FYI-Frt License plate enforcement

[cobrajj]

FYI--I was informed by another member, that the CHP( and other police depts?) will be aggressively enforcing California front plate requirement regulation in June. Now it is a $25.00 fix-it ticket, but it will increase to $250.00 as a moving violation. This is because of the big increase in red light traffic cameras and many drivers removing the front plates to avoid detection.
Looks like I'll be installing Mike Everson's frt license plate bracket after all. Jim

[John Tongish]

A front license plate on the roadster sucks!
Nothing against Mike's bracket but the roadster was not designed to have a front plate.
Any police types on the forum that can give a legal response to this issue of front license plates?
In general? in California?
Thanks Officer Fife.

[Ray]

Here are the two most relevant sections of the Calif. Veh. Code:

5200. (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.

5201. License plates shall at all times be securely fastened to the vehicle for which they are issued so as to prevent the plates from swinging, shall be mounted in a position so as to be clearly visible, and so that the characters are upright and display from left to right, and shall be maintained in a condition so as to be clearly legible. The rear license plate shall be mounted not less than 12 inches nor more than 60 inches from the ground, and the front license plate shall be mounted not more than 60 inches from the ground, except as follows:...

(f) A covering shall not be used on license plates except as follows:

(1) The installation of a cover over a lawfully parked vehicle to protect it from the weather and the elements does not constitute a violation of this subdivision. A peace officer or other regularly salaried employee of a public agency designated to enforce laws, including local ordinances, relating to the parking of vehicles may temporarily remove so much of the cover as is necessary to inspect any license plate, tab, or indicia of registration on a vehicle.

(2) The installation of a license plate security cover is not a violation of this subdivision if the device does not obstruct or impair the recognition of the license plate information, including, but not limited to, the issuing state, license plate number, and registration tabs, and the cover is limited to the area directly over the top of the registration tabs. No portion of a license plate security cover shall rest over the license plate number.

(g) A casing, shield, frame, border, product, or other device that obstructs or impairs the reading or recognition of a license plate by an electronic device operated by state or local law enforcement, an electronic device operated in connection with a toll road, high-occupancy toll lane, toll bridge, or other toll facility, or a remote emission sensing device, as specified in Sections 44081 and 44081.6 of the Health and Safety Code, shall not be installed on, or affixed to, a vehicle.

I don't remember when these sections were originally added to the Vehicle Code, but it was years before I entered the Academy back in 1979. I'm not running a front plate and haven't since day-1 but it's one of those things that I know is wrong and if I get stopped for it, I take the ticket and fix it.

Ray

[John Tongish]

Thanks Ray for the California definitive legal word on front license plates. I, like you, will continue to post only the rear one and accept my fate if stopped and ticketed for a missing front plate.
But I still don't like it.

p.s.: By the way, I like your quotes below your post since I like to run my half licensed beast on the track whenever I can.

[Jeff Kleiner]

A long time member on these forums whose name will be witheld told a story about his solution to the front plate situation in his state. Seems that some years before the front plate on his daily driver had been lost or damaged. He went to the BMV to report it and request a replacement. They gave him a form showing that the replacement was on order and instructed him to keep it in the vehicle to show to a LEO should he be stopped, thereby avoiding a citation for not displaying a plate. Meanwhile it took a year or more for the replacement to arrive. Fast forward to shortly after he got his roadster on the road. One day he realized that the front plate was (ahem, cough, cough) "lost". He dutifully went to the BMV, ordered the replacement and kept that valuable proof that the duplicate was on order in the glovebox. He has had the worst luck; unfortunately every time his replacement plate arrives it soon goes missing and he has to start the process all over again!

Jeff

[Silversmith]

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