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front lisnce plate

4K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  aTm Beaner 
#1 ·
Aparently its unlawful to have a lisnce plate in your winsheald. As I am being pulled over as I post this. Plate must be on the outside of the vehicle. F Y I

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#2 ·
Duh i could have told u that lol. I had mine in my windshield and got pulled over while i was in a parking lot leaving. Didnt get a ticket for it but i put it back on cause I received my focusfanatics license plate frame.
 
#3 ·
Well thanks for not telling me! Lol its cool I didn't get a ticket for it.

]-}
 
#6 ·
not true, dont care what the cop says.


fight it.

You are lawfully allowed to put your front plate in a VISIBLE (<---key word) location in your front windshield. You cant have it in the bottom corner where some of it is covered up. Suction cups are your friend.



this:




Is legal.
 
#7 ·
and since you will probably say "but the cop told me so", well he is WRONG.


one of my posts from another car forum, cut and pasted:

venomrogue said:
orly?


they always love when private citizens dont know thier rights.

I made a Plano prosecutor look like a complete jackass because he didnt know either.

There is caselaw on it.

oh, and the exact law:

§ 502.404. OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITHOUT LICENSE PLATE OR REGISTRATION INSIGNIA.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person operates on a public highway during a registration period a passenger car or commercial motor vehicle that does not display two license plates, at the front and rear of the vehicle,


the law doesnt state "on the front bumper" just "at the front"

Caselaw, from the Texas Supreme Court:

http://www.3rdcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/htmlopinion.asp?OpinionId=12576

most important part:

Losoya refers us to the statutory predecessor of section 502.404(a), which provided that it was an offense to operate a motor vehicle "without having displayed thereon, and attached thereto, two (2) license number plates, one (1) at the front and one (1) at the rear." Act of May 23, 1975, 64th Leg., R.S., ch. 621, § 3, 1975 Tex. Gen. Laws 1919, 1920 (Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 6675a-3e, § 5, since repealed) (emphasis added). The omission of the emphasized phrase from section 502.404(a) supports Losoya's argument that the present statute does not require the license plate to be physically attached to the vehicle. This, in turn, is some evidence that the license plate need not be attached to the front bumper of the vehicle as the State contends.

The apparent purpose of section 502.404(a) is to facilitate the identification of a motor vehicle by its license plate number whether it is moving toward or away from the viewer. While a place to display the license plate is usually found on the front bumper, the statute does not expressly require the use of this location. The display of the plate in some other place or manner is not inconsistent with the language or purpose of the statute. The officers testified that they could see the license plate in the windshield. We conclude that Losoya's display of his front license plate in the manner shown here did not violate section 502.404(a) as to give the officers grounds to reasonably suspect a violation of that statute.

The State also argues, as it did below, that the evidence shows a violation of transportation code section 502.409(a)(5) and (7), which at the time in question prohibited the display of a license plate that "has letters, numbers, or other identification marks that because of blurring matter are not plainly visible at all times during daylight" or that "has a coating, covering, or protective material that distorts angular visibility or detectability." Act of May 30, 1999, 76th Leg., R.S., ch. 1189, § 17, 1999 Tex. Gen. Laws 4153, 4161 (Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 502.409(a)(5), (7), since amended). The State refers to Drozd's testimony that he could not read Losoya's license plate because of the glare of the sun on the windshield.

There is no evidence that the letters and numbers on Losoya's front license plate were blurred, obscured, or otherwise unreadable because any material on either the plate or the windshield. We do not believe that sunlight can reasonably be considered to be "blurring matter." There is also no evidence that the windshield distorted angular visibility or detectability. We find no basis in this record for reasonably suspecting a violation of section 502.409(5) or (7). We overrule the State's first issue or point of error.

The order granting the motion to suppress is affirmed.


so, yes, its that easy.

as long as its visible, your fine.









Oh, and you spelled License wrong.
 
#8 ·
Do what I do, just do away with the front plate period. the plate in the the dash just draws attention. The VERY first day I had my front plate on my dash I got pulled over. So I just took it off completely and now I havent had any troubles.

Have the front plate stashed in your car, if the cop ask you why you dont have a front plate, just say "the license plate bracket broke off".
 
#9 ·
I went 4yrs with out having a front plate on. Been pulled over numerous times. Then one day out of the blue I get pulled over and they tell I have to have it on the front or what ever. I stuck on the front soI don't get pulled over anymore. It's just less of a hassle that way
 
#15 ·
I took the liberty of taking pictures of the measurements from the front to the rear of my Camaro when the cop gave me the ticket and showed to the court clerk's supervisor that it was visible in my windscreen which was in the front portion of the vehicle. Ticket dismissed and no dismissal fee paid. This stupid front license plate law in Texas is only for cops to radar your speed and not for any other purpose other than to siphon money from our wallets.
 
#20 ·
when was that?


lol, it was most likely due to me, I made a HUGE deal about it when I went to court over it, fully intended on calling as witnesses the court clerk, the clerks boss, and the "bailiff" cop that actually went out to the car to "verify" it was on the car (he refused to acknowledge the law, and insisted it had to be on the bumper).

Judge was pissed that they were wasting his time, so I assume he made it very clear to the court clerk staff what the law really is. I didnt get to give the other people a hard time on the witness stand, as the trial didnt even get out of opening statements :lol:
 
#16 ·
Huh another von, and I havn't seen you around... where have you been lurking?
Also curious how you came up with your screen name.

Hi I'm Justin ^_^
 
#19 ·
Awesome, good throw back to a classic. I inherited mine, doesn't come with land or power but the title is mine at least. :p

Also sorry for thread derailment carry on.

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#21 ·
I have a german TX license plate that actually has my real numbers on the front. I have only been ticketed once for it, and that was in Williamson County where they are MEAN. other than that, no other law enforcement officer has said anything about it.
 
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