California residents--ticketed for having Euro front plates!
 

First off, not seeking sympathy or pity. Today I was cited for having a Euro plate. In all the years I've been driving with it, I've never been stopped or bothered by the police. I understand some cities don't allow it, and I mentioned to the cop that I wasn't aware that having no DMV front plate is illegal in all of CA (that's what she told me, illegal throughout the state). Anyhow, she cited me for that (code 5200) and having overdue insurance (I have the current one but it was not in my car--DOH!). Both are fix-up offences. Man, it just ruined my day! She was mean, too. Didn't even give me a warning and didn't tell me that she was gonna write me up until I was TOLD (not asked--not that I had a choice anyway) to sign the ticket, to which I asked if I'm being ticketed! I was being polite. When she asked me for the car's model--which was stated in the old insurance form and registration--I told her the year followed by the model. She interrupted me by saying "I don't need the year...the model...is it a 300, 500?" I was just saying what I thought was required. Man, I'm no criminal, but I felt so utterly powerless. I would have accepted the ticket more easily had she been a bit more courteous. I have passed so many cops who have seen my Euro plate and nothing happened until today.

You weren't reading this thread http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/off-topic-discussion/183186-worlds-worst-things-say-policeman.html just before she pulled you over were you?

Where did this happen? Maybe in or near a city where they like to see front plates on the car so that people wouldn't be able to avoid re light running camera tickets.

Did she write you for anything else at the same time (that's called "stacking", they do it when they get mad). So at least it wasn't worse. I wonder how they handle Corvettes, hardly any of them have front plates on them, and the cars don't look to me like they are assembled to accept them

Yes, it's a valid ticket, and it looks like you are stuck with it.

I once had a front decorative license plate on a car in San Francisco I owned, it showed a lightning bolt, and the words "Here Comes Trouble".
I never got a ticket for it though, because someone stole it off the car within a week after I installed it:mad:

You might want to poke around in www.officer.com and www.chpforums.com to read up on THEIR perspective, it might be interesting.

frosty,

bummer...i have an older landcruiser with no front plate and knock on wood i have yet to be stopped. i think it all depends of what kind of day that particular officer is having. same thing with window tinting; in CA it's illegal to have tint on the front windshield and the driver's and passenger's windows yet i see cars all the time driving around with all of their windows tinted.

it gets worse; you can now get a letter in the mail from, it's either the CARB or EPA, if somebody thinks that your car smokes too much. all it takes is for somebody to write your plate number down and call the state. a customer at the shop where i work, (she's got a gray market '84 300TD,) got this same letter in the mail. the ironic part is that her car doesn't smoke; you can floor the gas and no clouds of smoke.

IMO Big Brother is getting a bit out of hand...

I am supposed to have a front plate on the SDL, but I have a euro insted. Havn't gotten in trouble for it yet, been pulled over twice with it.

I'm just waiting to catch a cop on a bad day, I know I will get a ticket for it some day.

AHH, That's not too bad. I mean leave the thing on the front. You'll likely never have a problem again about it anyways. I mean, Just because she said so, doesn't mean all the cops are going to break them on you about it. She was probably having her period or who knows what.
I got a ticket, in California, by the Highway Patrol, a few months back. I was driving my tractor trailer, and minding my own business. The cop was up ahead with a car pulled over. He looked at me, and waved me over. I pulled over, wondering what I had done wrong. When he came up to me, he was already almost done writing me the ticket. He took my I.D. and finished up. I asked what the problem was, and he said in a mean, matter of fact tone to me " Do you mean you don't know?.. That's it right there, your still doing it." I looked around for anything out of the ordinary, and found nothing wrong. He said " Son, Don't you know it's against the law, in the state of California, to smoke cigarettes, in the work place?!!" I was in shock. First off, I'm in MY tractor trailer, second off, it's registered to North Carolina, and third off.. I was the only one in the truck anyways.. $177.00 Ticket, for "Smoking in the work place" was my final result. I don't get how he even saw me, from the distance he waved me over from. He was like a foot ball field away when he began waving me over. I thought for sure I'd done something wrong. I mean, something that's ACTUALLY wrong, and it had been obvious. So I'm putting a Euro plate, on the front of each truck in my fleet as they come into my H.Q. Anyone know where I can get some ? A lot actually?

It really sounds like a $hitbox driver.

"I just don't understand it...........I always drive 80 mph in a 55 mph zone.........I wonder why I got a ticket today???"


If you violate the law.........you eventually get a violation.........what's so difficult to understand about that?

The cop doesn't have to be an ass. Some are, some aren't.

Pay the ticket, find out who the supervisor is, and have a sit down with him/her. Make sure your car is legal before you do so.

in indiana a front plate is not used.

so i bought this really clean 74 240d which had an immaculate california plate on the front. i thought "cool". so i left it there.

one day my dad said "what you doing with that california plate on front?" i said i liked it and thought it looked cool (or words to that effect...i was maybe 45 at the time). he said.."i wouldn't do that".

i thought "stick in the mud". and kept it on there.

a month or so later i was in chicago parking the car in a garage and the guy started writing the plate number off the front plate on my receipt before parking the car. i said whoooooaaaah there pardner. that is not the actual plate. look on the back.

i figured i might have trouble getting my car back if they parked it with the front in.

so i went home and took the cali plate off the front.

if you want something cool on the front....get one with a big tristar or a lightning bolt....but not in a state where front plates are required.

why ask for trouble?

tom w

Yes, I wouldn't put an regular, official us state plate on a car either, except of course the one that belongs on the car.
A Euro plate however, is no more meaningful, or applicable in the states than a bumper sticker. I mean, it is purely decorative, anywhere except for Europe.
I've seen American state plates on the fronts of cars, in Amsterdam, Hungary, Africa, and of course Budapest, and Yemen, and Russia as well. I frequent all of these areas, and more, and even see them in these tight ass countries, so why not the U.S. I mean, if you can do it in Russia,( and those people can't usually $hit with-out government permission )
than why can't you put a Euro plate on the front of a US car? I mean, are people really stupid enough, to believe that it's an official plate? Guess so.

Well, thanks for clearing that up for me, Mr. Carlton. For a moderator, you sure know how to set an example for other posters who are wont to resort to name-calling and such. 'Tis a pity that I, a simple poster, would have to point this out to a moderator. Anyhow, had you read my post more carefully, you would have understood that I wasn't asking anyone what the law is here in CA or whining about why I got the ticket. (That was clarified by the cop.) I felt a need to voice my grief here and perhaps get some insight from others. Thanks for responding, nonetheless.

Damn........it's that "moderator" title again........forced upon me from my days over at DD.

Ignore that moniker when I'm over here............I'd like to get rid of it completely.........but I need it..........."over there".;)

If you are voicing your grief due to the behaviour of the officer.........then.........OK............I understand your plight.

However, if you are voicing your grief due to violation of the law and finally getting caught at the transgression..........well.........see my aforementioned comments.

this is a tough crowd sometimes.

consider it a lesson learned the hard way.

for a little while when you are stopped by a police officer, they are judge and jury all rolled into one. they can let you go or write up a ticket, so it is prudent when pulled over to not aggrevate them in any way. they are rightfully a little touchy when pulling cars over since they never know when some nutjob is goint to whip out a gun and take a shot at them.

the police are out there doing a tough job and usually they are polite courteous and generous.

but if they are not generous you shouldn't take it personally. they may have had their butt chewed by the seargent just before they left the station about letting too many folks off the hook.

so i try to give them the benefit of the doubt.

tom w

Are you a cop ? Some sorta lawmaker from California, or something? WHAT MORONS make those kinds of laws to begin with? I mean, as I said, The Euro plate is not more meaningful, than a bumper sticker, unless in Europe. As for my smoking in the moving truck, all alone,...What's the support behind the vote to pass that law? Not like I'm working in some office building, and smoking where people will be bothered by it or something. I can't even believe she wasted his time, to stop him and write the ticket at all.

i agree.

the ticketing for smoking in the truck story is unbelievable!

tom w

Do you respect the laws of the Republic.........or do you simply abide by those that you think are appropriate for you and just ignore the rest?

I don't pass judgment on the people who make the law. Either I abide by the law or I accept the consequences of breaking the law.

I don't whine about it.

Yes, I can respect a law, as long as it respects me, or atleast pretends to. I want to smoke in my truck, when I'm alone in the truck I can do whatever I want as far as that stuff goes. Everywhere else in the world you can smoke almost anywhere you want to, and even in a lot of states, still. Why does California, have to be so different ? That law is B.S. and I'm not kissing California's a$$ simply because their lawmakers, are retarded, and know nothing about the world, or reality. They make the laws to suit themselves... Just as you said, they do what THEY want, as you asked : "Do you simply abide by those you think are appropriate for you, and ignore the rest?"
Well, that's what the California law makers are doing so why should I respect them if the rest of the world doesn't. They don't want voters, in California to vacation or leave, to see that the rest of the world, is actually living ,....lol.
So go ahead Brian, Kiss their A$$E$ while they take away more of your rights, and then infect the rest of the country with their B.S. rules and laws. California, and Massachusetts...Infecting the country, one law at a time. First 55mph, many years ago, then no smoking, then Gay marriages. All while they took away gun rights, and brought up taxes, and a host of other obsurd, and ridiculous laws, and rules... what has America come to? It all seems to always start, in either California, or Massachusetts.
Next in line is Michigan, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Ohio, oh and lest we forget, Washington State. Some of the most ludicrous, childish, and unnecessary laws, have originated in these states.
Talking to them, about it, and trying to reason withthem, is like trying to feed a dead horse. They're the worse drivers, in Massachusetts, the meanest and cruelest bunch out in a lot of areas of California, (Meaner than some Brits, I swear) but they have better teeth..(lol)
The state of Ohio, is still in the dark ages, or something. The laws they use, haven't been updated in so many years, yet all of the cops still enforce even the most crazy laws. I was in a bowling alley, on Akron, and watched a guy get a ticket for swearing in a public place...are you kidding? I got four tickets in Ohio, in the past year for doing less than 60mph, but more than 55 mph two were for 57 in a 55, another, also on 30 as were the first two for 59 in a 55, and the most recent was for57 in a 55, only a few weeks ago. Most normal, sane cops won't even bother you unless you're almost ten over. You can do like 90 in a 65 in Florida, and the drive right past the cops. They don't even look at you... The point is that these states have, start, and enforce the most ridiculous laws, brought on by soccer moms and Romper Room, and Sesame Street. Selfish, liberal lefts are the ones who cause many of the problems, and the violence, in this country.

Yep, I can see that you respect the laws. It's quite obvious. You respect the laws that you are in agreement with and you ignore the others. You've got plenty of company in the world...........the $hitbox drivers come to my immediate mind.


Talk about a rant...........

I might agree with the law..........I might not agree with it. If I strongly disagreed with it, I might consider lobbying my elected officials to change it.

And, like you, I just might violate the law if I felt it was too onerous.

But, what I would not do is to come on here and whine about how unfair it is that I was caught as a violator of the law.

You chose to ignore the law.........don't whine about it.........be a man and accept the consequences.

Ahem, can you point to where I whined about how unfair it was that I got caught and ticketed? Yes, I may be whining, but certainly not about getting the ticket. The last sentence about never having been caught until today was simply a statement of fact--I don't see how that could mean anything else. Had I followed it with a statement about that the cop was being unfair, then I can see your point. I'm afraid you are grossly misunderstanding me with each retort....

ps
I'm as much law-abiding as you claim yourself to be. But I think we all have broken a law or two. Jaywalking? Oh, I'm a bad citizen now!

The post was not directed at you.........notice the quote.

We all break laws. I break them all the time. I travel at 67mph in a 55 zone in CT. I'm typically one of the slower drivers. But, I know full well that if I'm going 67 and there is nobody else on the road..........and the radar is on...........I'm getting tagged for it.

Unfair?........selective enforcement?..........you bet. But, I chose to break the law, therefore, I accept the consequences.

i'm surprised this site lets MODERATORS call people *****boxes; (even if they try to "hide" it with the "$" sign.) but then i suppose it's moderators who decide what gets censored and what doesn't. i'm relatively new here and had heard great things about this site but moderators calling participants *****boxes seems a little off to me.

just my 2 cents...

Well I drive 180,000 miles a year atleast, in my tractor trailer. I drive in 48 states, Canada, and Mexico. I get tickets for legitimate violations all the time. But when they go out of their way to actually "Produce" a law, like the one that got me a ticket for "Smoking in the work place" while driving my tractor trailer , alone in my truck down the road. That's the kind of crap that annoys me most of all.
I mean c'mon I was in the truck alone, I also pretty much live in the truck, unless I fly over seas to meet with new clients or something like that. I very often, just jump to the nearest airport after setting up meetings in other countries. Point is that I am not a "$hitbox driver",by any means. I drive an 80,000 lb. 86 foot long truck, 180,000 plus miles a year w/o so much as ever putting a mark in anything (Knock on wood)
If you call me a "$hitbox driver" you'd better make sure you know me pretty well. Brian, I could buy and sell you all day long if I wanted to.

Poor cop. You know they probably spend ALL day sitting on the side of the road getting fat collecting a paycheck. I feel for them. Anyone want to start a fund?

Yes, let's use Dunkin' Donuts as our sponsor..

Keep whining. You are the one get the ticket. What do you want to do now? Read this.

http://childparenting.about.com/cs/behaviorproblems/a/whining.htm

Hate to say it, but from what I've seen the past 8 months since I purchased a used MB and this site was recommended to me, this is about par for the course. That's why I rarely ever visit this forum any more. I drop in on occasion to see if anything has changed, but it's the SOS. What do you expect from a forum where they spend 4 pages worth of posts making sick jokes about some idiot in Wisconsin screwing a dead deer?

Was it a CHP? I got one of those damned things too... It was odd, as I made an illegal uturn moments before, and the cop said he did not care about the uturn, only about the fact that there was no front plate on the car....

Oh well. Fix it, pay the 10 bucks, have it wiped clean. Be done with it.

Then put the Euro plate back on!

This site has helped a lot of people... and there is a lot of information to be had if you ask questions in the technical forums. Did the person who recommended this forum say the Open Discussion forum is out of this world? Who cares about the OD, it's just a distraction from the main sections of the site. If you don't like OD dont post in OD. Doesn't stop you from posting in the Diesel Discussion though.

I agree with Brian..
Law says two plates. Use two plates. Don't want a front plate? Fine.
Suffer the consequences. NJ is a two tag state. AFAIK, there isn't much if any disregard of using the front plate.

Smoking in a tractor? Boy that's a chicken$hit ticket...and a chicken$hit law, imo. :eek: :mad:

the smoking ticket story is just unblelievalbe.

tom w

I'm surprised that you did not carefully read the post.

If you did, you'd realize that a vehicle is a $hitbox.........not an individual.

just my 2 cents.

You guys give me so many good reasons not to live in California - thanks!

When they go out of their way to find a citation that would be useful to them, it's usually because they are in the "revenue generating" business.

It's no different to when you approach a small town and you're doing 55 mph. Just at the edge of town is a 25 mph speed limit sign. 15 feet inside the sign is an unmarked car in a driveway. Nobody is going 25 mph when they pass the cruiser. It's impossible. So, they generate revenue for their little municipality. Unfair. You bet. I might agree with you that "smoking in a workplace" would fall under the same category as this.

My reference to "$hitbox drivers" obviously was misunderstood. I refer to SUV's as $hitboxes because I have such a disdain for them. The mentality of most who purchase and drive these vehicles is perfectly obvious. It's their roadway and everbody else can pound sand. Their normal speed is as fast as the vehicle will go without rolling and limiting the time to their destination is paramount, despite the compromise in safety that they contunually accept for themselves and others. These people will argue that they should not have been cited for going 75mph in a 55 zone because "everybody else is doing it". That's the definition of a $hitbox driver.

I don't know whether you fall into that category........or not. Driving an 80,000 lb. vehicle at 110 mph doesn't give me a good feeling about your understanding of the reason for speed limits and the potential catastrophe that can occur when you abuse the limit in such an egregious fashion.

As for buying and selling me all day long.........well..........since you've no clue as to my assets and capabilities..........I wouldn't be speaking so quickly..........you might find the opposite is true.

Reality has to set in at some time Mr Carlton. If EVERYBODY else is doing 75, then you better be doing the same. If not, YOU are the cause of the accidents that happen behind your righteous behind. Of course, you never see those accidents, and the aftermath of those accidents, as you tool down the road at 55 +/-2, on a road designed and built to handle 80 mph speeds, delimited to 55 for political reasons, and then everybody else doing what comes natural to the engineering design.

Chicago is the capital of $hitbox drivers I guess. And they don't only come in SUV packages. I go through there twice a week. You know what? The drivers keeping up with traffic not only drive SUVs. They drive Benze cars and Beamer cars, Caddy cars and Lincoln cars, Ford 500 cars, Taurus cars, Mailbu cars Corrolla cars, Sentra cars, Scion cars, etc. The ones in the left lane, doing 60 are usually from Wisconsin, and cause problems for everybody.

I had to hitch a ride in a Limo a few weeks ago. The driver was a cheeze-head. He said he got a pulled over by a Trooper for doing 58 while tooling up 355. The Trooper told him to get on the gas, get off the road, or get killed. The poor Wisconsinite driver still did not understand. It must be a personallity thing. You must be of the same personality type.

Actually, you ought to understand the roadway before you claim my self-rightous behavior.

The 55 zone that I was referring to is a hilly area of CT where the road has frequent 45 mph curves. Most folks are going 55-60 and you're hard pressed to push it to 65 unless you are right on your game. I typically push the SD through this section at 62-65 just for the fun of it. If I get tagged, I deserve it.

If we're talking about the typical expressway around here........reasonably flat with three lanes of traffic, with a 55 mph limit, you're mistaken as well. The right lane of these roads is typically travelling at 60 mph. You can safely travel in this lane at 60 mph and the lower powered trucks will also be doing about that speed. The left lane is typically going 75-80 mph, and, it's perfectly safe to go that speed........in that lane..........IMHO.

Reality is the need to match your speed to the lane that you are travelling. If I've got the POS Dodge van, I'll be in the right lane going 60. If I've got the SDL, I'll be in the center and left lanes doing 65-70.

The nature of a $hitbox driver is the need to go around traffic in the left lane........if a short gap appears in the center lane. Accelerate to 90 mph........move right..........pass the fellow going 75 mph.........move left...........hit brakes to return vehicle to 75 mph.........prior to slamming into car in front.

Trust me when I tell you.........this behavior is unsafe and unnecessary.........and it's got nothing to do with me being self-righteous.


The last time I was in WI, the troopers would pull you over for doing 60 in a 55. That was many years ago, but, there are many posted signs that state 55 MEANS 55.

Maybe you'd have a bit of understanding of the plight of this fellow if you realized the law that he was typically subjected to.

Yes, I must have the same personality.............:rolleyes:

ticketed for smoking in the tractor?

unbelievable.

tom w

As Brian said on I95 you can drive 55-65 all day long and not bother anyone if you stay in the right lane. Its the center and right lanes that seem to move, more so the left.

I91 is like the autobahn, I cruise 90mph+ in the left all the time.


You know what they say, "you have to pay to play". Nothing wrong with doing 90 on I91 its a very wide road and one can go much faster with the right car. But if a cop nails you, you deserve it.


Its like with my Euro plate, I know I will get pulled over, or talked to about it eventualy. Heck last summer I was talking to three cops in front of my car about their boat, and not one said anything about the plate. But one day I'm going to catch one in the right mood and get a ticket. Such is life I don't care.

Yeah. I'm not sure I believe it either...........

Interesting thread,

First off,,, truckinik -- You are working in a NC Truck and as such you should NOT have to comply with CA smoking laws in your own vehicle, I would call the ACLU and pitch up a storm.

Frosty, If CA does not require a front plate, I would tell the officer to "Go to Hell" and remind her that there is no front liscense plate requirements in the state of CA, and you know a really good lawyer that would be happy to sue the bejesus out of the Police department, Also ask her supervisor's name and phone number and call them on your sell phone. Hey now there's an idea,, get a ticket you don't agree with, call the cops supervisor on the spot.

t walgamuth - fictious plates need I say more?

I too got a ticket for not having a front license plate. If you look at the pics of my S500, you'll see that wasn't a place to mount one.

I went through a 'speed-trap', going about 45mph in a 30mph zone. The officer saw the car and thought it was new. After explaining the year, model, etc., he said that I needed a front plate. I replied that I never put it on b/c of no place to mount it.

So he cancelled the speeding ticket for a "fix-it" ticket. Great news for me since a speeding ticket is around $400 plus a 'mark' on the record. The new license bracket was $72.

Sometimes you need to count your blessings . . . :)

OK, sorry but its just plain pathetic to cower to these bastards. I deserve a ticket because its illegal to do something that doesn't affect anyone? Lame..

The law is lame.

But, if you respect the law, you've got to accept the fact that breaking it will result in consequences.

Don't like it?

Change the law.

Should we allow each and every individual to decide which laws are lame and which are not?

I think the tax law is lame. Maybe I should start to whine about that..........how tens of thousands of my hard earned dollars are used to keep these POS in Washington very well fed with all of their pork and useless waste.

Compared to the law regarding a front plate..........I think my concern about the tax law is far more important.

See where this goes?

Now that the term "sh-tbox" has been defined, it still doesn't explain the above use of the term. First off, I don't drive an SUV (one of your definitions of a sh-tbox) and second, I don't have an "I rule the road" mentality when I drive (another of your definition). I'm actually a courteous driver, most of the time. So, which is it? You passed judgement on me by saying that I sound like a "$hitbox driver." Are you saying that I drive an SUV or that I am a mean and rude or a bad driver?

Also, I don't appreciate my fix-it ticket being compared with a moving violation, which actually endangers others. I know why I got the ticket, what was your point?

i am not sure what you mean by ficticious plates, sorry.

tom w

Some states require front plates, others do not
 

And in some states that do require them, People don't like it, and are doing things to try and change it

http://www.petitiononline.com/txplate/petition.html
(interesting reasons offered for changing it)

Only 31 states require them, reflecting the popular division on the issue.
The comments in the links below reflect the division
http://senatesite.com/blog/2005/11/license-plates.html

As Brian C said above (and I have heard Judges say) if you don't like the law, you can try to get it changed.

Yep, you're correct on all points.

I've got a extreme, and probably irrational distaste for the people who drive those things and they typically make statements that attempt to justify their actions even when their actions are clearly against the law.

I did not wish to make a comparison between a moving violation and a violation concerning a misplaced license plate. Clearly they are not the same.

Yes, a bunch of sheep following whatever command they're given.

Change starts with someone saying something, then more people saying something, then an effective group acting in the best interest of the people, not sitting around saying well its the law. I had it coming...

If the law is so egregious that you feel the need to get an effective group together to change the law..........then, I'm in complete agreement with you.

But, I just don't see that happening in the case of a front license plate.

I'm quite sure that you can find an effective group of people who will lobby that the vehicle speed on the expressways should be 80mph. Good luck with that.

16,000 Texans disagree with you
 

Re-read post #45 hereinabove and click on the links therein

Well, I never would have figured that it would be possible to get sufficient interest to overturn a law requiring a front license plate. More power to them.