police officers the right to make "safty stops." its just an excuse to the cops can use to pull someone over, even if they are complying with the law.

 

I've never had a front plate on any of my cars. When I was pulled over for speeding in Richardson once, the cop gave me a verbal warning and told me that I was lucky he didn't feel like writing me a ticket for speeding or for not having a front plate.

A front plate would look funny on my Turbo II Vert, but it would really look shitty on my '95 Vette.

 

Did you have outstanding tickets or a warrant or something? I don't see how they could do more than give you a ticket for not having a front plate. It's not even a moving violation.

I may need to be more careful in farmers branch with the Front Plate ****'s.

 

no outstanding warants, thats probably why the judge dismissed my case at the hearing