Only in California

[Motor]

Just How Serious is the State of California About Front License Plate Enforcement? (http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2010/05/just-how-serious-is-the-state-of-california-about-front-license-plate-enforcement.html)
Recently, one of your favorite Inside Line editors was ticketed somewhere in California for driving a car without a front license plate. Due to a combination of circumstances, said editor did not promptly pay the $25 fine. So the court sent a second notice. Note the 3200% increase in the fine. If you do the math, that's a penalty of $38.38 per day.
http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/no_front_plate_citation.jpg

Stringent laws and penalties as you might expect.

I drove for about a year and half without a front plate, and decided it would be in my best interest throw it back on. Enforcement varies from county to county in CA and so I didn't want to take any chances. Besides, it's a hassle.

How is it in your State or Country? Does the Law give a damn if you do or do not have your front license plate on? How much is it going to cost you to "fix-it"?

[7th Gen]

Wow, simply wow

[cuco]

socal is nazi on modified cars. i got a ticket for window tint. it was 10 dollars. fix it and sent in the signed off ticket. these pigs lost my proof and charge me 560 dollars for a damm window tint ticket that i fixed. like a year ago i got a ticket on my motorcycle because i got a fender eliminator kit. that was 400 dollars. and to top it all off i got a ticket again on my motorcycle saying that my turn signals where to close to each other. thats got to be the dumbest ticket ever. dam california laws.

[jin602_05]

They are just money hungry!

[marc]

its the law in NYS

I drove my Boxster without a front plate for a year, and even got a speeding ticket (dropped to a 0 point parking ticket . . . being a lawyer is fun) in it, and never got hassled for no front plate.

[GSBoek]

Here it's required. I drove without one for two years (didn't feel like putting holes in the bumper) until a cop pulled me over and made me install the plate there and then. No ticket though because I was polite.

[Automaton]

This is why California has a state ballot initiative system. So us criminals can get the laws changed in our favor.

[Pansolo]

You can usually get away with a warning in NorCal. Best to put it on when you can.

[Automaton]

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/crime/2009-02-25/story/fhp_officer_was_chasing_tinted_window_car_before_f atal_crash


Posted: February 25, 2009 - 3:45am

A Jacksonville traffic cop was speeding after a vehicle with excessive window tint when the officer plowed into a pickup truck, killing an 86-year-old man last month, the Florida Highway Patrol said Tuesday night.

Lol? He didn't even catch that dangerous criminal window-tint-terrorist.

[Pansolo]

Oh, yeah, I got stopped in SoCal once for not having a plate. Didnt help that i had a shaved head and was wearing oversized white tshirts atthe time or that my gf started mouthing of the cops or that i shared my name with a wanted criminal. Id rather have a front plate than going thru the up against the wall and cuffs tratment again.

[GSBoek]

^Joe Luis, that you? :ugh:

[lOST JOKKUR]

been driving without a front license plate for awhile now, so far so good. *knock of wood*
i got a fix it ticket for tints awhile back came out to be 50 when it was all said then with the fees and etc

but damn, that ticket is outrageous

[12ir0]

Yea i think it just depends on the city / county you are in. When i had my 96 Celica i drove around without a front license plate for 3 years and never had a problem. on my current celica, if it wasn't for that nasty whole in the trd front bumper id probably take off the front license plate

[Eden Prime]

I've been pulled over for both tint and no front license plate. Haven't ever gotten a ticket before. Actually, i haven't gotten a single ticket in my life. Either way, as long as i'm nice to them and am extra-polite, they let me go. I don't believe that everything that's illegal is wrong, so it's stands as advocating for my own "ethics" to make my vehicle remain the way it is.

[atrac7GTS]

God for once I love Michigan and its "for the driver/not against" like stances. None of that bull**** front plate stuff/tolls, etc here.

[Sty09]

California is broke so expect to see more outrageous fees. They are simply trying to increase revenue.

[HardtopGTS]

Hey man, watch the "only in CA" chit. ;)

[00blackGTS]

yeah in northern cali I had my front plate off for 2 years, then one night i was driving and passed a cop in the opposite direction who then pulled a u turn and chased me down. He tried to tell me that my tail lights were too dim and that i didn't have my front license plate on. After I explained that my tails were stock he gave me the ticket for my front plates..

How do you even see that driving the opposite direction at night? the headlights make it almost impossible to see that part of the car.

[Motor]

Hey man, watch the "only in CA" chit.

:laugh: I'll see what I can do.

[GSBoek]

...Good luck :)
Thank you kind.

[Motor]

Thank you kind.

Thanks for banning the spammer.

Update!

Here's something more global:

Hard Times, Bigger Fines: Governments Raising Fines to Balance Their Budgets (http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q2/hard_times_bigger_fines_governments_raising_fines_ to_balance_their_budgets-feature)
Drivers are the ones getting pinched as tax rivers dry up.

1. PORTLAND, OREGON
Infraction: Expired parking
Previous fine: $24
New fine: $34. That’s a 42-percent increase, and don’t even think of parking in a handicap zone; if you don’t have a permit, the $190 fine is now $450—a 137-percent hike.
Date of increase: 2010
Rationale: “We do not put fines in place to make money,” says Susan Keil, the city’s transportation bureau director. “We put fines in place to change behavior.”

2. STATE OF COLORADO
Infraction: Speeding
Previous fine: $50
New fine: $135 for driving 10 to 19 mph over “reasonable and prudent speed”—a 170-percent increase.
Date of increase: 2008
Rationale: “Our fines in Colorado are three times lower than in Massachusetts and Vermont. We haven’t actually raised traffic fines in about three decades in Colorado,” says the bill’s sponsor, State House Transportation Committee chair Buffie McFayden of Pueblo.

3. ONTARIO, CANADA
Infraction: Failure to stop at a red light
Previous fine: $500
New fine: $1000
Date of increase: 2010
Rationale: “Higher fines for convictions will be another effective tool to help make Ontario roads safer,” says Julian Fantino, Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner, “especially if it gets the attention of irresponsible and reckless drivers.”

4. STATE OF CALIFORNIA
(example cited here is Palm Springs)
Infraction: Failure to stop at a red light
Previous fine: $387
New fine: $456
Date of increase: 2009
Rationale: This increase alone raised some $220 million last year, earmarked for renovation and construction costs at 40 state courthouses. The fine apparently varies by area; it’s a flat $100 for the offense, then the city and county jurisdictions where it occurred, along with the state, split about $350 of tacked-on fines.

5. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Infraction: Parking, specifically “non-emergency repair to a vehicle,” part of a package of “enhanced” parking fines
Previous fine: $20
New fine: $40
Date of increase: 2008
Rationale: Boston Transportation Commissioner Thomas J. Tinlin says: “Let me emphasize that if you don’t park illegally in Boston, you will not be affected by this action.”

6. STATE OF GEORGIA
Infraction: “Superspeeding”
Previous fine: Standard fines
New fine: A state fine of $200 for driving 85 mph or faster on highways and 75 mph or faster on two-lane roads, issued in addition to the local speeding ticket (typically more than $100).
Date of increase: 2010
Rationale: “It’s a lifesaving law,” says Bob Dallas, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “At some point, we just have to put an end to the superspeeders and using our roadways as a racetrack.” Not seeing it quite that way is Sheriff J. Tyson Stephens of Emanuel County, who says the $200 state fine is little more than a tax that will impose an out-of-kilter burden on the working poor.

7. DALLAS, TEXAS
Infraction: Expired parking
Previous fine: $20
New fine: $35—a 75-percent increase
Date of increase: 2009
Rationale: “With Dallas facing its worst budget crisis in a generation, the City Council unanimously voted to increase parking-meter fees and illegal parking fines in hopes of generating revenue.” —Dallas Morning News

8. STATE OF FLORIDA
Infraction: Speeding, 10 to 14 mph over the limit
Previous fine: $156
New fine: $191
Date of increase: 2009
Rationale: The revenue from the increases in fines goes to a state-courts revenue trust fund. “The hope is that this is the first step in trying to secure a more stable funding source for the court,” says Lisa Goodner, state courts administrator. But local police are less enthusiastic. Capt. Dennis Strow of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office says: “Let’s be honest. There’s not that many of us who on any given day don’t violate a traffic law. You’ve got to make the punishment fit the crime.”

And, one we can actually agree with:
9. GERMANY
Infraction: Staying in the left lane of the autobahn when the right lane is free
Previous fine: 40 euros (about $54)
New fine: 80 euros (about $108)
Date of increase: 2009
Rationale: Improve road safety. “Up to now, the fines in Germany were rather low compared with other European countries,” says Lt. Col. Lon Walker, the OPM’s (U.S. Army Europe Office of the Provost Marshal) chief of law-enforcement operations.

http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~snoogins/AngryVader/AngryVader.gif

[SilverCelly37]

I didn't have my front plate on my celica when I got pulled over for a speeding ticket and the cop wrote me a fix it ticket for it but it was only $10 at the time(3 years ago). After that I kept it on so cops wouldn't be able to use that excuse to pull me over for no reason.

[keebler197]

It's highway robbery, literally. Neighboring Arizona, where we used to live, manages to issue copious amounts of photo-generated stop-light and speeding tickets without front license plates of any kind. I wonder how much money Cali could save in plate production costs, enforcement man-hours, and fix-it ticket visual verification time (on the part of the inspecting officer and the not-a-criminal citizen who must take time away from productive work) if they gave up the pointless front plate requirement. And that nasty reflective paint has to be some sort of environmental liability. We could cut all of that in half and free up police man-hours for other things.

Oh wait, that all makes sense. Sorry.

Dan, f1mom's husband



that actually makes sense

[yakboyslim]

In OH a front plate is required. I keep mine in the hatch with the screws and plan to tell a cop "I took it off to wash the car, my bad."

I have been pulled over a few times, always with no front plate and only asked about it once. My excuse worked.

[stealthjet]

Luckily in Arizona you don't need a front plate.

[Akita]

i can't see one valid reason for having a front plate, california just likes spending money (and other states)

[marc]

i can't see one valid reason for having a front plate, california just likes spending money (and other states)

the ability for a police officer to identify the car from either direction.

I want the germany law on all public roads

MOVE THE **** OVER GRANNY!

[Automaton]

the ability for a police officer to identify the car as needing a ticket for no front plate.
Fixed.

[Soon2beriding]

holy crap 1000$ fine for going thru a red light... thats crazy....gonna to watch when i ride in ontario

[Motor]

Update!

California license plates may go electronic, feature advertising (http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=83682)
A bill by a southern California lawmaker may be the first step toward a new wave of advertising: electronic license plates on cars.

Senator Curren Price, D- Los Angeles, introduced Senate Bill 1453, which has already passed the Senate. If passed by the Assembly, the new law would commission a study of electronic license plates as a viable means for advertising and other communication.

"We're giving the Department of Motor Vehicles the leeway to investigate the technology, conduct some tests, and come back with a recommendation to the legislature," said Price.

Under the bill, the California DMV would examine the emergence of digital electronic license plate technology, possibly working with Smart Plate, a start-up company with three employees based in San Francisco.

The electronic plate on the back side of a car might show messages or advertisements, but only after sitting motionless for several seconds.

Companies would pay to advertise on license plates, potentially generating another source of state revenue.

"The license number is always visible in the corner," said Price. "Even when it's advertising about an event coming up, or a non-profit organization, or a public service activity, the numbers are still visible (on the license plate)."

"Whoever the company is that's engaged in the research would pay for it," said Price.

The bill goes up for review by the State Assembly Transportation Committee Monday.
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/advertising-california-license-plates.jpg

:faint: I don't want my car to become a roaming mini-billboard.

If it passes, leave it on county, state and federal vehicles. Oh yeah, CA's annual budget did not pass on time -- AGAIN.

[Joey03_VVT-I]

^ OHHHhhh HELL NOoooo....f*ck that! *Dislike* :marky:

[marc]

I would just paint over the advertisement.

[x310gtsx]

would the owner of a car with these plates that have ads on them get any money out of it? or is it just going to the state? ....free money sounds good to me. :shrugs:

[The0wn4g3]

Front plates aren't required in Alabama. Besides being generally stupid, a front plate ruins the look of any car.

[Sty09]

would the owner of a car with these plates that have ads on them get any money out of it? or is it just going to the state? ....free money sounds good to me. :shrugs:

Good question. I'd gladly whore my car out to the advertising industry if i was adequately compensated for it.

[mrluilou]

would the owner of a car with these plates that have ads on them get any money out of it? or is it just going to the state? ....free money sounds good to me. :shrugs:

I don't mind toyota advertising LF-A on my plate :gap:

[Boosted2.0]

Update!

California license plates may go electronic, feature advertising (http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=83682)

:faint: I don't want my car to become a roaming mini-billboard.

If it passes, leave it on county, state and federal vehicles. Oh yeah, CA's annual budget did not pass on time -- AGAIN.

Won't happen. Theres no way any sane person is going to let the state drain their battery down just so they can get some extra advertising bucks.

[GSBoek]

People would hack into the system.

[keebler197]

I bet you that would be on city busses and other city and state vehicles.

I couldn't see that on POVs

[Motor]

Update!

California Leads Nation in Tweets About Speeding Tickets (http://www.freeinsurancequotes.org/news/2010/07/13/california-leads-nation-in-tweets-about-speeding-tickets/)
[QUOTE]Many consumers who visit our site for free insurance quotes have struggled with past speeding tickets on their records. We decided to conduct an analysis of everyone using Twitter to mention that they

[GSBoek]

I wonder how many tweet while driving. :chuckles:

[Motor]

Update!

O.C. hip-hop band blocks L.A. freeway (http://www.ocregister.com/news/liu-270782-freeway-band.html)
A self-described hardcore hip-hop group from Orange County caused havoc on the southbound 101 freeway near Sunset Boulevard Tuesday morning when they began performing atop its truck.

California Highway Patrol officer Terry Liu said the agency began getting calls about the incident at 10:20 a.m. Three people were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly, Liu said.

According to Liu, witnesses reported the group was performing on top of a truck while blocking three lanes of the freeway.

Liu said it appears that the driver of the truck got into another vehicle and took off with the keys. Officers had to request a tow truck to remove the band's truck.

Traffic backup almost reached the I-405, Liu said.

"This type of behavior is not acceptable," Liu said. "Our officers were tied up on scene trying to handle this while they could have been handling other business or other emergency incidents occurring nearby but instead they were stuck having to deal with this."

The group, called Imperial Stars, is based in Westminster, according to the band's Facebook page. Their latest song is called "Traffic Jam 101."

According to their website, the band is set to "transform the Orange County music scene by epic proportions."

The CHP is still investigating the incident.
http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/article/la70k2-b78705083z.120101012125136000gilqvjme.1.jpg

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Where's a LA freeway shooting when you need one?

[Yca]

their definition of "tour" concert..!

FAIL

[GSBoek]

Idiots!

[marc]

"hardcore" hip hop?

[Gas-n-Grease]

oh good gawd... from Westminster... where all the f*ckin' idiots come from (including me). not to mention, their hip-hop sucks balls.

[boothten]

Where's a LA freeway shooting when you need one?
:chuckles:

[Motor]

Update!

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WTF!