Texas License Plate Law

[ronaldr911]

I've heard a few things:

(1) Front plates are no longer required in Texas and

(2) No plates required (this is just crazy)

Texas License Plates Become Optional

Any thoughts on this? I am thinking about removing my front plates from the Nismo.

Thanks,

[takjak2]

The new law still says you need both plates. It just forgot to include the punishment part. They will be trying to fix it in short order; if not, it will end up decided when someone has to go to court over it.

I would suggest not removing it.

[gurneyeagle]

Yea, I just put my GoMiniGo "no drill" bracket on yesterday with my front plate after installing a Nismo front bumper.

For me, it's just not worth the hassle. I'll let someone else be the test case.

[ronaldr911]

Well the car still has paper plates, but the previous owner drilled 4 holes in the bumper... so I guess I'll just put them on there for now... the dealer offered (for a fee) to fill the holes but i didnt want to as yet.

[Zaggeron]

Originally Posted by takjak2

The new law still says you need both plates. It just forgot to include the punishment part. They will be trying to fix it in short order; if not, it will end up decided when someone has to go to court over it.

I would suggest not removing it.

Not just the punishment but also the part that says what sort of crime it is. So, it's neither a felony nor a misdemeanor ... in essence, not a crime at all any more. But likely only until Jan 8th when they will certainly add the deleted classification and penalty provision back in.

[roplusbee]

Boooo. They messed up, so they should have to wait till the next term to fix it. I am tired of running the Moweraxle tow hook plate holder...............

[gurneyeagle]

Originally Posted by ronaldr911

Well the car still has paper plates, but the previous owner drilled 4 holes in the bumper... so I guess I'll just put them on there for now... the dealer offered (for a fee) to fill the holes but i didnt want to as yet.

I'd get them filled if offered. Take a look at this:

Nissan - GoMiniGo-Home of Innovative Products for your car

[ronaldr911]

Originally Posted by gurneyeagle

I'd get them filled if offered. Take a look at this:

Nissan - GoMiniGo-Home of Innovative Products for your car

I'm sure they will charge me for it so I'm just going to wait.. the holes are already there, so might as well use them if the law is enacted. IMO, the tow hook plate thing makes the car look lop sided.

EDIT: Might get a smoke cover for the front plate: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...+cover&x=0&y=0

[ronaldr911]

Does anyone know if the smoke license plate covers are illegal in Texas?

[MacCool]

Originally Posted by ronaldr911

....Might get a smoke cover for the front plate: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...+cover&x=0&y=0

In some states, any license plate cover is illegal. Too easy for them to interfere with LIDAR or photo reflection, either accidentally or by design.

Anti-photo license plate covers, anti-photo, anti-radar and anti-laser shields

[sexZness]

what he said ^

anything that obstructs the view of your license plate is illegal

[wstar]

Ignoring the current awesome legal screwup that's bound to be fixed:

I've run with no front plate on this car and my last all over texas for a combined total of about 13 years now. So far I've been warned about it once when pulled over (but not ticketed, the cop said something to the effect of "You should put that plate on, I won't ticket you for it, but someone else might"), and one other time I was actually ticketed for it, so I just paid the fine.

The fine isn't huge, and overall the odds seem to be that getting the ticket is rare, at least for me. If you scan traffic, you'll notice missing front plates are a lot more common than you'd expect if enforcement was strict, and it's especially sportscars that tend to be missing them.

The only reason I would run a front plate was if you had other, more important reasons to try to never get pulled over in the first place (e.g. you're driving around with an expired license, or you've got contraband in the car, etc...).

Otherwise, why clutter up the look of the front, screw up the car's aerodynamics, block access to cooling/intake air, etc? Just not worth it :P

[gurneyeagle]

Question - does displaying your license plate through your windshield (propped-up on your dash) meet the front plate requirement?

I just had two friends pulled over this month for no front plate (no other violation). Neither got a ticket, just a warning.

[fuct]

Originally Posted by gurneyeagle

Question - does displaying your license plate through your windshield (propped-up on your dash) meet the front plate requirement?

I just had two friends pulled over this month for no front plate (no other violation). Neither got a ticket, just a warning.

no

about the plate.... i dont want a front plate, but im sure not going to give johnny law one more reason to pull me over.

[ChipsWithDips]

I don't run with a front plate, didn't on my last car. Been pulled over for speeding, etc. but never once has anyone mentioned the plate. I don't think it's something very widely enforced.