Front Plate in Cali?

[ChopstickHero]

I did a search, and the general concensus says that a front plate is necessary.

however, i bought my MSP at a dealer and they only issued me ONE plate. i looked up at the DMV website and found this:

<!-- #EndEditable -->"5200. <!-- #BeginEditable "section_content" --><!-- #EndEditable --><!-- #BeginEditable "addl_section_content" --> (a) When two license plates are issued by the department for use upon a vehicle, they shall be attached to the vehicle for which they were issued, one in the front and the other in the rear. (b) When only one license plate is issued for use upon a vehicle, it shall be attached to the rear thereof , unless the license plate is issued for use upon a truck tractor, in which case the license plate shall be displayed in accordance with Section 4850.5."

sooooo... am i safe? if a cop pulls me over (knock on wood) and asks about my front plate, how can i prove to him that the dealer only issued me one plate? thanks... and btw, i'm new to california, so it'll take a while for me to learn all the laws out here.

 

[MSPHAWAII]

do you have cali plates all ready if so they will make you put a front plate on. if not they will make you go to the dmv and get cali plates if you are in the state for a long time ..

 

[ChopstickHero]

do you have cali plates all ready if so they will make you put a front plate on. if not they will make you go to the dmv and get cali plates if you are in the state for a long time ..

i bought the car here, so it has a cali plate. but they only gave me one plate. i'll go back and demand a plate from them, if the cali law states that i really require two plates.

but the bylaw i quoted is kinda weird....this is how i see it: if i was issued one plate, then i'll use the one plate on the rear. end of story.

but i do like the no plate in front.. looks clean.

 

[BoOsTiN]

Get the front plate. Depending on where you live, you could probably get away with out it for a while. It will eventually get you pulled over and you'll have a hell of a hard time proving you were issued only one. If you plan on modding your engine... Defenitely get the plate. That's all a cop needs to pull you over. Once they have you, they can ask you to pop the hood. Cops take classes on what type of mods to look for and will nail you for everything they can. Then you have to go to a smog referee and pay$$. Not always fun owning an import in ca.
I agree though, no plate looks sweet!

 

[toucci]

No plate here... never been pulled over in the P5 either. w00t, having a station wagon has its perks

I did have a CHP follow me for a while today, probably because he heard my exhaust.

 

[ChopstickHero]

i'm in Redlands... i think i've seen 2 cops rolling around, and i have been here for a month. i work and live there, so i don't venture out into the LA or elsewhere unless it's the weekend. but yeah, i'll go back to the dealer and ask them for the front plate.

 

[yesiownaskyline]

wow, the cali vehicle laws sound CRAZY...

I know in my area, if they do pull you over, they will not ticket you, but give you a fix it ticket instead. If its the same over there, i say try it and if you do get pulled over, then run both...

Either way though, i would still go to the dealer and demand the 2nd one. Just store it if you dont wanna use it. This way, at least you have it on hand in case the above happens.

 

[ChopstickHero]

wow, the cali vehicle laws sound CRAZY...

I know in my area, if they do pull you over, they will not ticket you, but give you a fix it ticket instead. If its the same over there, i say try it and if you do get pulled over, then run both...

Either way though, i would still go to the dealer and demand the 2nd one. Just store it if you dont wanna use it. This way, at least you have it on hand in case the above happens.

yeah, some particular laws i'm not sure about. but out here, i hardly see any cops. i think this city has a really small police force. i'm gonna go today to get the other plate just in case.

 

[Notorious]

I've been pulled over a couple times in the MSP. No front plate, and never had a cop say anything about it.

 

[ChopstickHero]

I've been pulled over a couple times in the MSP. No front plate, and never had a cop say anything about it.

interesting... i got the second plate, it's in my trunk... heh... it looks so much cleaner without a plate on the front.

 

[Notorious]

Should you get pulled over, just act polite and they probably won't bring it up. Also if you do get caught its really a minor ticket. Just ziptie the plate to the lower grill. Get an officer to sign off on it. You could remove it later.

 

[<<MP5DuCe>>]

The fact is that the front license plate laws have changed soooo many times that a cop will NEVER pull you over for JUST a license plate related stop. If you get pulled over for speeding or another traffic related inccident then they could, but not definitely, give you a ticket for the license plates. And even if you do its a $10 fix it ticket at your local municipal court.

 

[02ESwBoost]

WHAT ????????? That is crazy advise.... Yes you can and will get pulled over for just a front plate. Trust me, as one of the individuals who does the pulling over, a violation is a violation - now I might not cite you for the plate, but it lets me stop you and check you and your car and if you have an attitude then you get cited for every little thing that can be found (lord help you if you have an ebay air intake w/ no carb sitcker, it's an automatic 600.00 state fine)

The fact is that the front license plate laws have changed soooo many times that a cop will NEVER pull you over for JUST a license plate related stop. If you get pulled over for speeding or another traffic related inccident then they could, but not definitely, give you a ticket for the license plates. And even if you do its a $10 fix it ticket at your local municipal court.

 

[<<MP5DuCe>>]

WHAT ????????? That is crazy advise.... Yes you can and will get pulled over for just a front plate. Trust me, as one of the individuals who does the pulling over, a violation is a violation - now I might not cite you for the plate, but it lets me stop you and check you and your car and if you have an attitude then you get cited for every little thing that can be found (lord help you if you have an ebay air intake w/ no carb sitcker, it's an automatic 600.00 state fine)

All I know is that I have lived in SD for over 20+ years and have never seen or heard of this happening *shrug*

 

[BK's black P5]

It can happen. I was pulled over about 5 years ago for missing front plate. Yes, it is only a fix it ticket, but it does allow the officer an opportunity to examine if any other mods on your car are legal or not. Even though I don't like the look with the front plate on, mine is attached to give them less reason to pull me over. (My turbo is not CARB certified.)

 

[ChopstickHero]

then lucky my Injen has a CARB sticker on it!

well, driving back and forth from work 5 miles a day is not much anyways. i've seen a few cops roll around, but i'm sure they have better things to do than pull me over with no front plate. for now, i'll keep it off, but i'll throw it back on if i need to. and i was thinking about getting a customized plate anyways...

i'm Canadian... so i was thinking... "MSP EH" lol