What about those front license plates?

[vmax]

In 08 I have a Silverado and I put a bull bar on the front
I didn't think to order the special relocater bracket for the front plate and there wasn't a way of putting it back on that didn't look like hell
So for about 6 months I kept it in my tool box

I got pulled over a minimum of 6 times
Almost all of them where the cop did a U-turn to stop me
I got a written warning each time
Never had to pay a fine but hates the hassle so I bought the bracket

It's a reason to stop you and see what else they can get you on

 

[Shady]

If that is the reason you dont run a front plate you should look around a bit.

They make stow away/hidden/removable front plate brackets for just about anything and the ones they do not make it for there are generic ones that can be adapted. No drilling or at least none on visible parts. And if you can drive a 45K car I dont think +-100 bucks is going to kill you and I bet you could talk a dealer into putting one on before you buy the car.

Well, we hit on one of my faves!!! On our FOURTH day here, DW was pulled over on IH-35 for not having a front tag. The LEO actually spun around a u-turn to chase down our VOLVO! No speeding, nuthin'...just no front tag. I absolutely HATE drilling holes in $45k vehicles to mount a front bracket...came from Georgia where there are no front tags and folks get along just fine! In fact, my old roommate drove over in his car with only one rear tag and the toll folks had NO trouble sending him a bill for the tolls he accrued while driving in Texas.

What really bugs me is the lack of enforcement. I see at least a half-dozen vehicles a day with no front tag and I usually take note of the rear plate...yep, most are from Texas. I even see plenty with front brackets sporting a dealer tag, marque plate or some other non-compliant plate. It's not like they have an Alfa Romeo with no place to attach a bracket easily...dang.

My BIL(sorta) lived here for 23 years and had three vehicles most of that time(more sometimes) and NEVER mounted a front tag for the entire time they lived in Austin!!! NEVER even got stopped...not once!!! DW gets stopped on our FOURTH day here! And the Trooper was a bit indignant when DW explained why I hadn't installed it yet. Grrrrr.....

I was truly disappointed when we arrived in '08 and heard the legislature was considering eliminating the front tag requirement...then, of course, nothing got done.

Serious waste of money, IMO. Of course, what do you expect from a state that has hundreds(thousands?) of signs on the highway stating that there is a "State Law...Obey Traffic Signs". SOMEbody has a cousin in the sign-making business, I gar-ron-tee!!!

Don't get me started!!!

 

[Noggin]

Extremely odd, since both Fiat and Volvo are European manufacturers and every country on that continent requires a front plate.

Exactly and until I moved over to this country, On every vehicle I had on the other side of the pond (since 1980) you simply screwed the plate directly into the allotted recess on the front bumper, it was easy. They quit using brackets to hold plates in the 70s. Which is why I am puzzled about the Volvo and Fiat, especially since European plates are so much larger than US ones.

 

[Coiled]

"Uncle Sam" is the Federal government, this is about the State of Texas.

You didn't understand my inference?

 

[Coiled]

Eventually someone will come up with a way, if they already haven't, where a car won't need a plate at all and will just transmit LP information to passing LE vehicles for violations and maybe to the general public for identification. Then everyone here will be happy except half the drivers in San Antonio I see who believe they are immune to registering and insuring their vehicle.

no, No, NO! That's just wrong.

 

[orbitup]

My company car only has one plate. It's a "manufacturer" plate and they aren't issued in pairs.

 

[vmax]

My company car only has one plate. It's a "manufacturer" plate and they aren't issued in pairs.

you should run a Nikon sticker up front. I'll send you one

 

[orbitup]

you should run a Nikon sticker up front. I'll send you one

Sweet! I'll put it next to my Savage one.

 

[SA_Steve]

Lots of unreadable rear plates seem to be the norm these days. Most any old truck with a trailer hitch that has bumped the plate into the trailer a million times and beat it to death or bicycle / electric tricycle carriers on the back of the vehicle.

 

[Nate C]

Methinks the only ones complaining about this outrageous, revenue-grabbing, oppressive-government statute that has been on the books in Texas since quite-literally-the-birth-of-the-automotive-age are those who disregarded it (albeit perhaps unintentionally in some cases) and subsequently got pulled over and/or cited. The statute serves a legitimate public safety purpose, as pointed out in several prior posts.

It isn't that hard of a law to comply with. I have been driving in Texas for decades. Never got pulled over for having no front plate on any of my vehicles. Why? Because I made sure I had a front plate on my vehicles.

 

[txinvestigator]

Methinks the only ones complaining about this outrageous, revenue-grabbing, oppressive-government statute that has been on the books in Texas since quite-literally-the-birth-of-the-automotive-age are those who disregarded it (albeit perhaps unintentionally in some cases) and subsequently got pulled over and/or cited. The statute serves a legitimate public safety purpose, as pointed out in several prior posts.

It isn't that hard of a law to comply with. I have been driving in Texas for decades. Never got pulled over for having no front plate on any of my vehicles. Why? Because I made sure I had a front plate on my vehicles.

How is it "revenue grabbing", or "oppressive"?


lol

 

[Nate C]

How is it "revenue grabbing", or "oppressive"?


lol

You will have to ask those who previously asserted those issues as basis for the statute. I guess my sarcasm is not yet adequately apparent this morning.

 

[txinvestigator]

You will have to ask those who previously asserted those issues as basis for the statute. I guess my sarcasm is not yet adequately apparent this morning.

Oh...

 

[Younggun]

You will have to ask those who previously asserted those issues as basis for the statute. I guess my sarcasm is not yet adequately apparent this morning.

You forgot to use the [s ] sarcasm font.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[vmax]

This is from the link I posted to the A&M Transportaion scientific study


---------------

The conclusions drawn in this study were based on the literature review and field studies. The
research team collected license plate data in four states: Pennsylvania and Arizona were the
one plate states and Maryland and Texas were the two plate states. These states were selected
based on geography, proximity to other states or the international border, use of ALPR
technology, and presence of tolling. The study results are summarized below:
 Front plates were easier to read in the daytime environment due to the effects of sun
glare [1].
 Lack of front plates has significant impact on the generation of photographic evidence
related to fining toll violators. With respect to Virginia’s toll violations, 23% could not be
pursued due to the lack of license plate data (rear plates were unreadable) [2; 3].
 Without front license plates, the E‐470 corridor in Colorado would lose at least $23.1M
in toll revenue or 34.5% of their tolls on an annual basis [4].
The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports that the number of
plates not read (excluded) on vehicle without two plates made a significant impact in
their border processing. At the northern border 6% of the plates could not be read and
3.4% across the southern border [5]. The major difference between the international
borders is the presence of dual plate states between the US and Mexico. With the
volume of vehicles processed everyday along with the homeland security concerns, the
front plate allows CBP to operate more effectively.
 Pennsylvania is a one plate state with a 360 mile turnpike that crosses the state east to
west. Law enforcement would like to see two plates to improve their ability to read
plates, especially large commercial trucks, using ALPR technology. Sixteen percent of the
plates through the tolling facilities are not able to be read which impacts the state’s
ability to pursue toll violators.
 Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport reports that 10,000 parking transactions per year, an
average of $30/transaction, rely on ALPR plate reads to determine accurate charging.**
Fifteen percent of those transactions had to be processed manually since the rear plates
could not be read due primarily to sun glare.
 Field studies showed a 97% read rate for parked vehicles in two plate states and 76% in
one plate states. For moving vehicles, the read rate in Maryland and Texas was 89%,
Pennsylvania and Arizona it was 22% and 58% on the roadways connecting Maryland
and Pennsylvania. These read rates are based on the opportunity to read a front plate; a
vehicle had a license plate mounted on the front bumper.
 For those states with more than 100 miles of toll roads, one plate states account for
55% of the total toll way miles [6]. As fiscal pressures mount, efficiency in the collection
of tolls and the pursuit of violators becomes critical. Front plates increase the likelihood
of collecting that revenue.

these were the main conclusions only
for the full report download the PDF and read it

IT IS ABOUT enforcement and revenue!

 

[35Remington]

We've had the same sports car for 17 years. Never had a front plate. Never been pulled over.

If your car is that nice and you hate the law that much, just amortize any potential tickets into the cost of owning the car.

 

[coachrick]

We've had the same sports car for 17 years. Never had a front plate. Never been pulled over.

If your car is that nice and you hate the law that much, just amortize any potential tickets into the cost of owning the car.

Nah...we'll comply with the stupid law if for no other reason than to save the hassle of getting pulled over and inconvenienced. I wouldn't mind if I saw a touch more consistency in enforcement, however. IF it's THAT important, the statute should be enforced. How backward must those other states feel when they hear how it's impossible to survive without front tags.

Interestingly, I got along fine driving for nearly 40 years in three states that didn't require front tags...SC, NC and GA.

 

[coachrick]

Fun facts: None of the states in the southeastern "quarter" of the conti US require front tags and none of the four states bordering Texas require them...interesting.

 

[TheDan]

Motorcycles?

Bikers have grassroots lobbying orgs. No such thing for automotive collectors and enthusiasts; despite being a larger group.

Lastly, give me one good reason besides aesthetics why a front tag shouldn't be required.

Liberty.

Ever since they started putting plastic bumpers on cars in the late 70s, the manufacturers have generally designed them with a flat spot specifically to take a plate so I don't see what the problem is.

One of my cars doesn't have a single flat spot on the entire thing, except for the part where the rear plate goes. Even that looks like an afterthought.

It's a reason to stop you and see what else they can get you on

yep...