Tx Plate Laws?! (sirnuke)
- Thread starter Stealth5
- Start date
MP5s Make Ready
Member
- :
- 2002 Red Protege 5
It's the law....but...they have to catch you first LMAO!!!
(redp5)
(redp5)
Okay....I think the question has been answered....YES its required....
and like herarety mentioned.....there seems to be a few cars out there that even a dealer won't put a front plate on....think about it...when was the last time you saw a VETTE with the cutout in the front bumper removed and a plate in there? I NEVER have...
the onlt thing that keeps me from removing MY plate is the fact that it leaves this wide flat spot on the front bumber that looks out of place....if the bumber was smoothed out under there...and all I had to do was fix the holes that were poked through the bumper...I might....
another fix to have it is this....go down to Kmart or Wal-mart and if you go to the CRAFTS section you can find little suction cups that are used to put on windows and have little hangers on them...sort of like the little suction cups on the radar dector mounts.....anyway....get four that have buttons on them about the size of the holes in the corners of the plate....then put them on the plate and mount on the inside in front of the passanger...or up high in front of the rear view mirror....or where ever.....
I don't know how much a ticket for this is....but you can bet if you get pulled over for speeding....or illegal parking...or being at races...or whatever...its just something else they can tag on....but unlikely they will pull you over for....unless they are looking for ANY reason to check out your car.....then they have the legal right to pull you over....since technically you are breaking the law by not having one.
SO, armed with that information...NOW YOU have to make the choice.
(stash)
and like herarety mentioned.....there seems to be a few cars out there that even a dealer won't put a front plate on....think about it...when was the last time you saw a VETTE with the cutout in the front bumper removed and a plate in there? I NEVER have...
the onlt thing that keeps me from removing MY plate is the fact that it leaves this wide flat spot on the front bumber that looks out of place....if the bumber was smoothed out under there...and all I had to do was fix the holes that were poked through the bumper...I might....
another fix to have it is this....go down to Kmart or Wal-mart and if you go to the CRAFTS section you can find little suction cups that are used to put on windows and have little hangers on them...sort of like the little suction cups on the radar dector mounts.....anyway....get four that have buttons on them about the size of the holes in the corners of the plate....then put them on the plate and mount on the inside in front of the passanger...or up high in front of the rear view mirror....or where ever.....
I don't know how much a ticket for this is....but you can bet if you get pulled over for speeding....or illegal parking...or being at races...or whatever...its just something else they can tag on....but unlikely they will pull you over for....unless they are looking for ANY reason to check out your car.....then they have the legal right to pull you over....since technically you are breaking the law by not having one.
SO, armed with that information...NOW YOU have to make the choice.
(stash)
ELEmental59437
Member
- :
- 2002 P5, 1978 F250
Ok, I'm in TX too.. So is it illegal if its not on the front bumper? I just put electric tape around the edges of my front plate and wedged it on the side of my dash. I just couldnt force myself to screw holes into the bumper (even though they were slightly punctured to begin with).
This is the second car ive been driving around without the plate on the bumper. Havent gotten stopped for it yet, but I dont want to get a ticket for something this lame.
This is the second car ive been driving around without the plate on the bumper. Havent gotten stopped for it yet, but I dont want to get a ticket for something this lame.
I don't know the actual specifics of the law...but it would seem that as long as its displayed such that it can be viewed and seen from the FRONT of the car, regardless of whether or not its on the bumper...it would be okay....so putting it in the windshield somewhere should be fine....just as I have seen so many times before.
ELEmental59437 said:
ph0enixrising
Member
- :
- 2002.5 Mazda Protege5
It's mandatory here in California to have your front plate displayed, whether it's on your bumper or on your dash. I took mine off as soon as I got the car home. Don't care for it at all. Did it with my last car too, and my dad's mazda doesn't have one either. We have yet to be given a ticket for it, and even if I am, it's only a $10 fix-it ticket, so I'll take my chances.
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- 09 370Z Nismo
the law states, "front car plate must be on the farthest point forward of the car.", hence putting it in your ground effects grill is illegal, putting it in the dash is illegal, etc...
Best way I have found so far not to get hassled is this.
like Sir Nuke said, put the lisense plate where is can be read, in dash, AND suction cupped against the glass, otherwise you can't really read it. If it is JUST in the dash, and even you can only sorta read it, a cop will kill you. If you make it very easy to see most officers wont give you anything. The BEST way tho is to get front ground effects, they have no mounting holes, AND mount the plate in the window. Not only do you not have a place to mount the plate on the front of the car, but you made it available anyways (you're nicer than corvettes). Even an evil cop will give you props.
Best way I have found so far not to get hassled is this.
like Sir Nuke said, put the lisense plate where is can be read, in dash, AND suction cupped against the glass, otherwise you can't really read it. If it is JUST in the dash, and even you can only sorta read it, a cop will kill you. If you make it very easy to see most officers wont give you anything. The BEST way tho is to get front ground effects, they have no mounting holes, AND mount the plate in the window. Not only do you not have a place to mount the plate on the front of the car, but you made it available anyways (you're nicer than corvettes). Even an evil cop will give you props.
TX plates
I had to borrow my front plate screws to bolt my power steering reservoir back to the engine compartment (no lie) on my old Celica. I never got around to getting new screws for the plate. I had it like that for three years in Dallas with no problems. Then again, you can set your car on fire and go 103 MPH in Dallas and no one will notice, least of all the police.
If you put the plate in the front glass, it may just call attention to the fact you don't have the plate properly displayed. Plus, it's a pain in the ass to have it there.
Guidelines:
1. Look around you whereever you live and count the number of people without front plates. If there's a bunch without plates, then lose the plate and don't worry.
2. Never break multiple laws at once. Doing so increases the chance you will get a ticket, not a warning. (Don't make an illegal left turn while not wearing a seat belt, etc.). Keep in mind that you've already got this little front plate law broken, and act accordingly. Don't hassle the cops either. Most appreciate civility and honestly when you're pulled over.
Example from my younger days...
Officer: I was right behind you and watched you make a right-hand turn from the left-hand lane without looking to see if someone was behind you.
Me: To be honest with you sir, I was going so fast I didn't think anyone would be in the lane.
I didn't get a ticket.
-robert
I had to borrow my front plate screws to bolt my power steering reservoir back to the engine compartment (no lie) on my old Celica. I never got around to getting new screws for the plate. I had it like that for three years in Dallas with no problems. Then again, you can set your car on fire and go 103 MPH in Dallas and no one will notice, least of all the police.
If you put the plate in the front glass, it may just call attention to the fact you don't have the plate properly displayed. Plus, it's a pain in the ass to have it there.
Guidelines:
1. Look around you whereever you live and count the number of people without front plates. If there's a bunch without plates, then lose the plate and don't worry.
2. Never break multiple laws at once. Doing so increases the chance you will get a ticket, not a warning. (Don't make an illegal left turn while not wearing a seat belt, etc.). Keep in mind that you've already got this little front plate law broken, and act accordingly. Don't hassle the cops either. Most appreciate civility and honestly when you're pulled over.
Example from my younger days...
Officer: I was right behind you and watched you make a right-hand turn from the left-hand lane without looking to see if someone was behind you.
Me: To be honest with you sir, I was going so fast I didn't think anyone would be in the lane.
I didn't get a ticket.
-robert
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You are right, there is a double standard. When I had my Prowler, I got stopped but never asked why I do not displayed my front license plate. Now that I drive a "rice burner" with no license plate on the front, they tend to think I'am a "thug". Its a $200 ticket depending on the judge.
Here's the Texas law:
502.404. Operation of Vehicle Without License Plate or Registration Insignia
(a) A person commits an offense if the person operates on a public highway during a registration period a passenger car or commercial motor vehicle that does not display two license plates, at the front and rear of the vehicle, that have been:
(1) assigned by the department for the period; or
(2) validated by a registration insignia issued by the department that establishes that the vehicle is registered for the period.
Note that they don't say where the plate hasta be. I'm no lawyer and I can't find any other place in the regulations that state whether the dash counts as the front of the vehicle.
502.404. Operation of Vehicle Without License Plate or Registration Insignia
(a) A person commits an offense if the person operates on a public highway during a registration period a passenger car or commercial motor vehicle that does not display two license plates, at the front and rear of the vehicle, that have been:
(1) assigned by the department for the period; or
(2) validated by a registration insignia issued by the department that establishes that the vehicle is registered for the period.
Note that they don't say where the plate hasta be. I'm no lawyer and I can't find any other place in the regulations that state whether the dash counts as the front of the vehicle.
eh.. Ive gotten a no front plate ticket in TX.
Of course I didn't have one at all, so that pretty much negates the arguement. Talk to a judge and it went away. FYI, it was a $152 ticket.
I also know a guy that has gotten a ticket in TX for having it on the grill of his ground effects. The cop wrote him up saying that it has to be on the forwardmost part of the car. That may be argueable in court, and not stick, but that doesn't mean he still can't write you a ticket for it.
Long story short, just put it on the regular way & don't worry about it. That's my plan as soon as I GET my front plate back....
Of course I didn't have one at all, so that pretty much negates the arguement. Talk to a judge and it went away. FYI, it was a $152 ticket.
I also know a guy that has gotten a ticket in TX for having it on the grill of his ground effects. The cop wrote him up saying that it has to be on the forwardmost part of the car. That may be argueable in court, and not stick, but that doesn't mean he still can't write you a ticket for it.
Long story short, just put it on the regular way & don't worry about it. That's my plan as soon as I GET my front plate back....
crayz_d
Member
- :
- Phoenix, AZ
- :
- 1967 Mercury Cougar
This is why I live in Arizona, here they took away the front license plates in order to save money in the MVD. In AZ front license plates are not required by law, heck, the MVD only sends us one plate anyway, makes it difficult to put one on the front. You guys should start "Anti-Front License Plate" petitions and see if you can get the law changed in your states, j/k. That is a bummer though that you have to have one.
I've been stopped by a State Trooper on the highway for not having front plate displayed. Didn't get a ticket, but was just asked to have it showing on the front ... so I tossed the plate on the front dash until I got tiny suction cups to stick it on the corner edge of the window.
