Between our long-term vehicles and Edmunds.com employee vehicles we have noticed a rash of front license plate tickets over the past few months. Specifically, these tickets are given for not having a front license plate on your car. This has long been one of those "crimes" that most people don't worry about. Technically you're supposed to have a front license plate on your car in California, but we all know people who don't (including every Ford GT I've seen on the road...or in my garage). To many this jump in front license plate tickets seemed a coincidence, but it is in fact driven by a vicious cycle of revenue generation. First, the city of Los Angeles writes 164,000 front license plate tickets each year (often bagging people while they are parked in public places or at airports). At $25 a ticket that comes to a tidy sum of 4.1 million dollars. But while the "two plate" law has been on the books for years, the recent uptick in front license plate citations is now driven by a far more sinister power -- red light cameras. Seems the cameras don't work so well on cars without front plates, so L.A.-based police have been given a new directive: ticket every vehicle you see without a front plate. We even had one officer admit as much while writing up a co-worker, "See, we need those front plates on your vehicle for the red-light cameras to work."
Hard to argue with that logic, right? But even my journalist-based math skills can figure out that, at over $351 for a red-light camera ticket, I'd have to get quite a few (15) front license plate tickets to justify helping these electronic demons nab me for $351. Not that I plan on running any red lights, but I've known quite a few people who have tried to cross an intersection when the light is green only to have traffic unexpectedly stop, leaving them helplessly staring into a flashbulb. If a human element were involved, such as a police officer, he could probably discern the dangerous drivers from the victims of gridlock, but the cold-hearted camera knows only that cars in the intersection when the light turns red get photographed and mailed a $351 ticket. No thanks, I'll take my chances with police officers who have nothing better to do than write $25 tickets for not having a front plate. So far my system has worked, though by writing this post I'm sure I'll have a citation before the end of the week.
BTW, there's a fascinating article on red light cameras you should read, especially if you've gotten a ticket from them and are ready to fight it.
Categories: Driving, Traffic Safety
By blueguydotcom
on March 27, 2006
10:48 PM
I contributed to 5 of those in 2005 and already 1 in 2006. Every visit to LA I EXPECT a front license plate ticket. If I'm parked at LAX I bring along my plate and put it on the dash as they always ticket me there if I forget to slap it up...
Best thing, I park in disabled spots with my my placard, which means the parking gestapo probably first runs my plates and the placard (hoping for a really big ticket) and then they get me with a little one for the lack of a front plate. FWIW, my 3 series was sold to me without a front license plate bracket.
By kurtamaxxxguy
on March 28, 2006
09:28 AM
If it is the law, then it should be enforced. It's tiresome watching 5 or more cars, many well back of the intersection, all turn LEFT on a RED light, blocking traffic, etc.. There is no law allowing Left turns on Red lights in California, and if the red light cameras reduce this escalating practice, that's fine by me.
On other hand, it is legal to turn Right on a red light, provided there's no warning not to do so.
By kurtamaxxxguy
on March 28, 2006
09:31 AM
Should also add that Red Light camera scams are downright disgusting and defeat the whole purpose of having the cameras in the first place. Does that mean throw out the cameras? No, it means clean up the graft behind them!
By mirth
on March 28, 2006
10:14 AM
No, throw out the cameras. Studies have shown that they do nothing to aid safety - which should be the intent of the laws they're supposedly enforcing - and in fact can increase the number of accidents as people unexpectedly brake way too early to try and avoid a ticket. AAA has shown that just increasing the time of the yellow light decreases accidents far more than the cameras. But then, increasing the yellow light does nothing for revenue, does it?
By ahightower
on March 28, 2006
01:10 PM
A lot of cars really just don't look good with front plates. By brother-in-law's new Lexus IS350, for example, or even my own Dodge Stratus. It looks silly with the license plate covering the allegedly cool Dodge "cross-hair grille" thing. That bugs me.
By mirth
on March 28, 2006
02:04 PM
For silly, look for a Mazda RX-8 with a front license. Looks like a big buck tooth.
By tirthankar_b
on March 28, 2006
02:36 PM
I would wait for the first ticket, before I put it on my car.
By billt9
on March 28, 2006
03:07 PM
http://kuruma.cside.com/off/images/040703/ha/rx-8-b.jpg
RX-8... huh, huh...
By billt9
on March 28, 2006
03:10 PM
Well, it does make the RX-8 look more Asian. Doesn't it hamper engine cooling though?
Right. I'm not going to wear seat belts either because it makes my breasts look crooked. And I don't wear safety goggles either because it makes me look ugly, plus it messes up my makeup!
By firefox280z
on March 28, 2006
04:49 PM
"Well, it does make the RX-8 look more Asian." -bilt9
What is that supposed to mean?
By rsholland
on March 29, 2006
06:39 AM
One of the problems with front license plates is that carmakers do not design the front of the car with them in mind. Virtually every car looks better without a front license plate.
Unlike the rear of the car, where the license plate location is fully integrated into the rear end of the vehicle, the placement of the front license plate almost always looks like an afterthought. On some cars it looks okay (never great, but okay), while on others it just looks horrible.
I hate to say it, but front license plates are a reality, and the sooner car designers accept that fact, the better.
By sabastian
on March 29, 2006
08:35 AM
I think the front plates would look better if we adopted the slender Euro-style plates. I've noticed that they look great on many European cars, and there are even people in the U.S. who get one as a vanity plate. Most cars are designed to accept both (front and back), so maybe it wouldn't be much of a problem.
By jerrywimer
on March 29, 2006
09:00 AM
Euro style plates tend to fit nicely within the height of the average car's bumper. Unlike our taller US plates.
Having said that, this is one of the things I like about the styling of the GMT900 SUVs- they included a spot for the plate, and it blends nicely. My 2004 Silverado is a nightmare, with the lower cowl protruding a bit past the chromed steel where the plate fastens. Not to mention the angle of the bumper in the center.
By thebigal
on April 8, 2006
09:49 AM
I don't buy the statement that "without front license plates the red light camera don't work". Here in AZ there is no front plate law - you only get one plate at registration and we have red light cameras all over the place - even on the expressway, where it is not a redlight camera but a speeder's camera. Now tell me - if AZ can figure out how to nab speeders at 90 MPH with a camera with out a front plate I would think that California could figure out how to nab a person running a red light with out a front plate...
By scanpaw
on April 26, 2006
12:35 AM
I was in San Fran with my 2004 F150 and my front license plate was not attached. I had it with me but 1 plastic screw had broke so I took it off to get metal ones. The officer still gave me the ticket. He said I needed to display in the front window, not to safe in my opinion, the reflection alone could cause impaired vision. Cost to me was $261 for that ticket, I know they only do it for the revenue, but why don't the y get me for my BMW?
I drive my 1974 BMW 2002tii with a replica European 1974 plate on the front all over CA and not a problem yet at all, Is it the car?
By editor_karl
on April 28, 2006
09:25 AM
I'd like to think they give classic/special interest cars more of a break (like Ford GTs :)), but the bottom line is you can't count on anything when it comes to these types of laws. Be in the wrong place at the wrong time, with an officer out to make a quota or having a bad day, and you're getting a ticket if you don't have a front plate. It's sad, but true.
By djstifft
on July 22, 2006
02:55 AM
Well, I just don't understand why people over here don't want to use front license plates...is it just for the looks, or is there a certain childish proud to do exactly the contrary of what the authorities demand? In every country I have been, several in South America and Europe, cars use plates on the front. Yes, front license plates allow you to get caught by a red light camera, but then we should have remembered what the yellow light before that really means: Stop if you can, pass if you must - not accelerate! By law and by common sense, we have to brake when it turns yellow, otherwise yellow would not make sense...
Furthermore, not using front license plates allows criminals to get away of other committed crimes without identification. Plus, they are reflective, enhancing safety while parked at a dark road.
By neil0311
on May 28, 2007
04:57 PM
These comments about front license plates are an example of exactly what's wrong in this country today. There is a lack of respect for authority and a feeling among many, especially younger people, that you can pick and choose what laws you decide to obey.
In states that require front license plates, they are required for a reason. The fact that your car (in your opinion) may not "look good" with a front plate, or the fact that you think a front license plate may increase your chances of getting caught breaking the law, do not provide you with a reason or an excuse for breaking the law. The looks of your car are secondary to your obligation to follow the law.
By woody1241
on March 3, 2008
11:32 AM
I have a new 2008 series 3 convertible and ohio requires a front plate. The dealer said they didnt apply the front tag because they had to drill into the bumper and that most customer prefer to run with no tag. Does anyone know of an alternative tag holder that could be attached drilling holes on the underside of the bumper/grill.
By bacho
on December 4, 2011
11:38 AM
I have a black Corvette Z06 with very low ground clearance. Needless to say, the white CA plate looks ugly on the bumper, so I had the front license plate and bracket removed and the bumper buffed to remove marks left by the bracket. The very next week, I had to go in to LA and got a ticket from the city of LA for not having a front plate :(
I've got a front-license-plate ticket before when I parked at LAX's long term parking. My solution back then was to stop using public parking at the airport altogether (now use ParkingSpot private/indoor parking at LAX). But I don't always have this option in LA and have to resort to curbside parking. BTW, I've lived in Southern California for over 12 years and have never got a front-plate ticket anywhere but the city of LA!
I plan to try blueguydotcom's suggestion above... put the plate on the front dash/window when I'm parked anywhere in the city of LA. I looked up the DMV site for front license plate requirements. I don't see any clause specifically requiring the front plate be installed on the 'bumper'. All it says is that it should be securely fastened (very secure on my dash :) ), visible (very!! especially since the plate is white and my car is black-on-black) and less than 60 inches from the ground (my entire car is less than 50" tall). So I should not get any more tickets and be able to contest it if I do, correct? I hope so :)
BTW, I do have a picture of the car from when it used to have a front license plate. When I got the ticket, one of the options I was given was to get it fixed, show proof that I fixed it (picture acceptable) along with a reduced $10 fine mailed in. If I do get a ticket after all this, looks like I should be able to send in the old picture with the plate on and pay the lower fine :)
Sorry, I'm not a big fan of finding loopholes in the law, but I think the bigger crime is ruining the good looks of a beautiful car with that ugly front license plate! Ideally they should not require cars to have plates at all and use some sort of electronic identification. It's not like we don't have the technology (think Fastrak toll tags, RFID, etc)