Do you run a front plate?

suspenceful

I haven't ran a front plate on any of my cars since I got my license.

I was pulled for it in my Miata once. It was on a Friday night downtown and the officer said it was a good reason to pull me over to check for drunk driving. He could tell I was sober, gave me a verbal warning and I drove off.

I've also been pulled over for it in my 1 series - by state troopers each time. First time I just received a written warning. He also measured my tint and gave me a warning for that as well. The second time (different trooper), I was given a $200 ticket for it and got another written warning for window tint and loud exhaust. I paid the ticket and said fuck the police. Was pulled over a third time by the same previous trooper. He saw I still didn't have a front plate and this time wrote me a $300 ticket for front window tint. Gave a written warning for no front plate, rear window tint, and exhaust. I paid the tint ticket and said fuck the police again.

I have since bought a front tow-hook mount for a plate. I never use it but if I get another ticket, I'll mount it and go to court. I recently drove all the way to Texas and back without an issue.

My car is not loud. The tint is not that dark.

Jdesign

I have been pulled over 3 times for it. 2 warnings and a fix it ticket. I only have a front plate on my daily. everything else I do not now.

The one time that I got a ticket, I had to take a 10 min drive to the cop shop and zip tied the plate on and a they dismissed it. I cut the zip ties and drove away LOL.

REKIII

The reason the state would get rid of the plate is to save funds. It would cut the cost of plates (for them) in half.

The police are very against getting rid of it The reason they tell us is to more easily identify stolen cars. If a car doesn't have a front plate, they assume it's stolen, because thieves only bother to steal a rear plate then ditch the front plate.....OK. The REAL reason they want to keep front plates is because it is a perfect spot to bounce the radar/laser off your car. 9 times out of 10, if you get pulled over for no front plate it's because they couldn't get a decent radar of your speed and they are butthurt about it.

patsbimmer1

I haven't been pulled over for no front plate since I started driving BMW's and I never put one on my wife's Volvo. With my 240sx I was pulled over frequently but it was typically something that was tacked on to the exhaust ticket.

REKIII said:

The reason the state would get rid of the plate is to save funds. It would cut the cost of plates (for them) in half.

The police are very against getting rid of it The reason they tell us is to more easily identify stolen cars. If a car doesn't have a front plate, they assume it's stolen, because thieves only bother to steal a rear plate then ditch the front plate.....OK. The REAL reason they want to keep front plates is because it is a perfect spot to bounce the radar/laser off your car. 9 times out of 10, if you get pulled over for no front plate it's because they couldn't get a decent radar of your speed and they are butthurt about it.

Please don't tell me you actually believe that's how those systems work.

WickedM4

Thanks for all the replies, I feel a little safer that I'm not going to get dicked with for no plate .. fingers are crossed.

REKIII

patsbimmer1 said:

I haven't been pulled over for no front plate since I started driving BMW's and I never put one on my wife's Volvo. With my 240sx I was pulled over frequently but it was typically something that was tacked on to the exhaust ticket.

Please don't tell me you actually believe that's how those systems work.

Do enlighten me, please share how laser and radar systems work. You better fvcking say that it works with some technology other than sending a signal out to a moving object and getting the signal back then measuring the time difference between cycles.

suspenceful

REKIII said:

Do enlighten me, please share how laser and radar systems work. You better fvcking say that it works with some technology other than sending a signal out to a moving object and getting the signal back then measuring the time difference between cycles.

I'm also curious because I was told the same thing about using the front plate to reflect radar.

patsbimmer1

REKIII said:

Do enlighten me, please share how laser and radar systems work. You better fvcking say that it works with some technology other than sending a signal out to a moving object and getting the signal back then measuring the time difference between cycles.

It's exactly that but the doppler system used has zero reliance on the material its tracking to be effective. Whether you have a metal plate on the front of your car has zero to do with the fact that you are driving a large object. Now, where radar does fail is if you are driving in a close group of cars. Radar cannot "lock on" very accurately, which again makes the idea that a small metal plate has any effect on it's efficiency ridiculous.

LIDAR operates in a similar manner but has the ability to narrow its sight and target specific vehicles. Again, not limited by the material its tracking.

straight6pwr

well, I have to agree that a front plate certainly isn't the key factor for a cop getting your speed with his gun. I've never had a front plate, but the 'radar speed signs' always know exactly how fast I drive past them. pretty conclusive evidence to me.

Andrew

I haven't been running a front plate on the 30, but I think this thread might be convincing me to run a front plate since at least half the people who've responded have been pulled over for it. I don't need to be rolling probable cause.

I just want to say that Doppler does not imply RADAR or LIDAR or any particular part of the electromagnetic system. It's just an effect. It is an effect that can be observed with multiple types of waves light, sound ect. Also, a nice flat metal plate on the front of your car is probably pretty good at reflecting back a RADAR signal, probably LIDAR too.

patsbimmer1

Nobody will convince me that a license plate has any effect on radar or lidar, especially radar, where the wave is as scattered as it is. Radar guns have no issue picking up non-metallic items such as baseballs.

B C

Thats exactly why I stopped running a baseball on the front of my car. Its not worth the risk.

REKIII

patsbimmer1 said:

Nobody will convince me that a license plate has any effect on radar or lidar, especially radar, where the wave is as scattered as it is. Radar guns have no issue picking up non-metallic items such as baseballs.

Wow.....the radar works best on a vertical surface, the more flat and vertical is, the faster and more precise the radar is.

WI cops look for the front plate and aim for that.

You are arguing a tiny technicality to disprove something that has been said by actual officers and Radar manufacturers. Just because the radar will work without a front plate, doesn't mean that the police doesn't look for and use the front plate as a default.

You're fantasy land is pretty bad ass.

Daggerty

Just tape a $20 bill on the front bumper.

Earl

I drove 6 hours down and 6 hours home from Clarksville, Indiana and wasn't hassled once for not having a front plate. The risk of a ticket is incredibly slim and if you do get a ticket, it is because of some other reason in the first place.

GunMetalGrey

What is this thing that you guys keep calling a "Front Plate"?

damnboy037

I threw my front plate in a bonfire

reckedhim

I got pulled over on I-39 near Janesville on a Friday morning as I was going to pick my dad up for his chemo appointment. I wasn't speeding so the only reason they pulled me over was the front plate. I think one cop may have been training the other because two came to my car, which seemed unnecessary. I was just told to put my front plate on and they let me go. That was the only time I've ever been stopped for it.

When I lived in Chicago, I got a ticket for no front plate while the car was parked on the street. They don't seem to be that aggressive here in Madison/Wisconsin.

WIBIMMERS

Do you run a front plate?