lisence plate on front of car

[shrumhead]

I live in california and im 90% sure that you must legally have a lisence plate in the front of your car.  I look at cars when im driving and I see maybe 50% of cars with lisence plates on the front of their cars....  I hate it on the front of mine and I think it looks incredibly tacky.

Anybody else here in CA know anything about this, and I have heard its frowned apon but its not a big deal and you sure will never get pulled over for not having it on there.  AHHHH I just want to take the damn thing off.  Is it really a law in CA?  And if it is do you guys think it would be that big a deal for me to remove the ugly looking POS?

[eamonj25]

I heard somewhere that if your front bumper does not have holes there is no need to for front lisence plate, but if it does there should be one. I am not 100% sure so dont quote me on it....

[rancid240]

Some people never get pulled over, some people do. &nbsp;I went for about 1.5 years without it before i got pulled over on wilshire in LA. &nbsp;I talked with the cop and he sits there waiting for people to pass buy without plates, because of the red light cameras they have there. &nbsp;jokes on him cuz i had just tried and failed to beat a red about two blocks down <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/hehe.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':hehe:'> if i were you i would just relocate it to the side of the bumper, i know it looks tacky up front, but i never want to have to go thru the fix it ticket hassle again. &nbsp;i am thinking about mounting it on the front lip, that would be kind of crazy.

[Danio]

I got pulled over twice in Santa Clara County for not having a front license plate. It's a $10 fix-it ticket. My friend in San Francisco got pulled over for not having his on. I don't remember the fee but I think it's higher.

So yes you need to have on a front license plate. Maybe normally the cops won't care but if they need an excuse to pull you over, they can use that.

[240Degrees]

i used to drive my mom's 96 mustang for more than a year, with the plate in the windshield and NEVER got hassled. &nbsp;2 months after i got my 240, i got pulled over for doing the same thing 5 minutes away from my house. &nbsp;(i live in sd/mira mesa and when i drove the mustang, i took 30 minutes to go to high school, with the 240, i drive less than 10 minutes to college). &nbsp;I really think they pulled me over because I'm really young, 18, asian, and driving an import. &nbsp;Yes, &nbsp;it sucks cus my car was stock(or at least u can't tell i had anything from outside).

anyways i had to go through the hassle of finding a cop to sign it to show proof of correction and then cough up 10 bucks. &nbsp;anyone know when the cop has the right to pop your hood?

[revat619]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (240Degrees @ Nov. 21 2002,01:19)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"> anyone know when the cop has the right to pop your hood?</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
only when they have probable cause. example - louder than stock muffler, funny noises (BOV), body kits, big wings, etc. pretty much anything that makes you look or sound like a possible racer/tuner from the exterior.

They'll try to pull you over for something stupid, like having an air freshener hanging from your rearview mirror (ya, its actually illegal, "obstruction of vision"). Then they'll try to search. They get away with it because most people dont know any better. An air freshener....thats not probable cause.

I'm not too sure about anywhere else, but i know here in San Diego, they try to pull crap like that... <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/hmmm.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':hmmm:'>

[240fluke]

Okay, I am curious about this. &nbsp;If a cop asks for you to pop the hood of your car, you can say no right? &nbsp;Now how do you say it, without being a dick and get the cop to leave it at that? &nbsp;Basically once you say no, it seems to me like you would basically be giving him a reason to have probable cause to then get your car impounded or give him some reason to basically get you to now open your hood and for him to search your car. &nbsp;So how do you give a No answer and leave it at that?

Tim '95 SE <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/huh.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':huh:'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/eh.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':eh:'>

[negular]

is it?: invation of privacy
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; invation of private property

i once read about a guy that was pulled over and they found some pounds of marijuana in his trunk, but was found innocent since there was no reason for the cop to search his car... i guess he didnt give consent and the cop still did it, beats me.

i thought that they just COULDNT search ur car if u dont let them by just saying "no" or "i prefer u not to" but... read my sig &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/hehe.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':hehe:'>

[fast-datsun]

California motor vechile code say you MUST have a front and rear plate inatalled on any vechicle drive on public streets.. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/nervous.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':nervous:'>

[Dousan_PG]

fast-datsun is correct
but the new corvettes dont have them straight off the lot. haha..
anyways, the law states that but its the officers decision on how strict he is going to be. actually it is partly you too depending on your attitude
my 92 bumper has never had a plate on it, not a single hole has been drilled, so for 10 years my car has had no front plate.

[shrumhead]

alrighty, thx for the info guys.... Imma find a nice place on the front bottom lip <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> barely noticable but hey... It will be there <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

[Nerfdude]

i had mine on the dash for about 2 months, but finally got fed up looking at the ugly holes in my front bumper and mounted it.... that plus my friend got puled over with no front plate and he had to pay a non moving violation to the tune of 65 dollars...
here in st. louis, out on lindbergh, the cops will pull you over for no reason, or make up a reason. same guy that got the ticket for no front plate was actually pulled over b/c the cop said he failed to signal when changing lanes, even though i was following him and saw the blinker. didn't give him a ticket for that, but saw he didn't have a front plate and ticketed him...
i'm gonna mount mine on the side of my next 240's bumper. it just looks bad in the middle.