rwjiudice

OK, I've been thinking of removing my front license plate and bracket from my 2014 E350. Then after looking at all the pictures in this forum of E350's, I see very few with a front plate! Do you get any unwanted attention from the local Gendarmes or State patrol? I like the look and am going out to the garage to remove the plate right now !!!! (NOTE: I'm leaving the front plate on my red SLK -
" S KAR GO " !!!!

Longroof

You could compromise and go with the "no drill" front license plate look. It only cost me $5 ( ) and two zip ties. Btw, you have to fold over the bottom of your plate to fit it in the grille.

What are you going to do about the residual holes in your front bumper?

FWIW, I got stopped by the police with valid temporary tags "just because".

KEY08

You must display a front plate in Chicago or you will receive a $60 ticket every single time you park on the street, at the airport, etc. It's not worth it and everyone has a mounted plate.

VegasE

In Nevada you are not required to have a front plate if there is no location on the front to do so (adding a ugly front plate wart to the grill or bumper is not required). This is common on many sports cars. However, you must still carry the plate in the trunk to prove you have both if you ever get stopped for some other reason. I have read that in CA you can get a ticket for not having a front plate even though it is legal in your state (like PA and FL to name 2) but I think it is rarely enforced on out of state cars.

dbldpr

I take my front plate off when I go out of state. Going to Myrtle Beach SC once you leave Illinois none of the other states have a front plate. About 20 years ago we Got pulled over by a Bishopville SC trooper. he was going south and we were going north. He crossed medium and got behind us. We knew where he was about 10 minutes before because of the CB radio in car. we were not speeding. He saw the front plate and new we were from out of state. Since then we drive out of state with no front plate and they think we are one of the good old boys and we do not get bothered. Wife was driving then and that was her first and last ticket.

Davery

Ohio is one of the few states (19 I think) that require both front and back plates. A couple of years ago I noticed at a local cars and coffee 80-90% of the cars had no front plates. I asked several of the owners and they said in general the police don't bother them about it. After that I started noticing more cars on the street have no front plates, perhaps 30-35% of the cars. This past winter the state legislature passed an amendment making a missing front plate as a secondary offense, same as no seat belts. This means the police can not pull over a car for the sole reason of missing a front plate, though the owner could be cited if they were pulled over for another reason. I have no front plate on my Pininfarina Spider and E550 cabriolet and have never had an issue.

dbldpr

You can get a bracket that goes into the front tow pop out plug. No drilling in bumper?

KEY08

That's nice. The police never bother you here either, but the meter enforcement is all over cars with no front plate. It can't be sitting on your dash either. It's a huge money grab.

dbldpr

You must go into the city. I did not know about the meter maids. I do not think I have driven into the city which is about 18 miles away in 20 years. The suburbs have everything you need so there is no reason to go into the penny pinching city of Chicago. I never buy anything in Cook county also because of the taxes. They are just money hungry

KEY08

I work here every day, so I have no choice. But, if you decide to fly somewhere and park at O'Hare or Midway with out your front plate you will be ticketed as well. Total money grab. I thought you lived in Cook County as well. The RE taxes are ridiculous. My RE taxes in Mount Prospect were $20,000, so I moved to Kane County.

dbldpr

I pay $13,000 on one house and $7,000 on another house both in lake county. Totally ridiculous

fosterelli

We've been rolling all of our vehicles with no front plates forever. In Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Texas. Never been bothered once.

Our 16 year old was pulled over, cop never said a word about the tint or the front plate. Just a warning for not coming to a complete stop at a four way sign.

However, I believe if you drive like a punk, or drive a car that looks like a P.O.S., they will use the plate as an excuse to stop you.

Friends that are LEOs tell me that most luxury and exotics don't have front plates but they know the owners are typically law abiding citizens so it's a waste to make a traffic stop for a "fix-it" or low revenue ticket. But for crappy cars or otherwise suspicious vehicles, that front plate traffic stop can turn into all kinds of fines, arrests, etc.

If you watch COPS or LivePD you'll notice the traffic stops usually begin with a malfunctioning brake/tail/head lamp, cracked windshield, illegal tint, or no front plate...and turn into pursuits, warrants, drug possession charges, etc. LEOs know how to spot a winner's car vs. a loser's car just by condition, make/model, driving habits, and running the license plate before the stop is initiated.

El Cid

You mentioned this same story sometime back. You were probably grossly violating the posted limit. S.C. law enforcement seldom stops anyone from any state unless they are doing at least 15 MPH over the limit. At least in the past 20 years. The speed limit on interstates and similar roads is purely advisory.

S.C. does not have a front license plate. However, I'm sure if some law enforcement type wanted to make an issue of it, they could ticket you for failure to display the plate required by your state. Without the required by your state plate, your car would be illegal.

Regardless, please come on down and spend lots and lots of money.

dbldpr

Bishopsville South Carolina. Crooked state police. We new well ahead of time where the state trooper was. There was no speeding. You probably do not believe me but it is the truth. You can confirm with the Triple A motor club. They received so many complaints of a people getting speeding tickets when they were not speeding that they routed there members around Bishopsville. The following year they started putting up a fence in the medium so the state troopers in Bishopsvillee could not cross over to nab drivers with a front plate. I do not worry now since I do not put a front plate on while in any state east of Illinois. You statement of they will not issue a ticket unless you are 15 over is full of S--t She received a ticket for 10 over and when I asked to see the locked in speed on his radar he took out his gun and told me to get back in the car. Total southern low life scum the Bishopsville state troopers. Only after the money. Sorry if you live there but you are one of the good old boys and you will not be bothered by this scum state trooper.

paintwerks_au

That's why you need a run front and rear facing GPS-enabled 1080p 60fps dash cams (Blackvue are the best). That way, you'll actually have proof that you weren't speeding.

dbldpr

New car has that now but back in 1990 we did not have it. Just CB radio and X<K>KA radar system built in. At that time it was the best.

fosterelli

Pretty sure the "fence" in the median is to prevent crossover accidents, which are very deadly. Most high speed routes either have them or are receiving them. They wouldn't erect a fence to deter law enforcement activities.

Tough to believe an officer drew his sidearm without a threat or danger present. But that was 20 years ago, so the chances of us hearing both sides is zero. However, not sure why you're calling out southerners and good old boys...without us you wouldn't have a lot of the freedoms you enjoy today.

If the story is true, which I'm not debating, it still doesn't warrant you calling Bishopsville law enforcement low life scum. Keep your anger at the individual officer involved, not every cop in the area and not at the southern USA.

El Cid

As Fosterelli noted, the "fence" in the median is to prevent crossover accidents. This was a major problem in S.C. along the interstates, so millions of S.C. tax dollars that could have been spent on local roads were spent to make interstates safer for people like you.
You admit that it was 27 years ago that this alleged incident occurred. Very old story repeated as if recent.
While AAA may have noted it as a speed trap based on complaints, this is like polling all people with AMG cars to see if they think a national 65 MPH is valid. Survey is invalid on the face of it.
A speed trap is a location where local law enforcement uses deceptive means to issue tickets. Issuing a ticket for someone exceeding the speed limit is not a speed trap.
Also said that your wife was allegedly driving "10 over" the limit. Your 09/23 posts says you were not speeding, whereas the above implies you were.
Regardless, your wife was violating the law by at least "10 over" regardless of what kind of plate you had on the car or where you were from. Unless you are saying the officer committed fraud and malfeasance of office by issuing a false ticket. If that was the case, you should have asked for an immediate hearing by a magistrate or contacted his supervisor. And don't say you didn't because it would have interrupted your trip.
I would surmise that she was speeding and that you were mostly pissed because your expensive CB radio and radar detector did not prevent her receiving a ticket. Incidentally the sole purpose of a radar detector is to enable speeding by a substantial margin. If not, why bother to have one?
The fact that you were out of the car raises my concern. I have been stopped many times for speeding (deserved it every time) and I never got out of the car until the officer told me to come to his car.
Furthermore, there is no such thing as a "Bishopville state trooper." They work for the S.C. Highway Patrol and are assigned to various locations throughout the state as needed.

My reference to 15 MPH over being permitted is current standard for interstates and most roads where speed limit is 60 or greater. Most other places it is 10 over.

Incidentally, I am far from being one of the "good old boys" (whatever that is) and if I violate the law, I will be "bothered" by law enforcement.

Bottom line, don't come back to or through S.C. Go to the Gulf Coast or Virginia or the Great Lakes. Otherwise give it a rest, it was a quarter century ago.

fosterelli

I don't think this forum needs members (dbldpr) who stereotype certain segments (in this case people in the southern USA). It also doesn't need name calling.

Very closed-minded of you to bash on all southerners because of some preconceived notion and bias you have. To call us inbred is flat out ignorant on your part.

You do realize that the Mason-Dixon Line dictates the South. That means Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Washington DC, Orlando, Austin, San Antonio, Virgina Beach, Charlotte, Baltimore, Nashville, etc. are all southerners. And proud of it. I think someone needs some education. The vast array of companies based in the south would blow your mind. From financial, industrial, aerospace, high tech, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, etc. Are NASA astronauts inbred? How about Coca-Cola executives? Samsung? Toyota? Dell? Where does your bias stop?

You're stereotyping millions of people from every walk of life, who are in every industry in America, and have a diverse makeup of all races existing in the USA. Wow.

And learn to spell, and take a writing composition course (or two).

kajtek1

CA does require both plates, although reinforcement is weak and it will get fix-it ticket.
Last time I was to CA traffic court (several years ago) I was kind of shocked listening other cases.
About 50% of the cases were when cop found marijuana in the car stop for very stupid reason, like not turning blinker, or lack of licence plate.

Longroof

Know your rights in the USA.

When Can the Police Search Your Car at the Roadside? Lehto's Law:

kajtek1

You need reality check.
Logically thinking driver would not carry pot in the car to start with and even if he did, he would make sure he is not making stupid situation.
Once you get pulled over, you roll the window down and cop smells something. That is "probable cause"

thenew3

Where I am in CA, the LEO loves to stop for missing front plate or tinted windows. Since I have windows Tinted, I didn't want to give them an added excuse to stop me so I have front plates installed. What I do is to have the bracket painted to match the front bumper so it blends in. Since my car is white and the plate is white with red letters, I have the bracket painted white so the whole thing appears to be integrated and so doesn't stand out as much.

So far nearly 5 years and haven't been stopped for Tint since front plate was installed.