I have a court date for missing/improperly displayed front plates coming up in a few days. In my case, the front plate has never been on the car. The firebird emblem is still in place. My office relocated to a new town, and I guess this was their way of welcoming me.

Anyway, for you guys that have received this ticket, how did you plea? Would the argument that corvettes, lambo's, and ferrarri's, vipers, and a host of other cars don't have front plates hold up? lol. It would sound good until the Judge interrupts to say that in MD, the law is that you must have front plates or something like that. At this point, I can think of nothing else. The fine is only $70 or so. Paying the fine isn't the problem. I'm just afraid that if I pay it, it would open up the path for a bunch of 'no front plate' tickets in the future.

btw, the vehicle is a 4th gen T/A, and this is in MD

 

Was your front plate displayed on the dashboard? It could help, depending on the cop. It may not be legal in Maryland.

What state's your car registered in?

 

Put it on, take a picture and bring that to court, say you weren't aware of the law and have corrected the problem. I got three warnings for it, I ended up getting a show n go (do a search), lets the plate flip under the bumper when not needed.

 

Its in MD.
The plate wasn't on the dashboard. Ironically, that made them pull me over about 9yrs ago in NY. If I didnt have a front plate at all, I wouldn't have been pulled over then. NY logic.

[QUOTE=Formula413;14674328]Put it on, take a picture and bring that to court, say you weren't aware of the law and have corrected the problem. I got three warnings for it, I ended up getting a show n go (do a search), lets the plate flip under the bumper when not needed

I would put it on an take a pic, but I dont want a scenario where the same cop sees me and pulls me over again (this was close to my work), and when I go to court a second time, the Judge is infuriated that I lied, and triples the fine or something.
I'll look into the show and go for next time.

 

put it on the air dam

 

Are you going to install the plate? If not you will keep getting tickets. Your options are to pay the fine and keep trucking and don't cry when you get another ticket, pay the fine and install the tag, go to court and install the tag and maybe not pay the fine (not likely), go to court without installing the tag and get more tickets. I personally hate this law as well and payed several fines for it. I finally just got sick of being pulled over for it and installed the damn thing for good. Good luck.

 

You forgot to add ~$30 for court fees depending on your municipality. So even if you go and get it dropped, you're out $30 + Show-N-Go Cost.

 

I had a respectful debate with a cop in OC, maryland one summer. I had the plate on my dash, but he informed me that MD law states it needs to be installed on the front of the vehicle. IMO, its not worth the hassle, just install it and keep the Firebird front plate for shows and pics. Take literally 2 minutes to remove license plate and install the Firebird plate cover

 

I am in Virginia and have received two tickets for no front plate. I have pretty much accepted the fact whenever I take my car out I am fair game for the police. I just pay the fine and keep rolling. My car is not a daily driver so I don't mind taking the risk. If your car is your daily driver I would pay the fine and look into the show and go. The last ticket I recieved was from a state trooper and he was actually very cool and explained the reason for the front plate is so that law enforcement can identify your vehicle from a front view and it had to be on the front bumper. Not the air dam or sitting in the window. Now the thing I don't get is why these states do not require a front plate for a motorcycle? maybe someone in law enforcement can explain.

 

(a) Vehicles for which two registration plates required.- On a vehicle for which two registration plates are required, one plate shall be attached on the front and the other on the rear of the vehicle.

(b) Vehicles for which one registration plate required.- On a vehicle for which one registration plate is required, the plate shall be attached on the:
(1) Front of the vehicle for a Class F (tractor) vehicle; and
(2) Rear of the vehicle for every other vehicle.

(c) How plates fastened; legibility.- At all times, each registration plate shall be:
(1) Maintained free from foreign materials, including registration plate covers as defined in § 13-411.1 of this subtitle, and in a condition to be clearly legible; and
(2) Securely fastened to the vehicle for which it is issued:
(i) In a horizontal position;
(ii) In a manner that prevents the plate from swinging; and
(iii) In a place and position to be clearly visible.

 

No, it certainly won't. That's almost like saying: "hey, I know this guy who robbed a 7-11 once and didn't get caught so I too should be permitted to rob convenience stores" LOL.

 

I got 2 warnings over the years. I'm not gonna push my luck for a 3rd so plate is on.

 

buy this
http://www.americanmuscle.com/flipdo...te-manual.html

pics shows Mustangs but will fit just about any car

 

^ That's a Show 'n Go under a different name. It is a nice thing to have, good construction and includes stick on foam pads that you can put wherever the back of the plate touches the bumper to protect the paint. You can also get a powered version with a remote but it's kinda spendy.

 

I got a ticket for the no front plate and tint and I told them I removed the tint and put the plate back on. They told me to bring the car since I live 1/4 of a mile away. Went home put the plate on and took the tint off and the cop looked at it and dropped the ticket. I have tint back on it and no plate and havent been pulled since. Then again that car doesn't get driven much. My mom got stopped by a cop about her plate on her 02 ss and told him theres nowhere to put the plate on. He looked and saw no holes and said something about putting a magnet on it, and after she told him that nothing is matal he let her go with no ticket or anything.

 

im in MA and ive been pulled over more times than i can count for no front plate and i never get a ticket, i'm just honest with the cop,

Cop: "why dont you have a front plate on?"

Me: "Cuz i dont have a mount, im not drilling holes in my bumper and it looks horrible. IF your going to give me a ticket, fine, thats your job and ill take it with a smile but im not going to put a plate on the car, whether you give me a ticket or not."

This conversation has always ended with us saying have a good day to each other.

 

MD is usually not to bad about it. I got on for my A6 the other day which was a bunch of BS. The cops sit on 50 and 97 from time to time just waiting to pull people over for tint, plates, whatever. I've been pulled over 3 times for no front plate in probably 10 years and only just recently received a ticket for it

 

Well, that was quick and painless. I went to court this morning...a bit late, thanks to taking the wrong road and wasting an additional 20mins. Anyway, I was 20mins late, and kept wondering if my name was called. 3minutes later, my name gets called. Talk about luck.

Judge: How do you plea?
Me: Guilty your honor (I literally changed my decision within a sec of the question)
Judge: You may approach. The officer is present... Was this on the front or rear?
Me: On the front of the vehicle, judge
Judge: Do you have a plate on there now?
Me: Yes I do (I swear I hesitated, and I think she could sense it. I don't lie amongst other reasons, because I'm so bad at it). Its a classic car, and does not have mounting brackets for the front plate
Judge: How did you put it on?
Me: I purchased a universal plate mount, and well, its on there now
Judge: Officer, do you have anything to add.
Officer: No
Judge: You're free to go
Me: Thank you ma'm

I was afraid she would ask a clerk to see the car, at which point I would have to come up with a lie about how I got to the court, and they would have caught me in that lie, cause I'm just terrible at it).

Now, two things helped me. One, is a clean driving record for the last 8yrs in MD. It didn't also hurt that she was incredibly sexy. Omg! Elegant, classy, sexy. It also didnt hurt that I had my work attire on (suit, no tie), and most of the others had regular clothes on, with the exception of the attorneys(here's a little advice: Always dress well. And I dont mean putting on a shirt and tie only on the days you got to court. Your body has to be used to it. People can usually tell if you dressed up for court, or if its just an ordinary day for you). All the while she's speaking, I'm thinking, I wish I could ask her out. lmao. milf status.
I think that the fact that she didnt impose a fine, means that she approved of my demeanor, as I did hers.

Now, time to order the automatic show-n-go. Great, more expenses. I may never get my Blinder M47 at this rate.

 

Glad they let you go. I live in MD and I have been pulled over for this a couple times. I just tell the office that I have a custom SS front grille and it cost me $250 extra from the factory. I explain (respectfully) that the ticket is less than the cost of the front and they let me go. I don' drive the car hat much so explaining that helps as well. I always say that they can write me the ticket but that won’t make me put one on. If you are respectful they usually let you go. My other friend had to mount one on because he got so many tickets his insurance said they will drop him if he didn’t mount it. If a cop gives you a ticket for that he is being an ***. Most cops only pull you over for the front plate to find something else. If you are clean they let you go with a warning.

 

You're obviously not in my county if you had a milf for a judge.

I've been lucky so far only warnings. I keep my tag under the plate cover and have taken it off on the spot. (tool is in the center console)