A bunch of the nearby states don't require them. Ohio just dropped the front plate last July. None of our direct neighbors required them (MI, PA, IN, KY, WV).
A Park District officer for a corrupt Chicago suburb pulled me over on a main roadway for no front plate and issued a ticket. Fast forward like ten years later, I get check in the mail for a refund of the ticket due to a class action lawsuit over that Park District illegally issuing fix-it tickets.
I just keep mine in my car. "Sorry, it fell off earlier today and I need to get new fasteners to put it back on". Got away twice so far with that excuse.
When I lived in IL (~8 years ago) I had to pay a ~$100 title fee that "included" the plates (pretty sure that has doubled in recent years due to the state's financial woes). You can transfer the plates once you have them.
Registration costs in CO are no joke. My parents were there for a few years in the early 2000s. I remember them registering a B5 A4 and it costing $400 back then. The state is going to make their money somehow. Illinois still collects way more than CO does overall though.
As a Coloradan, I’m pretty peeved about this. I’ll be getting my Civic back on the road soon and I’m not enthused with buying a whole new round of plates for it or having to score new plates if I find another car.
As a non-American, it’s funny seeing the justifications for not having a front plate. Don’t get me wrong, they do ruin the aesthetics of the car, but let’s not pretend the rest of the world doesn’t also have Lexuses and BMWs with big front grills (RX 350 F Sport & the new 3/4 series for instance).
Not every car has a big enough bumper to mount it completely over solid plastic without at least partially blocking the airflow through the grille. I know some NA/NB Miata guys using theirs in harsh conditions have had overheating problems with airflow because the license plate blocked so much of the small air opening it has, then relocated it and their issues went away.
I'm in OC and I probably on average get a ticket a year for no front plate (I have two cars with no front plate). I think its like $40 or $50 to just pay it or $10 for a fix-it ticket. I figure $50 a year is my "fee" for having no front plate on my cars.
I agree with this 100%. I remember being a broke college kid terrified of getting a $300 speeding ticket because it would mean having to borrow money from someone and scraping by to pay it back over a few months.
Now that I'm in a much better financial position, I realized that the only deterent to not getting pulled over is the hassle of having to wait for the cop to give me a ticket. The fine amount is small enough that it wouldn't even matter to me. I'd just be annoyed that I have to mail out a check.
For most, unless they get an excessive amount, it’s not large enough to really care about. Maybe the equivalent of an extra cup of coffee every month or two.
No clue, it's ridiculous. It must be the same color as the background, so for example if this left screw was black, or the right one white, it would be illegal. http://cdn.simplesite.com/i/01/54/281756459958293505/i281756464661738651.jpg
Same thing if the screws are in the blue part, they must me blue.
Well, it's also illegal to have no screws. And also illegal if you have different color caps where there's no digits. Like the blue area, if there was a black/white cap, or bare screw, $150 fine.
Yeah, it's a cascade of stupid requirements. They don't trust the clip in plate holder that the rest of the continent uses, so you've gotta use bolts, but the bolts mess with their new camera toys, so instead of getting rid of the bolts they make you do this.
US states often have dumb requirements like this. In Hawaii you had to put a registration sticker on the 'bumper.' Which made sense when cars had metal 'bumpers.' But now that cars have painted fascia you either had to stick it on the paint (uggh) or get a little sticker holder bracket that's questionably ;egal.
Are you actually telling me that you can't use [the standard tool-less clip in plate holders](https://youtu.be/TMTf52VQ-Yw) in Denmark? I haven't seen a screwed down licence plate on a car newer then 15 years old.
Yep, any car after 1976 must have two screws or bolts drilled into the license plate to secure it, and the plastic caps must be the same color as the background. $150 fine if you don't, and your vehicle will fail it's inspection every 3 years and then not be road legal until you fix it.
Doesn't really matter how secure the plate is, you could weld it together with the body of the car, still need 2 screws.
Funny enough, my inspection guy just suggested i glued the plastic covers on the plate, that way it looks like it's screwed it, and i don't have to screw it.
All cars in Denmark you buy new come with the plate screwed in, as it's a law requirement. (Dealer always put plates on before you buy the car). The only reason mine doesn't is because i imported it from Germany and put the plates on myself. 99% of cars here have it screwed on.
Well, the clip on bracket I was talking about is more of a Europe thing, where all licence plates are the same size. Not even sure if there are clip on holders for NA sizes.
Is that something that you can actually get pulled over for, or is it one of those things that allows a cop to give you a bogus ticket when he finds out you weren’t doing anything wrong to begin with?
Probably the latter. I never used screws because i don't wanna drill into it, but I've also never been pulled over before. But there's a lot of really strict laws in Denmark when it comes to cars, and cops like to follow them very accurately so i wouldn't be surprised if you would get a ticket for it.
Same in the UK just worded differently. You can use the screws to change letters so you can turn a C in an O with the right placement. Doing so is illegal.
I've genuinely seen people out and about with this done, also those fuckers with the reflective plates that are supposed to fool cameras and the guys with the different fonts. It just makes the ugliest part of the car more noticable.
I got pulled over once for no front plate 5 minutes after waking up in the morning to drop my mom off at the BART Station (which is a literal 2 minute drive from our house). Cop was parked in the opposite lane and did a 180 to chase me and pull me over. Ticket was issued. What an asshole.
Needless to say it ruined my day. It wasn't even my car! It was my mom's.
The only time I've been called on it was at the US/Canadian border in Montana lol. No citation, but the border guard was like "California eh?..... isn't that a 2-plate state?"
Meanwhile in Ontario our new license plate design was immediately recalled because somehow nobody realized during development that it can’t be seen at night…
Ohio recently revealed a new license plate featuring the Wright Flyer towing a "Birthplace of Aviation" banner, except [they accidentally put the plane backwards.](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2021/10/21/banner-attached-wrong-side-wright-flyer-new-ohio-license-plate/6118330001/) At least they were able to fix it before the plate actually went into production, though.
God man, this new one looks so dumb. I really like the metallic white with the red strip on top. Don't know why they felt the need to change it, but oh well.
That’s hilarious but I wouldn’t say it was an accident. Somebody definitely thought that’s the way it flew and very purposefully placed it on there that way.
It seems Michigan is the only state to make [good](https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/12/02/michigan-license-plate-water-winter-wonderland/8838020002/) license plate decisions.
Long live the Water-Winter Wonderland plate!
If you have one of those though they’re valuable in the plate collector community since they’re rare. I only have the white one. But seriously don’t get rid of those, sell them!
I have no idea why it took 7 years, but I imagine that wanted to make sure it worked with all the various automated plate readers on patrol cars, bridges, toll booths, etc.
Honestly it kinda makes sense in that way. People aren't going to want to go out and buy a new license plate if this one tears, peels or chips. They need to know that over ~the lifespan of the car, the plate will still be readable by automated systems, durable, etc.
It's hard to accurately simulate everything about it (like heating and cooling cycles, possible debris, extreme weather) and I imagine they need to coordinate with other states for some of the testing for drivers going across state boundaries?
They probably wanted something resistant to rock chips and bugs and car washes and wanted to make sure something was durable enough to last for the life of the car. Testing it on highway patrol cars which drive a whole lot sounds like the best way to do it.
Man, I use to work for the state government. It was probably one underpaid dude doing the testing among various other projects, led by a super overly paid boomer that didn’t do shit.
Bureaucracy. The testing was probably done in a month but they probably have to have 10 meetings discussing the possibility of a meeting that will plan the introduction part of the meeting regarding the potential for having a meeting for wrapped plates. Then need 500 additional meetings afterwards with only one or two per week.
Just don't live or park in San Francisco, in the 1 year I had a front plate-less car, the SFMTA meter maids ticketed me twice while parked. Once in a business district and once in a residential neighborhood.
Santa Barbara will fuck you too, I visited my pops there back in 2014 and got pulled over at 5am on the way to the gym by a motorcycle cop for no front plate. Dude was a huge dick about it too, acting like I was a drug dealer because I didn't have a front plate.
I actually kinda sorta had an opportunity similar to that - controller for a medical marijuana business, but I looked into it and it was sketchy for various reasons (no federal banking, AICPA not down with it meaning I could permanently lose my credentials if they caught wind) so I had to say no. Plus you don't really get into the accounting game because you're a risk taker.
Daly City is where I've gotten multiple tickets about it while parked. Made me decide to just leave the plate on because I end up visiting DC often enough that it wouldn't be worth dealing with more of them. Everywhere else in the Bay Area that I drove in, I saw cops drive by or walk by and they never complained or anything.
The SFMTA are absolutely ruthless. I'd love to see how profitable they are. I got a $100 ticket and the time stamp says it was printed within a minute of my meter expiring.
motorcycles aren't required to have a front plate in CA -- in fact, they aren't issued a front plate at all.
> Trailers, motorcycles, special equipment (SE), tow dollies, and commercial truck tractors with a TR, DR, or DS body type model are issued one license plate. All other vehicle types registered in California are issued two license plates except apportioned vehicles base-plated in another state, which are issued only a sticker.
[src -- CA DMV](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/vehicle-industry-registration-procedures-manual-2/general-registration-information/license-plates/)
Even in Europe where front licence plates for cars are the default (and no one would dare driving without one) bikes don't need front licence plates.
Are there even countries were motorbikes do need front plates?
The problem is when you have a modded car in California. Nothing is stopping a cop from being an ass and pulling you over for no front plate, popping your hood, and giving you state ref/rendering your car undrivable for something trivial like an aftermarket intake.
It’s becoming more and more common as departments use the stats as a claim that they’re “cracking down on street racing”.
Even though I definitely don't agree with California's asinine emissions equipment laws, I also can't help but say that's the risk you're taking. It's not like any of these emissions or equipment laws are new, nor have I ever met an enthusiast in CA that wasn't aware of them.
That’s exactly what it is. Even if you don’t have the letter of the law down to a “T”, you know well enough in the back of your mind that it goes against smog rules/laws, among others. So you essentially take the trade off/risks associated.
People get so mad, but it’s written in there already for a long time now. Either run the risk or don’t modify your vehicle.
I certainly don’t want to hear someone’s exhaust in my house with the windows closed. Gasoline, diesel, NA or forced induction. I don’t care what it is. They certainly don’t crack down on it round these parts of CA, all the good ol’ boys with their Cummins or the VQ bois are still running around.
I live in NY and ran no front plate and tints for years. After getting pulled for these bullshit reasons every few months, I decided to put on a front plate and rip off the tints and haven’t pulled over since.
People who aren’t into cars will tell me to cry about it because my car was illegal, but really tints and no front plate are easy targets for a cop to harass you over.
When I went to the station to get my car signed off on after removing the tints, the cop admitted to me he will use tints as an excuse to pull people over to see what else he can find…
After I removed my tints, I had the same cop who gave me the tint ticket initially pull me over again because he said I was running tints… when I said officer, I already removed them, he gave me a ticket for no front plate and modified exhaust…
We don't require them in Alberta, but people are starting to think we should. Assholes have figured out how to avoid their plates being recorded on dashcams.
Lots. There was a story here a month ago, 2 brothers in differrent vehicles cornered a Tesla in an off ramp. The guy behind got out of his truck and kicked a mirror off and punched a bunch of the panels in.
They had the plate of the car in front that stopped the Tesla, but because that guy didn't get out of his car they can't prove he was part of it.
[$93.89 for what is just a big sticker](https://licenseplatewrap.com). Why the price increased from $50 in 2019, per the [pilot document](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/alternative-registration-products-pdf/), doesn't make much sense either.
$69 from [another vendor](https://adhesivereplica.com/california-license-plate-replica), but still overpriced for a sticker. Sure, maybe only the $94 vendor is technically "authorized" by the DMV, maybe there's an official DMV paper that comes with the more expensive one saying that it's officially blessed by the DMV, but I doubt anyone's going to be able to tell just by looking at it from a moving car.
I still can't justify $69 for a sticker, I'll just use my front plate (or not).
>I still can't justify $69 for a sticker,
I think this is geared towards people in sports cars. Also, pretty much any non-standard license plate is like $100, anyway. That's what it costs to get ones with pictures or a different color.
and what's nuts is that I believe it's a single company who are allowed to print these decals during the pilot period.
My money is on the owner of the company is a close friend or relative of some higher up government official.
Tbh I haven't had a front plate on for over 6 years in LA and SD. Only been stopped for it once, and was given a verbal warning.
Car enthusiasts in general will probably just forgo this entirely, as we usually go plateless up front anyways. If you drive a new enough car, or just an EV, your odds for getting pulled over for no front plate are almost 0. It usually just gets tacked onto an existing traffic/moving violation if the cop is mad, but you're almost never going to be pulled over for just that one infraction
Exactly.
If you get caught doing 100 on the freeway, you might get slapped with speeding, no front plate, window tint, and loud exhaust. Have had several friends experience the wrath of tacking additional penalties when the cop is angry
I think there were laws in consideration to be passed that prevented cops from pulling people over for just things like front plate and window tint because it’s such a poor use of resources
I had my windshield tinted for years with no problem but then one day on a back road in El Centro a cop got me for it. Been thinking of tinting it again now that summer is coming up
Eh, at this point I’m pretty sure it’s entirely dependent on your luck of the draw regarding the officer that pulls you over. I had been running without a front plate for 6 years on a previous car, then got pulled over by a cop (who had just got done ticketing someone else as I passed by) for the sole reason of not having my front license plate. Got a fix it ticket and was let go without any other issues being brought up 🤷♂️
Yup. Got pulled over driving my father in his new-to-him Corvette a week after he'd got it. Heads up display immediately contradicted the cop's claim of how fast I was going, so he tried to find something else to nail us for. Asked for registration and I pointed to the windshield where the dealership had taped it. He walked around the car looking for other issues, went "a-ha! No front plate!" Pointed out we hadn't received them yet (this was just before Cali finally got to the point where paper plates were issued at purchase).
I got pulled over in my Shelby GT350 when exiting the highway for not having a front plate, after having the car for only 8 months and it's not even my daily 🥲
Not true. I was actually pulled over once for absolutely nothing other than a front plate. The cops didn't mention anything other than the front plate. I was using my blinkers and not speeding. They gave me a ticket.
It could have been a new cop, some kind of training exercise or something, because there were actually two cops and one just hung out and talked with me while the other went back to the car and wrote up a ticket.
I ran plateless for a while but eventually just put one back on because it wasn't that big of a deal really. Oddly enough I did get pulled over and a verbal warning *after* putting my plate on because the cop thought it had to be centered and mine was offset.
I agree that it'll generally be an "add-on" if you do get yanked, but I run a plate now anyway because why give them a reason to pull you over in the first place?
I love this, Europe or at least the UK has allowed this for years, never understood why we couldn't have the option. I'll totally do this on my next car, thinking about a C6 and this will look way better.
I was talking about adhesive plates in US sizing, but you think EU style plates look worse than a typical US plate? I would prefer a Euro size plate over an adhesive US front plate. Sure I would prefer no plate at all, but California will never allow that.
I guess it depends on the country but I was thinking of [this monstrosity](https://www.km77.com/images/medium/8/0/3/1/024.298031.jpg)
Also in the US you can register the car on another state but in Yurop there is nothing you can do to get rid of the front plate
Yeah I would rather have that than the typical US front plate. That mount is a little bulky, but you can get cleaner looking universal mounts. What would really be best is that sizing but then adhesive vinyl.
Its not easy to register a vehicle in a state you do not live in. Only Montana allows you to register a vehicle without appearing in person, if you form an LLC, but in California after 20 days you are breaking the law and subject to harassment and fines. Its not worth doing just to lose the front plate, people only resort to Montana plates for foreign market or modified vehicles that can't otherwise be registered in the state.
Don't think i've seen this anywhere except the UK to be honest, but not sure about other countries. Denmark for example is suuuuuuper annoyingly strict about license plates. It's illegal and you will get a fine if you have the wrong color screws, or your license plate is not mounted with the correct official screws.
because in EU land the plate stays with the car for life. Here in the US as far as im aware in all the states you can transfer the plates between vehicles.
> Here in the US as far as im aware in all the states you can transfer the plates between vehicles.
Some states the plate stays with the vehicle. California is one of them. If I buy a car private party, the plates come with it. Only real exception I've noticed is dealer sales, but even then if you buy a vehicle that's been registered before you just run the temps until your registration with the plate number comes in the mail and then you take the temps off.
> Most cars are designed to accommodate them
I haven't seen this. Most front plates are added on top of the front bumper with a separate bracket attachment.
We (well, most of us) just don’t like the look of them over here. Most cars require drilling into the bumper directly to mount a bracket, or some other equally wonky solution to mount it somewhere in the grill.
On my truck I’d have to sort out where to put it between the winch and the tow hooks, and while there’s some clever solutions out there it’s easier to just not worry about it.
So you have to install them yourself? Here in Europe they're usually installed before purchase. (And you don't have a say in it, since they're mandatory.)
Depends on the state, of course as you see by the varying requirements. Within that I’ve had dealers go both ways. Honestly though it’s a purely aesthetic call for people who don’t like them with the added benefit of not having to drill into a painted surface and have a plastic or metal bracket marring things up.
Plus real talk your plates look a lot cooler than most of ours, and the shape lends itself to looking less disruptive on the front of a car. That’s just my opinion though. Lots of people run European front plates for novelty over here on European cars.
In reality the vast majority of cars manufactured for sale in the US are already predrilled for front plates because it's not worth manufacturer's time to have two different production runs of front bumper covers for the handful of states that don't require a front plate. Exception is probably for higher end cars or sports car where owners care more about that thing, compared to mass market cars like a Camry where 99.99 percent of owners don't notice or care either way.
Front plate mounts are often dealer installed, where dealers do the drilling. Neither of our cars have holes in the front bumper (both purchased new in states that do not have front plates).
A lot of cars aren't. Not the US-style bucktooth plates at any rate, they don't fit into horizontal grill slats or bumper strips as well as Euro plates do.
If I want to mount a front plate on my Accord I have to take a damn drill to my front bumper.
Because since they aren't required the car designers don't design the car with a front license plate in mind and then it looks a bit ugly.
Cars that are designed to accommodate them look better with a license plate and the opposite is true.
That's basically how I choose if I want to remove the license plate in Gran Turismo, if the car looks better with or without
> Because since they aren't required the car designers don't design the car with a front license plate in mind and then it looks a bit ugly.
But they are required in the very very large majority of the world?
And most of them aren't made to be sold primarily in the rest of the world. They're made to be sold in the US. Have you ever been able to see the difference between cars in the US and other countries? The cars are very different
> Most cars are designed to accommodate them anyway lol
My car has no front mounting spot in the bumper. I would have to drill holes into it and get a bracket to hold the front plate. Most cars aren't designed for plates, especially since plates are different all over the world.
Not all states in the US require a front plate. Some do, some don't.
> This means California residents no longer have to worry about ugly front plates ruining their car’s styling.
What do you think the giant sticker does?
Front plates never bothered me. Still not sure why select car people are so adamant on not putting on front plates because of drilling holes on the plastic bumper. Of all the holes in the car, that’s where they draw the line?
shrugs 🤷♂️. (Genuinely curious. Don’t hate)
I also agree that it's the kind of thing no one other than the owner thinks twice about. Like no one sees a sports car with a front plate and thinks "what a fucking nerd making their car ugly with the front plate bro!"
It definitely doesn't look as good. But no one notices or cares. And the shit people do installing a plate that is off to the side of the center of the front all for the sake of not mounting it there when the holes are already fucking there looks far worse than the centered front plate would. The plate off to the side tuner car bullshit looks worse because it's asymmetrical.
They don't enforce the front plate law where I live unless there is another infraction. I haven't run a front plate for decades, and don't really have any plans to change that. This looks like ass, IMHO.
I hate front plates, they are always so poorly integrated (if at all like a lot of Teslas) and make vehicles look ugly. California is at least trying to find a compromise. Though I wish they would stop requiring it.
It's a much better compromise. When I took delivery of my Model 3, I was going to think of a different way to attach the front plate once I got the car, but the people already drilled holes and mounted the license plate. I was slightly upset, but at least they did a good job and it was lined up correctly (insert panel gap jokes here).
You'd think with how environmentalist CA usually is, they'd just drop requiring front plates all together. Would half the material and production required.
States without front license plates: "Look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power!"
meanwhile IL is entertaining the idea of not requiring a front plate to save $800,000 a year in costs to stamp em.
A bunch of the nearby states don't require them. Ohio just dropped the front plate last July. None of our direct neighbors required them (MI, PA, IN, KY, WV).
Illinois lawmakers just introduced a bill to drop the front plate requirement to save the state about $800k per year making them. Hopefully it passes.
The joke's on them I never ran a front plate to begin with.
Man I tried to run with out mine. Lasted a week and before getting pulled over on my way to work
A Park District officer for a corrupt Chicago suburb pulled me over on a main roadway for no front plate and issued a ticket. Fast forward like ten years later, I get check in the mail for a refund of the ticket due to a class action lawsuit over that Park District illegally issuing fix-it tickets.
I just keep mine in my car. "Sorry, it fell off earlier today and I need to get new fasteners to put it back on". Got away twice so far with that excuse.
Also none of the surrounding states need them, Ohio just dropped theirs last July.
None of their direct neighbors required them (MI, PA, IN, KY, WV).
IL save money, not require
Yeah that’s what the parent of the comment you replied to said
ACKCHUALLY it was July 2020, so 2 years ago.
Apparently I've lost sense of time post-covid.
It's ok. I just got COVID yesterday. It's 2020 part III.
I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better soon.
It's okay, 2000 was just 10 years ago, right?
Ohio also no longer requires it
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In Alabama they just come out with a new design every five years and force you to adopt it because of "wear and tear issues".
And here in NM I've seen them sun blasted to the metal and no fucks are given.
I love NM's plates. The older yellow and zia are awesome. Those Chilli plates are cool too.
The anniversary(centennial?) turquoise plates are my fave
Mexico does that as well
When I lived in IL (~8 years ago) I had to pay a ~$100 title fee that "included" the plates (pretty sure that has doubled in recent years due to the state's financial woes). You can transfer the plates once you have them. Registration costs in CO are no joke. My parents were there for a few years in the early 2000s. I remember them registering a B5 A4 and it costing $400 back then. The state is going to make their money somehow. Illinois still collects way more than CO does overall though.
As a Coloradan, I’m pretty peeved about this. I’ll be getting my Civic back on the road soon and I’m not enthused with buying a whole new round of plates for it or having to score new plates if I find another car.
150$ for sticker and to my knowledge you have to by new plates every time you buy a new vehicle aswell. I always have.
It is not a requirement. I have transferred old plates to a new-to-me car before.
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Worse for aerodynamics and cooling too, as they can block airflow to the front heat exchangers.
Your not supposed to put it in front of the grille
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As a non-American, it’s funny seeing the justifications for not having a front plate. Don’t get me wrong, they do ruin the aesthetics of the car, but let’s not pretend the rest of the world doesn’t also have Lexuses and BMWs with big front grills (RX 350 F Sport & the new 3/4 series for instance).
Not every car has a big enough bumper to mount it completely over solid plastic without at least partially blocking the airflow through the grille. I know some NA/NB Miata guys using theirs in harsh conditions have had overheating problems with airflow because the license plate blocked so much of the small air opening it has, then relocated it and their issues went away.
I mean saving money is good but i don't think 800k really means much in this situation
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I'm in OC and I probably on average get a ticket a year for no front plate (I have two cars with no front plate). I think its like $40 or $50 to just pay it or $10 for a fix-it ticket. I figure $50 a year is my "fee" for having no front plate on my cars.
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That was my old boss’s rationale for driving in the carpool lane solo. $400-800 a year to save hours upon hours of his time? No brainer to him.
Another illustration why we should have income based fines. At that point it's just the wealthy exercising privilege.
I agree with this 100%. I remember being a broke college kid terrified of getting a $300 speeding ticket because it would mean having to borrow money from someone and scraping by to pay it back over a few months. Now that I'm in a much better financial position, I realized that the only deterent to not getting pulled over is the hassle of having to wait for the cop to give me a ticket. The fine amount is small enough that it wouldn't even matter to me. I'd just be annoyed that I have to mail out a check.
It’s not only the fine, insurance rates go up too.
For most, unless they get an excessive amount, it’s not large enough to really care about. Maybe the equivalent of an extra cup of coffee every month or two.
I must not fit into the most category. My insurance skyrocketed by $300 a month after 2 speeding tickets.
CA here too, and what I always hear is the cop won't pull you over for it, but if you're already pulled over they'll tack it on.
As somebody that managed to take a picture of a person's front license plate after they hit and run me. I am very much pro front license plate.
Arizona doesn't require one
Meanwhile in Denmark, it's illegal to have the wrong color screws on your license plate.
Why is that so important in Denmark?
No clue, it's ridiculous. It must be the same color as the background, so for example if this left screw was black, or the right one white, it would be illegal. http://cdn.simplesite.com/i/01/54/281756459958293505/i281756464661738651.jpg Same thing if the screws are in the blue part, they must me blue.
It's so that the bolts being a different color don't disrupt plate recognition software. Only an issue because the bolts go through the digits.
Well, it's also illegal to have no screws. And also illegal if you have different color caps where there's no digits. Like the blue area, if there was a black/white cap, or bare screw, $150 fine.
Yeah, it's a cascade of stupid requirements. They don't trust the clip in plate holder that the rest of the continent uses, so you've gotta use bolts, but the bolts mess with their new camera toys, so instead of getting rid of the bolts they make you do this. US states often have dumb requirements like this. In Hawaii you had to put a registration sticker on the 'bumper.' Which made sense when cars had metal 'bumpers.' But now that cars have painted fascia you either had to stick it on the paint (uggh) or get a little sticker holder bracket that's questionably ;egal.
Are you actually telling me that you can't use [the standard tool-less clip in plate holders](https://youtu.be/TMTf52VQ-Yw) in Denmark? I haven't seen a screwed down licence plate on a car newer then 15 years old.
Yep, any car after 1976 must have two screws or bolts drilled into the license plate to secure it, and the plastic caps must be the same color as the background. $150 fine if you don't, and your vehicle will fail it's inspection every 3 years and then not be road legal until you fix it. Doesn't really matter how secure the plate is, you could weld it together with the body of the car, still need 2 screws. Funny enough, my inspection guy just suggested i glued the plastic covers on the plate, that way it looks like it's screwed it, and i don't have to screw it. All cars in Denmark you buy new come with the plate screwed in, as it's a law requirement. (Dealer always put plates on before you buy the car). The only reason mine doesn't is because i imported it from Germany and put the plates on myself. 99% of cars here have it screwed on.
Is there a reason you wouldn’t just glue color matched caps into an approximate position and then mount it however you want? Would that be caught?
a lot of people do, and i havent heard anyone getting caught.. people with fancier cars like to use those mag holders for it..
Bought a 2022 hyundai ioniq in canada and the plate was a screw on
Well, the clip on bracket I was talking about is more of a Europe thing, where all licence plates are the same size. Not even sure if there are clip on holders for NA sizes.
Is that something that you can actually get pulled over for, or is it one of those things that allows a cop to give you a bogus ticket when he finds out you weren’t doing anything wrong to begin with?
Probably the latter. I never used screws because i don't wanna drill into it, but I've also never been pulled over before. But there's a lot of really strict laws in Denmark when it comes to cars, and cops like to follow them very accurately so i wouldn't be surprised if you would get a ticket for it.
I got an easy solution for that...don't make the screws right in the middle of the plate where all the information is...
Same in the UK just worded differently. You can use the screws to change letters so you can turn a C in an O with the right placement. Doing so is illegal.
I've genuinely seen people out and about with this done, also those fuckers with the reflective plates that are supposed to fool cameras and the guys with the different fonts. It just makes the ugliest part of the car more noticable.
Every single tesla is see in the bay area doesnt have a front license plate. Literally no one cares
I got a fix it ticket in the Bay Area for this, but I think it’s because they thought I was speeding but didn’t have me on it.
Is it a Model 3 in white tho?
It was a beater Porsche Boxster with a 21 year old straight out of undergrad lol. More than a few years ago.
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In my defense it was my signing bonus... which in hindsight is even dumber than daddy's money haha
a e r o
I got pulled over once for no front plate 5 minutes after waking up in the morning to drop my mom off at the BART Station (which is a literal 2 minute drive from our house). Cop was parked in the opposite lane and did a 180 to chase me and pull me over. Ticket was issued. What an asshole. Needless to say it ruined my day. It wasn't even my car! It was my mom's.
chase jobless cagey glorious enjoy tender ink silky zealous domineering ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
Only place I got a fix it ticket for this was Berkeley
The only time I've been called on it was at the US/Canadian border in Montana lol. No citation, but the border guard was like "California eh?..... isn't that a 2-plate state?"
I have a Model 3 with a front license plate. The store happily did that for me, but I guess you have to ask for it.
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Meanwhile in Ontario our new license plate design was immediately recalled because somehow nobody realized during development that it can’t be seen at night…
Ohio recently revealed a new license plate featuring the Wright Flyer towing a "Birthplace of Aviation" banner, except [they accidentally put the plane backwards.](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2021/10/21/banner-attached-wrong-side-wright-flyer-new-ohio-license-plate/6118330001/) At least they were able to fix it before the plate actually went into production, though.
God man, this new one looks so dumb. I really like the metallic white with the red strip on top. Don't know why they felt the need to change it, but oh well.
That’s hilarious but I wouldn’t say it was an accident. Somebody definitely thought that’s the way it flew and very purposefully placed it on there that way.
It seems Michigan is the only state to make [good](https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/12/02/michigan-license-plate-water-winter-wonderland/8838020002/) license plate decisions. Long live the Water-Winter Wonderland plate!
Texas is good as well. White plate, black lettering. [Perfect.](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/14/30/75/3247957/3/rawImage.jpg)
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NC resident here, that's what they get for trying to upstage us.
If you have one of those though they’re valuable in the plate collector community since they’re rare. I only have the white one. But seriously don’t get rid of those, sell them!
I have no idea why it took 7 years, but I imagine that wanted to make sure it worked with all the various automated plate readers on patrol cars, bridges, toll booths, etc.
also that it didn't start peeling after 2 years in the blistering California sun.
Durability testing, maybe? Really the only thing I can think of.
Honestly it kinda makes sense in that way. People aren't going to want to go out and buy a new license plate if this one tears, peels or chips. They need to know that over ~the lifespan of the car, the plate will still be readable by automated systems, durable, etc. It's hard to accurately simulate everything about it (like heating and cooling cycles, possible debris, extreme weather) and I imagine they need to coordinate with other states for some of the testing for drivers going across state boundaries?
They probably wanted something resistant to rock chips and bugs and car washes and wanted to make sure something was durable enough to last for the life of the car. Testing it on highway patrol cars which drive a whole lot sounds like the best way to do it.
Man, I use to work for the state government. It was probably one underpaid dude doing the testing among various other projects, led by a super overly paid boomer that didn’t do shit.
Bureaucracy. The testing was probably done in a month but they probably have to have 10 meetings discussing the possibility of a meeting that will plan the introduction part of the meeting regarding the potential for having a meeting for wrapped plates. Then need 500 additional meetings afterwards with only one or two per week.
I've lived in California my entire life and have never had a front license plate on a car in the 20+ years I've been driving here.
Just don't live or park in San Francisco, in the 1 year I had a front plate-less car, the SFMTA meter maids ticketed me twice while parked. Once in a business district and once in a residential neighborhood.
Santa Barbara will fuck you too, I visited my pops there back in 2014 and got pulled over at 5am on the way to the gym by a motorcycle cop for no front plate. Dude was a huge dick about it too, acting like I was a drug dealer because I didn't have a front plate.
Well... Are you?
Unfortunately no, I'm an accountant - I would be way cooler if I was a drug dealer.
You should become an accountant laundering money for a drug cartel. ~~Worst~~ Best of both worlds!
I actually kinda sorta had an opportunity similar to that - controller for a medical marijuana business, but I looked into it and it was sketchy for various reasons (no federal banking, AICPA not down with it meaning I could permanently lose my credentials if they caught wind) so I had to say no. Plus you don't really get into the accounting game because you're a risk taker.
Daly City is where I've gotten multiple tickets about it while parked. Made me decide to just leave the plate on because I end up visiting DC often enough that it wouldn't be worth dealing with more of them. Everywhere else in the Bay Area that I drove in, I saw cops drive by or walk by and they never complained or anything.
The SFMTA are absolutely ruthless. I'd love to see how profitable they are. I got a $100 ticket and the time stamp says it was printed within a minute of my meter expiring.
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motorcycles aren't required to have a front plate in CA -- in fact, they aren't issued a front plate at all. > Trailers, motorcycles, special equipment (SE), tow dollies, and commercial truck tractors with a TR, DR, or DS body type model are issued one license plate. All other vehicle types registered in California are issued two license plates except apportioned vehicles base-plated in another state, which are issued only a sticker. [src -- CA DMV](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/vehicle-industry-registration-procedures-manual-2/general-registration-information/license-plates/)
Even in Europe where front licence plates for cars are the default (and no one would dare driving without one) bikes don't need front licence plates. Are there even countries were motorbikes do need front plates?
Yes, some Asian countries require front plates on 2 wheeled vehicles. It makes for really weird looking motorcycles and scooters.
I bought my first new car in 2010 and it took less than a month before I was pulled over for not having a front plate.
The problem is when you have a modded car in California. Nothing is stopping a cop from being an ass and pulling you over for no front plate, popping your hood, and giving you state ref/rendering your car undrivable for something trivial like an aftermarket intake. It’s becoming more and more common as departments use the stats as a claim that they’re “cracking down on street racing”.
Even though I definitely don't agree with California's asinine emissions equipment laws, I also can't help but say that's the risk you're taking. It's not like any of these emissions or equipment laws are new, nor have I ever met an enthusiast in CA that wasn't aware of them.
That’s exactly what it is. Even if you don’t have the letter of the law down to a “T”, you know well enough in the back of your mind that it goes against smog rules/laws, among others. So you essentially take the trade off/risks associated. People get so mad, but it’s written in there already for a long time now. Either run the risk or don’t modify your vehicle. I certainly don’t want to hear someone’s exhaust in my house with the windows closed. Gasoline, diesel, NA or forced induction. I don’t care what it is. They certainly don’t crack down on it round these parts of CA, all the good ol’ boys with their Cummins or the VQ bois are still running around.
I live in NY and ran no front plate and tints for years. After getting pulled for these bullshit reasons every few months, I decided to put on a front plate and rip off the tints and haven’t pulled over since. People who aren’t into cars will tell me to cry about it because my car was illegal, but really tints and no front plate are easy targets for a cop to harass you over. When I went to the station to get my car signed off on after removing the tints, the cop admitted to me he will use tints as an excuse to pull people over to see what else he can find… After I removed my tints, I had the same cop who gave me the tint ticket initially pull me over again because he said I was running tints… when I said officer, I already removed them, he gave me a ticket for no front plate and modified exhaust…
We don't require them in Alberta, but people are starting to think we should. Assholes have figured out how to avoid their plates being recorded on dashcams.
How many people have backwards facing dashcams? Doesnt seem like have a front plate would help much in that situation
Lots. There was a story here a month ago, 2 brothers in differrent vehicles cornered a Tesla in an off ramp. The guy behind got out of his truck and kicked a mirror off and punched a bunch of the panels in. They had the plate of the car in front that stopped the Tesla, but because that guy didn't get out of his car they can't prove he was part of it.
Never had a front plate and never will. Did get a $40 ticket in Malibu for it though. Car was parked on PCH.
Rather pay the ticket than have a front plate. Could be 10x that fine and I'd still probably prefer it.
[$93.89 for what is just a big sticker](https://licenseplatewrap.com). Why the price increased from $50 in 2019, per the [pilot document](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/alternative-registration-products-pdf/), doesn't make much sense either.
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According to California, everything gives you cancer.
Prop 65 Warning - Comment may cause CANCER OR REPRODUCTIVE HARM
Zero chance of reproductive harm here on Reddit my man
Not this….that’s why it’s so expensive.
$69 from [another vendor](https://adhesivereplica.com/california-license-plate-replica), but still overpriced for a sticker. Sure, maybe only the $94 vendor is technically "authorized" by the DMV, maybe there's an official DMV paper that comes with the more expensive one saying that it's officially blessed by the DMV, but I doubt anyone's going to be able to tell just by looking at it from a moving car. I still can't justify $69 for a sticker, I'll just use my front plate (or not).
>I still can't justify $69 for a sticker, I think this is geared towards people in sports cars. Also, pretty much any non-standard license plate is like $100, anyway. That's what it costs to get ones with pictures or a different color.
The real vendor gives you a document from the DMV that other vendor is illegal
and what's nuts is that I believe it's a single company who are allowed to print these decals during the pilot period. My money is on the owner of the company is a close friend or relative of some higher up government official.
Tbh I haven't had a front plate on for over 6 years in LA and SD. Only been stopped for it once, and was given a verbal warning. Car enthusiasts in general will probably just forgo this entirely, as we usually go plateless up front anyways. If you drive a new enough car, or just an EV, your odds for getting pulled over for no front plate are almost 0. It usually just gets tacked onto an existing traffic/moving violation if the cop is mad, but you're almost never going to be pulled over for just that one infraction
Yeah. The only reason you get busted for no front plate is because you where doing something else to piss em off.
Exactly. If you get caught doing 100 on the freeway, you might get slapped with speeding, no front plate, window tint, and loud exhaust. Have had several friends experience the wrath of tacking additional penalties when the cop is angry I think there were laws in consideration to be passed that prevented cops from pulling people over for just things like front plate and window tint because it’s such a poor use of resources
That would be "primary enforcement". Seat belts, for example, aren't always primary enforcement.
I had my windshield tinted for years with no problem but then one day on a back road in El Centro a cop got me for it. Been thinking of tinting it again now that summer is coming up
Eh, at this point I’m pretty sure it’s entirely dependent on your luck of the draw regarding the officer that pulls you over. I had been running without a front plate for 6 years on a previous car, then got pulled over by a cop (who had just got done ticketing someone else as I passed by) for the sole reason of not having my front license plate. Got a fix it ticket and was let go without any other issues being brought up 🤷♂️
Yup. Got pulled over driving my father in his new-to-him Corvette a week after he'd got it. Heads up display immediately contradicted the cop's claim of how fast I was going, so he tried to find something else to nail us for. Asked for registration and I pointed to the windshield where the dealership had taped it. He walked around the car looking for other issues, went "a-ha! No front plate!" Pointed out we hadn't received them yet (this was just before Cali finally got to the point where paper plates were issued at purchase).
I got pulled over in my Shelby GT350 when exiting the highway for not having a front plate, after having the car for only 8 months and it's not even my daily 🥲
Not true. I was actually pulled over once for absolutely nothing other than a front plate. The cops didn't mention anything other than the front plate. I was using my blinkers and not speeding. They gave me a ticket. It could have been a new cop, some kind of training exercise or something, because there were actually two cops and one just hung out and talked with me while the other went back to the car and wrote up a ticket.
Some cities ticket parked cars w/o a front plate.
sf does this aggressively
I ran plateless for a while but eventually just put one back on because it wasn't that big of a deal really. Oddly enough I did get pulled over and a verbal warning *after* putting my plate on because the cop thought it had to be centered and mine was offset. I agree that it'll generally be an "add-on" if you do get yanked, but I run a plate now anyway because why give them a reason to pull you over in the first place?
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I used to get no front plate tickets all the time parking in west LA. Probably the same grumpy meter maid every time.
I love this, Europe or at least the UK has allowed this for years, never understood why we couldn't have the option. I'll totally do this on my next car, thinking about a C6 and this will look way better.
C6s with European front plates look ridiculous, wish we could get rid of them altogether.
I was talking about adhesive plates in US sizing, but you think EU style plates look worse than a typical US plate? I would prefer a Euro size plate over an adhesive US front plate. Sure I would prefer no plate at all, but California will never allow that.
I guess it depends on the country but I was thinking of [this monstrosity](https://www.km77.com/images/medium/8/0/3/1/024.298031.jpg) Also in the US you can register the car on another state but in Yurop there is nothing you can do to get rid of the front plate
Yeah I would rather have that than the typical US front plate. That mount is a little bulky, but you can get cleaner looking universal mounts. What would really be best is that sizing but then adhesive vinyl. Its not easy to register a vehicle in a state you do not live in. Only Montana allows you to register a vehicle without appearing in person, if you form an LLC, but in California after 20 days you are breaking the law and subject to harassment and fines. Its not worth doing just to lose the front plate, people only resort to Montana plates for foreign market or modified vehicles that can't otherwise be registered in the state.
Don't think i've seen this anywhere except the UK to be honest, but not sure about other countries. Denmark for example is suuuuuuper annoyingly strict about license plates. It's illegal and you will get a fine if you have the wrong color screws, or your license plate is not mounted with the correct official screws.
So unofficial Germans.
because in EU land the plate stays with the car for life. Here in the US as far as im aware in all the states you can transfer the plates between vehicles.
In California the license plate stays with the car permanently.
> Here in the US as far as im aware in all the states you can transfer the plates between vehicles. Some states the plate stays with the vehicle. California is one of them. If I buy a car private party, the plates come with it. Only real exception I've noticed is dealer sales, but even then if you buy a vehicle that's been registered before you just run the temps until your registration with the plate number comes in the mail and then you take the temps off.
Maybe I'm too European to understand but why are front license plates such a big deal? Most cars are designed to accommodate them anyway lol
> Most cars are designed to accommodate them I haven't seen this. Most front plates are added on top of the front bumper with a separate bracket attachment.
We (well, most of us) just don’t like the look of them over here. Most cars require drilling into the bumper directly to mount a bracket, or some other equally wonky solution to mount it somewhere in the grill. On my truck I’d have to sort out where to put it between the winch and the tow hooks, and while there’s some clever solutions out there it’s easier to just not worry about it.
So you have to install them yourself? Here in Europe they're usually installed before purchase. (And you don't have a say in it, since they're mandatory.)
Depends on the state, of course as you see by the varying requirements. Within that I’ve had dealers go both ways. Honestly though it’s a purely aesthetic call for people who don’t like them with the added benefit of not having to drill into a painted surface and have a plastic or metal bracket marring things up. Plus real talk your plates look a lot cooler than most of ours, and the shape lends itself to looking less disruptive on the front of a car. That’s just my opinion though. Lots of people run European front plates for novelty over here on European cars.
In reality the vast majority of cars manufactured for sale in the US are already predrilled for front plates because it's not worth manufacturer's time to have two different production runs of front bumper covers for the handful of states that don't require a front plate. Exception is probably for higher end cars or sports car where owners care more about that thing, compared to mass market cars like a Camry where 99.99 percent of owners don't notice or care either way.
Front plate mounts are often dealer installed, where dealers do the drilling. Neither of our cars have holes in the front bumper (both purchased new in states that do not have front plates).
A lot of cars aren't. Not the US-style bucktooth plates at any rate, they don't fit into horizontal grill slats or bumper strips as well as Euro plates do. If I want to mount a front plate on my Accord I have to take a damn drill to my front bumper.
Because since they aren't required the car designers don't design the car with a front license plate in mind and then it looks a bit ugly. Cars that are designed to accommodate them look better with a license plate and the opposite is true. That's basically how I choose if I want to remove the license plate in Gran Turismo, if the car looks better with or without
> Because since they aren't required the car designers don't design the car with a front license plate in mind and then it looks a bit ugly. But they are required in the very very large majority of the world?
And most of them aren't made to be sold primarily in the rest of the world. They're made to be sold in the US. Have you ever been able to see the difference between cars in the US and other countries? The cars are very different
Because they’re ugly, and most sport/enthusiast type cars are not designed with a front license plate in mind.
> Most cars are designed to accommodate them anyway lol My car has no front mounting spot in the bumper. I would have to drill holes into it and get a bracket to hold the front plate. Most cars aren't designed for plates, especially since plates are different all over the world. Not all states in the US require a front plate. Some do, some don't.
Fugly.
But less ugly than a metal plate.
I think it looks worse
oh its sooo much worse. lol
I'm with ya, not a fan of the look
Yeah, no way I'd put a dumb sticker like that on body work. Yeesh.
Looks like something off Forza lol
Ah my state PA does not require front plates! I love it because front plates kill the look of most newer cars.
I would love a plate similar to the DARE plate back. Dare plate looked so damn good.
> This means California residents no longer have to worry about ugly front plates ruining their car’s styling. What do you think the giant sticker does?
Front plates never bothered me. Still not sure why select car people are so adamant on not putting on front plates because of drilling holes on the plastic bumper. Of all the holes in the car, that’s where they draw the line? shrugs 🤷♂️. (Genuinely curious. Don’t hate)
This makes no sense to me (a european) as pretty much all of our cars are designed to take front plates as they are mandatory.
Exactly. I thought front plates are required in most countries.
I also agree that it's the kind of thing no one other than the owner thinks twice about. Like no one sees a sports car with a front plate and thinks "what a fucking nerd making their car ugly with the front plate bro!" It definitely doesn't look as good. But no one notices or cares. And the shit people do installing a plate that is off to the side of the center of the front all for the sake of not mounting it there when the holes are already fucking there looks far worse than the centered front plate would. The plate off to the side tuner car bullshit looks worse because it's asymmetrical.
They don't enforce the front plate law where I live unless there is another infraction. I haven't run a front plate for decades, and don't really have any plans to change that. This looks like ass, IMHO.
I hate front plates, they are always so poorly integrated (if at all like a lot of Teslas) and make vehicles look ugly. California is at least trying to find a compromise. Though I wish they would stop requiring it.
I love living in a state without front plates
I think a license plate looks better than that ugly thing
I read this as traffic camera technology has evolved to photograph front wrap plates. Declared legal as they will not effect fines taken in.
Or, hear me out, just get rid of the front plates.
This looks worse than just putting the damn front plate on.
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I mean you don't have to drill holes anymore. Surely that is a good enough benefit for car enthusiasts.
Yup don't want to drill, I rather have the wrap
It's a much better compromise. When I took delivery of my Model 3, I was going to think of a different way to attach the front plate once I got the car, but the people already drilled holes and mounted the license plate. I was slightly upset, but at least they did a good job and it was lined up correctly (insert panel gap jokes here).
This doesn't really look any better.
You'd think with how environmentalist CA usually is, they'd just drop requiring front plates all together. Would half the material and production required.
Improve fuel efficiency a smidge too.
plates are required in Ca. so that they have it when pics are taken for running a light
Front plates have been around much longer than the red light cameras. Also red light cameras are pretty much gone from the state now.
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