Throw away that front license plate
 

One of the most usless pieces of equiptment only for lazy parking officers who are too tired to walk to the back of the car to write down the plate. Also when was the last time a cop drove in front of you to check your registration. It's not like you need a spare, in most states if you loose one, they give you two back. Never before since the flat Model T winshield has something so unaerodynamic been required by law. Once in San Francisco, I was writen a ticket in my Fiat for no front plate, when it was mounted on the front of the car anyways, it's a $100 fine too!

Now I'm suprised we haven't gone the way of England, a sticker over the nose of the car. A front license plate is silly, blocks air flow, disturbs aerodynamics, and has been an overall gaudy addition, who's time is up. Maybe the new president will lift the laws on front plates, for a few MPG. Besides the saving of manufacture, spending 50% less producing one plate, rather than two and still charging the same registration.

Now as far as photo intersections, TOO BAD!!! Cities should find some other means of revenue. It creates an enemy out of the people and anexiety to people who either slam on thier brakes or floor it going through every intersection. Not to mention, it is unethical and not legal. Two things, Lack of Show of Force. If a cop was at that intersection, you would slow down. Second, Lack of Due Process, your never pulled over and sign a ticket, and some times you don't know you got photographed. If cities were truely trying to save lives, they would extend the dead time from 3 seconds between light changes to 5 seconds. This would make no profit and save lives.

In Baltimore a group sued the city for lights that are unsynchronized and have a cycle rate of 1 minute 45 seconds. They sued for a cycle of 45 seconds and 5 seconds of dead time and won. The cities responce, they don't have the man power to reset all those lights, nothing was ever reset.

So the argument for tearing off that front plate stands, let your car breathe.

hmm save $0.00001 by removing front plate or pay $100 instant fine... hmmmm


really, it cant be doing that much aero problem to your car...
Ya know the front plate is there for lots of reasons not just cops giving tickets...

Why the hell would a state give you 2 plates back if you ever lost one?

gaughty? yes ill agree BUT rather have a plate that i can remove to show a car instead of a permanent paint peeling sticker...

im all for photo reenforcement, anything to keep retards from running red lights is A OK in my book. Sure seems to be legal to me since they've been doin it since the 70's. Those things are so a cop DOESN'T have to be at every intersection so he can be out arresting drunk drivers or breaking up meth houses and not being bothered by dumbasses running redlights...

changing the time between lights would work a month topps. People then realize they can make it thru the intersection while its red to everyone so they still run it...

guess what? its impossible to sync all the lights in a city. You could sync them all (lets sat north south as an example) but the east west would be off.

On many vehicles you'd do better mounting the bottom plate holes to the top fixing points and tweaking it back a few degrees. This would make it into a partial grille block and windslammer for the grill.

Not all states require a front plate. WV doesn't, and at least back in the 80's NM didn't. I know there are others.

When amber lights (legal term) times are increased from the base of 1.5-3 seconds to six seconds, the number of accidents goes down over 99% at any given intersection, and fatalities go down 99.9% to totally. Links at bottom. Several cities have even been successfully sued for having light times less than the legal minimum. There is a legal minimum in most states - read your vehicle code.

Red light cameras can indeed increase accidents. (Last link at bottom) Red light cameras repeatedly get struck down, but almost always for only one reason. They do not get struck down if you claim they are illegal, but they DO get struck down if you claim they are unconstitutional. They violate the ability to question witnesses. The "witnesses" they provide will either be law enforcement who were not at the scene (designed to scare you into compliance) or experts from the camera company, who attest to the validity of the photographs but were not at the scene. The ONLY way that these "witnesses" get struck down is if you question why they are being called as a witness BEFORE they testify. If you question it after, then their testimony WILL stand, and you're likely out the amount of the ticket.

Police are not there to prevent crime, unfortunately. They are specifically called law enforcement, not lawbreaker prevention. Go ask any of them. They only can show up AFTER something has gone wrong, either a threat or an actual crime. That's why we have the First Amendment, among other things.

Bunch
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LINKS

I moved to NC because they don't use front plates..JK but we only get issued 1 plate in NC, i would imagine this would save the state some money as well.

We also had red light cameras in Greensboro but they stopped using them because the camera company was taking too much of the money. Im glad because they shortened the dead time and cause people to slam on the brakes when yellow, Im not sure they reduced accidents.

And i agree increased dead time would save lives.

In RI the front plate is there as a reflector (special paint) for night time in case a car is running around with its lights off going the wrong way on a street or is on the wrong side of the road. I agree though . . . the automakers forget to provide proper mounting in the front bumper.

Well, when you put it that way, I can see that I'm a fool for not discarding my front plate...

Seriously, though, it's probably not going to save any FE, and like someone else said it can be used as a partial grill block.

No front plate required for GA.

Front plate needed in MD. Got a warning once by a County cop.

As far as red light cameras, they worked pretty well in Phoenix. FWIW people would stack up in the left turn lanes, and then 5 or 6 cars would go through the red light after it changed from yellow. The stupidity was nicknamed the "Tempe train."

I have no problems with red light cameras *or* photoradar. And seeing as how people like to go over 50 mph in many developments, I'm all for very steep speed bumps.

haha we have a stretch of road that has speed humps but they call it "traffic calming" i find it funny to hit those suckers going mildly fast lol

I'm not, I lived in a neighbourhood that got them. They increased traffic noise and fumes considerably, with people accelerating away from them and banging over them. Also, instead of being generally aware going down the road, the driver tends to fixate on judging the distance to the next speed bump, meaning any kids running out, slow witted pedestrians etc, between speed bumps are less likely to be seen.

On my Del Sol I used the license plate as a grille block by folding the top and bottom edges just enough so the plate fit in the opening. I put it in the center then made two more pieces that filled in either side using a single self tapping screw at the outer ends with the inner end tucked behind the plate. Easy to install and remove.

regards
gary

I lived in a neighborhood that didn't and people would speed through the development at 60 mph and above. I was always worried a kid would get squished or a car would lose control and ride into my yard.

Short of the speed bumps, a cop with a radar gun or a photoradar system was the only answer.

here in Illinois (and most states) you can pay an extra bit (under $100 i think) for a sticker that goes on the back plate that says you don't need a front plate.

Pennsylvania is a one plate state.

Gotta love Illinois. I lived there for a little over a year and I have never seen a government system that tries to suck every last penny out of you any way they can. It doesn't surprise me that they would offer something (at an added charge) that costs them less to produce to get around their own unnecessary regulation. I also seem to remember that they structured the Driving Courses to be more expensive than the fine, so in lieu of getting point on your license you could pay MORE.

I spent equal time in Illinois and equal in Florida and I got 4 moving violations and 3 parking tickets (in my OWN spot, with the tag on my car) in Illinois and NOTHING in Florida, and it wasn't like I changed my driving habits or anything, my tickets in IL were stuff like 5mph over, and running a red (that *&%& was yellow!). And when I went to check on my driving record you have to PAY to get access to it!

It was also the most expensive state I have gotten a car registered in. I just got my CRX HF titled and registered/tags in Ohio, it was $38. In IL it would have been $143. Actually it would be more than that the $38 included tax, IL would be $143 + sales tax (at a higher rate I might add).

I want to know where all the money is going, because half the highways are toll roads, the gas taxes are higher, the fees are higher etc......and the roads are still in TERRIBLE condition.

/Rant.....Sorry I just really hate Illinois.

We do have front plates in NC; there are two choices: #1 Jesus is my co-pilot #2 gas,*** or grass. nobody rides for free.

Crap, I gotta move to Illinois. I wish I could pay an extra fee to the government once instead of getting points and paying the insurance company for years to come. Gotta pay to get access to your driving record here, too.

Well in other states I have lived in it was less to take the course vs the fine + Points. Like in Ohio I got a ticket for $140, or I could take the class for $60. Where as in IL it was more expensive to take the class.

In the Great State of California, a front plate is required. That being said, I drove my Nash Rambler for several years back in the '80s without one...always carried it in the trunk, in case I needed to wire it to the bumper. Became sort of a game with me. Never had any problem until the car quit running, and I had it parked in front of my apartment on the street for a few months. Finally, a Sheriff's Deputy (or maybe it was one of those volunteer traffic enforcement folks) gave me a ticket...not for having a non-running car on the street, but for no front license plate. So I junked the car (was going to anyway) and went to court telling them that the car was history...paid no fine.

This is why I love taking my mail halfway across the country, having an off the books job(yes it is a legal job, I just don't officially work), have no leases in the state, and have a military dependant id. They can't make me do SH*T. My car is registered and tagged in arkansas, my insurance and my liscense are in a very slow area in texas, and I live in new york. Ahhhh...screw the system...

NY- two plates
SC- one plate.

Having a front plate increases the radar / radar area so the hwy cops have more to aim at. :boo:

Washington state won't let you put covers over your plates either, and state troopers have tried to tell out-of-state vehicles THEY can't have them, due to using them to bounce the laser (they don't use radar any longer) off and being foiled.

The plate is actually one of the few flat metal surfaces they can aim at.

I never put a plate on the front even though its illegal. It's stupid...

Motorcycles don't have front plates. :D

Neither do Corvettes.

I agree with no front plate. Auto manufacturers clearly don't want it there!

You can buy a spray-on coating that is invisible and deflects laser.

Just sayin'....

Mine does, it has a removable cover that gives the front end a smooth look if you don't have to mount a front plate.

yup theier doing that here too. No covers and no frames (blocks the state lol)

I moved mine down and blocked the center part of the lower grill. It is slanted down and in and i just screwed it into the bumper. So my plated is visible but slanted down, wonder if this would foil the laser gun. I beat the top edge flat to meet the bumper. Would putting dimples like a golf ball onto the plate scatter the laser? Just a thought.

laser can get your speed in i think a 1/10 of a second...

There's a real danger with messing with dead time in lights. Many people learn that lights have a dead time. if one light has a 5 second dead time, and you get used to that, then you come to another light that has 1 second dead time, ooops... cause you ran it assuming you had a spare 4 seconds you didn't have. I think 2 second dead time is about the limit to which it is effective. Any greater than that and you WILL have people running the light.