I just got my S back from the body shop (a Rav4 backed over the front), and I asked the guy not to put a new bracket on the front. So, I was wondering if anyone actually knows what the fine for not having a front plate is. Also, will I need to put the front plate on (at least temporarily) when I take it in to be inspected in November??? Thanks.

 

Mine just passed inspection twice in two weeks after I had the windshield replaced, without the front plates. I've been stopped for speeding at least 3 times without my plates, and have never had an officer even comment on it.

 

It's all a matter of luck. I took off my front plate and six days later A friendly VA State trooper pulled me out of the exit line on the Dulles Toll road. Didn't say a thing about the fact that I was doing 84 MPH but asked me where my front plate was. I told him it was int the trunk and a SUV had yanked it off with its bumperhitch (true). He said, "well, I assume you're putting it back on, because if you weren't you would get a ticket."

I allowed as how I was working it out, but I did manage to mount it to a Coastal Metals grill and get it down off the nose.

 

You bet yer buns I emailed my support!

 

im so jealous of the states that dont require this, there is another s2k on my base that looks 20 times better without it.

 

Seems like every other time I go into DC I get a ticket for no front plate......I think I'm up to about $130 now that I've paid....

 

IMO - Front plates are lame and serve no real purpose.

I live in Maryland and in the past 10 years, I've never had front plates on my cars. I've gotten pulled over like three or four times in that period and always got a warning. Just have an excuse. A GOOD excuse like "The bracket broke when I was working on the car because I dropped something heavy on it" etc. I've noticed that the cops that pull you over for this are almost always hot-pants rookies with nothing better to do. One veteran cop that pulled me over for this told me that if I wanted to play that game (he was smiling) to actually have the 'broken' bracket in the trunk to prove that it was unusable and that way I wouldn't get a ticket. I have temp tags on my S now, so that's my current excuse... I think my excuse after that for a while will be that Honda still owes me a bracket because they misplaced the original one when I took delivery and I'm supposed to pick it up 'this week'. I'm not worried about it. I also tint the windows on my cars, which is illegal in MD, but I have NEVER gotten harassed for this when I've gotten stopped by MD State Police or county cops. I like tint because it keeps the car cool and you don't have to deal with driver's side sun when driving. Screw Johnny Law, man. LOL

Part of the finesse of getting pulled over is how you pull over and how you handle yourself when dealing with the police. Shades off, hands at 10-2 on the steering wheel, "yes sir" "no sir" "I'm sorry sir" always has worked with me. Looking VERY sorry and a little nervous doesn't hurt either. Oh yeah, never ever look the least bit annoyed and NEVER know how fast you were going when the cop asks you "do you know how fast you were going?" (NEVER). I've gotten at least 15 warnings in my 19 years of driving and not one ticket, ever.

 

JohnnyG, you're making me think seriously of taking off that damned front plate!
I figured I should play it safe...gives 'em one less reason to pull me over...but you seem to have the game figured out.

 

My front plate is also in the trunk, and is bent up (from someone backing into it) so I have a legit story to tell. The metal plate that the bracket screws into was pushed back into the bumper, so I could not connect it if I wanted. I have the bumper plugs held in with some putty, which I could gladly show to any trooper that chose to give me grief about it. I'd just claim to not have the funds to get a whole new bumper for such a little thing.

 

I don't have anything figured out, I just do what I think is acceptable risk. It's a stupid law and an excuse to generate revenue from tickets, just like some other laws we have in this country.