Can you be pulled over for no front license plate?

[ZmOz]

Recently I replaced the front bumper on my XJ, and haven't got around to finding a license plate bracket. In Oregon you are required to have a front license plate, although I've been driving around without one. Does anybody know if you can actually be pulled over simply for not having a front plate? I know some things they can only get you for if they already pulled you over for something else. I was thinking today...new cars without plates only have a temporary tag in the back, and drivers from other states are allowed to drive in oregon without front plates...

Anyway...I'd like to just leave the damn plate off permanently, unless I can get pulled over for it.

 

[Glenn B]

" In Oregon you are required to have a front license plate"
State law, then YES, you can be pulled over. You are not following the intent of the law, so do not whine if you ge nailed for breaking the law. Easy enough, no?

And I used to wonder why they do not trust you all to pumpr your own fuel. Makes sense now.

 

[TRNDRVR]

In Oregon you are required to have a front license plate, although I've been driving around without one......Does anybody know if you can actually be pulled over simply for not having a front plate?

Yes!!!

 

[ZmOz]

" In Oregon you are required to have a front license plate"
State law, then YES, you can be pulled over.

It isn't that easy. In washington, for example, up until recently you could not get pulled over if you didn't have a seatbelt on. If you got pulled over for speeding or anything else, then they could tack no seatbelt onto that ticket. Like I said above...they don't pull over people with no front plate from other states, do they? Currently in Oregon you have to have had your license for more than 6 months if you're under 18 before you can have any passengers with you under 18. They can't pull you over specifically for that.

 

[LRRH]

they can get you in both IL and WI for that.

 

[Glenn B]

It isn't that easy. In washington, for example, up until recently you could not get pulled over if you didn't have a seatbelt on. If you got pulled over for speeding or anything else, then they could tack no seatbelt onto that ticket. Like I said above...they don't pull over people with no front plate from other states, do they? Currently in Oregon you have to have had your license for more than 6 months if you're under 18 before you can have any passengers with you under 18. They can't pull you over specifically for that.

If you know the law, why then are you asking? I am sure your state laws are online, just as Washington State laws are.

Bottom line... You KNOW you MUST have a front plate. If you run without one for whatever excuse you deem sufficient, you are still not in compliance with the law. Just get the plate on and do not give the police any more reason to nail you. Pretty simple IMHO.

 

[Gil BullyKatz]

'round here you can pulled over for driving a lowered honda but not a lifted Cherokee...

 

[DrMoab]

In Utah you can get pulled over for no front plate...However I have been running without one for about five years and never been pulled over for that...I did get pulled over for not having a working light on my rear licence plate...Go figure. :wierd:

 

[BrettM]

I am pretty sure you're supposed to have one in Cali too, but I haven't for 2 years. I have even gotten pulled over for different stuff and it has never come up.

Speeding is illegal too. In the same manner, you decide if it's worth the risk to you based on likelyhood and fee amount.

 

[Phil]

I was pulled over for a combination of no front plate and tires extending too far past the body. Then the cop went to call my plate in and informed me that my rear plate was obstructed.


I've fixed most of it.

 

[ZmOz]

Does anybody know how much the thicket is for no front plate? By the time I get a bracket and a new plate (my old one is pretty beat up) it will probably cost as much as a possible ticket; however, my jeep looks alot better without the plate.

 

[Glenn B]

You might just want to call your State Police (patrol, etc..) and ask. Local deputy or city cop will be able to tell you as well..... though I do not think you want to ask one while driving your Jeep. Though they may not care to write the ticket, they will surely be happy to tell you what the ticket fine is.

Don't be afraid to talk to the cops. Most are cool, and happy to help out.

 

[sidriptide]

Bottom line... You KNOW you MUST have a front plate. If you run without one for whatever excuse you deem sufficient, you are still not in compliance with the law. Just get the plate on and do not give the police any more reason to nail you. Pretty simple IMHO.

most of us run with some sort of illegal or questionable issue with our rigs.. and if you can be "pulled over" specifically for one item is quite often left up to the individual officer and his own interpretation of the laws.. regardless of weighing the cost of the ticket against the cost of the fix.. just mount the plate and give the enforcement officers less to worry about and attract less attention to yourself.. it'll be $25 less added to your next speeding ticket the way i see it.. if you have specific questions regarding laws and fines you really need to contact your local authorities and ask them.. here on you will get plenty of opinions and out-of-state comparisons..

a zip-tied front plate is better than no plate at all...

 

[Beezil]

I've gotten tickets on my daily driver while it was parked in front of my building for not having front plates.

 

[XJEEPER]

Even Barbie knows this law.........duh!

 

[bchulett]

Hey bud, leave it off until you get caught ... in California it's just a fix-it ticket with zero fines---it's similar to getting a ticket for bald tires. Every vehicle I've owned for the past 33 years hasn't had a front license plate ... and during that time, I've been pulled over once.

Just call your local constable to verify the type of ticket you'd receive for this criminal behavior ... and if there are any associated fines. Yea, it may be an inconvenience to get a fix-it ticket signed-off ... but you may be saving money in the long run with all those camera-cops being installed at every intersection.

I just avoided a $250 photo ticket by not having my front plate mounted.


Good luck with the crime spree ...

Does anybody know how much the thicket is for no front plate? By the time I get a bracket and a new plate (my old one is pretty beat up) it will probably cost as much as a possible ticket; however, my jeep looks alot better without the plate.

 

[bchulett]

Same here. I was pulled over for speeding and as the cop was writing he mentioned the light on my rear plate was out... said nothing about the front plate being off.

The law doesn't make sense because motorcycles aren't required to have front plates ... it's discriminatory.

In Utah you can get pulled over for no front plate...However I have been running without one for about five years and never been pulled over for that...I did get pulled over for not having a working light on my rear licence plate...Go figure. :wierd:

 

[nitrogt101]

I'm in California and have talked to plenty of cops about this topic. I havent had one on either of my jeeps for the last 2 years, and even had a decoratice "JEEP" plate on one, and never had any problems, even got pulled over once(helps when the cop who pulled you over is your girlfriends dad :yelclap:, too bad we're not together anymore, lol). The worst it can be here in CA is a $15(around there) fix it ticket, but all the cops I've asked say if the driver has the plate in the car(glovebox, under seat....), then they'll just tell them to put it on and let them go.

 

[Dragon_Fly]

Im from Washington State... a few years ago one of my friends moved up from California. He kept his California plates because military. But he liked to run his IROC without the front plate because he thought it looked better. Well we had the one state trooper that loved to pull him over when ever he saw that plate off. We have to run two plates in WA and in ID where I live now. The state trooper said that because CA has a law stating the same he could and did give him tickets when ever that front plate was gone.

 

[bjoehandley]

My sister was pulled over for no plate and a burned out light bulb a couple of years back while coming home from the local community college, seems the cop was just waiting for a student to pull over that night. She wasn't ticketed and was just given a warning, but the cop chewed her out because she stoped on the median (just stripes in the middle of the road, no curb) instead of pulling over to the side of the road, she thought there was an emergency and moved out of the cop's way. We didn't realize the bulb was out and the front plate mount was broken off in an altercation with the fence around a small local airport (the only serious injuries in that case was to her walet.) Dad ended up making a new plate holder for her out of 1/4" steel plate he got at work so it didn't cost her anything.

I've also heard that even though in Indiana front plates aren't required, it is illegal to back your vehicle into a parking spot.