CA Law: QUICK front license plate question please?

[Tim Currie]

Ok, just a quick question on the law. Does anyone know the specifics on where and how your front plate has to be mounted? Does it actually have to be on the front bumper per State Law? Because I always see people with them in the inside of the windshield.

Thanks for any help, if I can legally (and back it up) put it on the windshield that would REALLY help me out and make it a lot easier.

Thanks,
Tim

 

[M-Rex]

There are specifics to how the front license plate is to be mounted on the vehicle.

5201. License plates shall at all times be securely fastened to the
vehicle for which they are issued so as to prevent the plates from
swinging, shall be mounted in a position so as to be clearly visible,
and shall be maintained in a condition so as to be clearly legible.
The rear license plate shall be mounted not less than 12 inches nor
more than 60 inches from the ground, and the front license plate
shall be mounted not more than 60 inches from the ground, except as
follows:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=90124823794+8+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

 

[Pilgrim]

Your problem with displaying the front license plate in the front windshield is the CA vehicle code severely limits what can be placed on the windshield. If you beat 5201 VC, you will get hammered for obstructing the driver's vision.

Pilgrim

5200. (a) When two license plates are issued by the department for
use upon a vehicle, they shall be attached to the vehicle for which
they were issued, one in the front and the other in the rear.

26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any
object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied
upon the windshield or side or rear windows.
(2) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or
material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon
the vehicle which obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view
through the windshield or side windows.
(3) This subdivision applies to a person driving a motor vehicle
with the driver's clear vision through the windshield, or side or
rear windows, obstructed by snow or ice.
(b) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Rearview mirrors.
(2) Adjustable nontransparent sunvisors which are mounted forward
of the side windows and are not attached to the glass.
(3) Signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a
7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed
from the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials which are
displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the rear window
farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or other
materials which are displayed in a 5-inch square in the lower corner
of the windshield nearest the driver.

 

[Moparmike]

If anyone has listened to Adam Corolla on LoveLine lately, you probably heard his rant about this very thing. The only reason they are having you do that is so they can get your plate number and your face in the redlight cameras.

 

[Coronach]

Uh.

No.

While it is helpful for that, two-plate systems have predated the invention of the red-light camera by many, many years.

Mike

 

[Tim Currie]

Ok, so I'm not totally clear. From the first reply it seems there is no clear "must be attached to the front bumper" in that wording. And from the second post it would seem as though I could place it in the far bottom corner of the windshield....

Not to complain.....but what a frickin waste of time the court is causing me...and I have to appear as well?!?!?

 

[biere]

I did not get the ticket but a friend of mine in ohio got a ticket for having the license plate in the front windsheild.

He was informed that the law in ohio said the plate had to be on front of the car, the windsheild is basically what starts the middle of the vehicle. So he could mount it to the front grill or the bumper or anywhere on the very front of the car and be fine.

Some of the california law varies by what will be blocked, for instance the tow truck plates are often still visable if mounted high up on the headache rack behind the cab even if a vehicle is being towed.

I am not an expert and after doing a couple searches I found lots of stuff that could apply by what they want to define stuff as. For instance some of the license plate covers are mentioned and a windsheild is not really going to fit that description.

Glad I am not a lawyer, but wondering how normal people can follow the law if they don't understand or even manage to find the law.

 

[Pilgrim]

The requirement for a front license plate in the PDRK predates radar cameras, etc.

The CA Highway Patrol likes front license plates because a lot of hit and runs are solved by the front plate remaining at the scene.

The CA Highway Patrol essentially writes the CA Vehicle Code. If the Highway Patrol doesn't provide the suggested code change to a friendly legislator who writes the bill, the legislature eventually asks the Commissioner of the Highway Patrol what he thinks about a proposed code change.

Pilgrim

 

[Aguila Blanca]

The purpose of any license plate, front or rear, is to help identify ownership of a vehicle if it is involved in an accident or a crime. Placing a license plate inside the windshield or rear window makes it difficult to read if there is any glare or reflection, and it isn't in the expected location and therefore might be overlooked by a witness.

Around here the rear plate is often stuck in the back window because one of the popular mini-crimes is to steal not the entire plate, but to snip off the corner with the current validation sticker on it and then attach that to an expired plate. Some of the suburban departments in the area will bust people for that, but the city police usually don't because they know how quickly the plates get snipped if mounted correctly on the bumper.

However ... the fact that the city cops don't cite it (usually) doesn't make it legal, and isn't a defense in court.

 

[Pilgrim]

Around here the rear plate is often stuck in the back window because one of the popular mini-crimes is to steal not the entire plate, but to snip off the corner with the current validation sticker on it and then attach that to an expired plate. Some of the suburban departments in the area will bust people for that, but the city police usually don't because they know how quickly the plates get snipped if mounted correctly on the bumper.

In the town I worked, scraping the sticker was a popular crime. However, it was nearly impossible to do it without damaging the sticker. Said sticker was easy to spot.

CA law authorized the towing and storage at owner's expense if the registration was expired more than a year and the vehicle was on a public highway. I had a lot of vehicles towed away and stored because the damaged sticker was easy to spot.

Pilgrim

 

[Psssniper]

I must be lucky. The last three trucks that I have owned have never had a front plate attached, so thats almost 20 years (and still going) of no front plates and no tickets or warnings. I think that there is an exemption for commercial vehicles somewhere in the law regarding front plates, but I have never researched it.

 

[Tim Currie]

Ok, I've never had a front plate on before and never gotten anything for it either, but I was pulled over for expired tags (fixed now) and he checked the front plate.

Anyway, anyone have a more definitive answer? I go in tomorrow morning.
As it is I am going to stick the thing to the windshield, bring the law printed, and try to find a cool cop who will sign off on it. If it doesnt work I'll talk to the judge and ask what the heck they want me to do since my car has no where to mount it on the bumper (never did when I bought it.....). And I know I could go find a dealer and get some kind of mount put on but I don't want to pay up the arse for the stupid thing when I'm selling the car in a couple months.

So I guess what I want to know is....anyone else get by with putting it on the windshield to get out of the fix-it-ticket?

 

[Pilgrim]

Anyway, anyone have a more definitive answer? I go in tomorrow morning.
As it is I am going to stick the thing to the windshield, bring the law printed, and try to find a cool cop who will sign off on it. If it doesnt work I'll talk to the judge and ask what the heck they want me to do since my car has no where to mount it on the bumper (never did when I bought it.....). And I know I could go find a dealer and get some kind of mount put on but I don't want to pay up the arse for the stupid thing when I'm selling the car in a couple months.

My guess is:

1. You won't find a cool cop who will sign off on it.

2. The judge will say, find a way to mount it on the bumper.

3. If you bought the car from a dealer, the judge will tell you to take it back and make him attach the plate on the car.

Pilgrim

 

[Beethoven]

I too recently got a fix-it ticket for my front plate WHILE I WAS PARKED.

Damned meter maids!!

Can they even write tickets for stuff like that???