clarkakirby

I just read an article in the Friday (Sept. 24) Fort Worth Star-Telegram about front license plate requirements in Texas. Texas is one of thirty states with this requirement. I bet this information will make some of you blow a fuse!

Read the article from this link: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09...-decision.html

I rarely see a C5 or C6 Corvette with a front plate here in Texas. I have seen only one Corvette with the hideous stock front plate bracket. I bought the pricey Top Flight Reproductions front license plate bracket and their set of color-keyed plate frames. This modification is sooo much better than the GM front bracket!

In case you do not use the link to read the article, just know that the Texas courts recently ruled that a front license plate MUST be installed on the front bumper, not anywhere else. You can thank a 29 year old Lubbock cocaine fiend for this new court ruling. He got stopped in his Impala (front plate inside windshield) and they busted him for possession of 8 ounces (1/2 pound!) of cocaine. I bet the coke was worth more than his Impala!

Here is a link to the TxDOT website dealing with the question of front plates in Texas: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/vi/Misc/faq/faq_item.htm

For the Top Flight Reproduction website (and owner raves) see previous threads on this forum.
-Clark

bearman95

I put the top flight set up on our vette a few months ago after a Texas trooper stopped a friend with out a front plate, no warning ticket either, cost him some money. And this was in the DFW metro area. Trooper said they were cracking down on no front plates.

phileaglesfan

If it is such a security concern I wonder if they are going to require front license plates for bikes.

I can think of two good options.

Top Flight's license plate mount. Remember the mounts that hang low to the ground might not be considered the bumper.

Speed Lingerie's bra with the license plate cover. It definitely mounts to the bumper and you can remove it for car shows/trips out of state.

Rednblack

Minnesota is being just a nuts about this. After 9 years of driving my C5 and never getting stopped, when I got the C6 I got stopped 3 times, in different parts of the state, in 3 weeks and the last fine was the same as the Top Flight plate bracket I bought. I just don't see the purpose but I give up!

purvistechie

Gotta love MN, the land where everything is illegal.

4thC4at60

Why should I blow a fuse? Texas has required a front license plate for the entire 53 years I've been driving.

If you don't like the law work to get it changed.

m48xhp

stopped twice in my mustang but never cited, never stopped in my vette.

TexasMadMan

Texas needs money. This is an easy way to get it and it's like shooting ducks in a barrel. Cops know most Corvettes don't have front plates and this is a way to get needed money for the state.

I don't understand why so many refuse to obey the law. I've had 6 Vettes in the last 30 years and all had front personalized plates. I bought the Top Flight mount and all is good with me.

I bet if some of the "I'll never run a front plate" crowd get a few tickets, they will change their tune.

GOLD72

DPS started the crackdown at least 30 months ago. I knew too many vette owners getting DPS tickets around the Katy area where my office is so I put the Top Flight units on both of my vettes over two years ago. No more worrying. My son in his 08 vette got a 10 over speeding ticket two years ago by Houston PD on a freeway. Just for an extra measure of fun, he added a no front plate violation. Real special.

4thC4at60

Let's see now, he breaks the law and you say, "he added a no front plate violation. Real Special."

Man's simply doing his job. You gotta pay to play.

GOLD72

It has been my experience that the local cops feel they have better things to do and therefore will let it slide. If you look shady, they may likely use it as an excuse to make the stop. As I just posted, DPS cares very much about this law and many are aggressively enforcing it. Do you pass many DPS units??

GOLD72

He was stopped for speeding via laser. 70 in 60. Adding the other is just piling on. JMHO.

trivette

I got pulled over when driving sans plate with my C6 when new, so I went with the Top Flight as an alternative to the factory mount. It seems as if more states are headed toward the two-plate requirement than going toward repeal. We can only hope the C7 front end design will be more plate-requirement-friendly than the C6. As much as I don't like running one I don't need to provide any obvious excuses to get pulled over...

Blue42

I got pulled over about a month ago for no front place and blackout light.
He game me a warning though, he was pretty nice.

wxman2003

I dont believe it is piling on. People complain because they want cops to do their job. So when they do their job, then some complain because they should let certain things slide. Equally enforce the law for everyone. Why should someone who drives a corvette be treated any different than someone who drives an suv? Not putting a license on the front end of your corvete because it doesnt make it look pretty is not a reason to think you should be treated differently. If you dont like the law, elect people who will change it. Dont expect someone to bend the law for you because of vanity.

traindude

Glad I left Texas last year and moved back to Indiana.

TexasMadMan

I submit, that many in Corvettes make it easy for LEOs to pull them over. My way of thinking is who is more likely to give a cop trouble (come out with a gun, have warrants, or resist), a guy in a nice looking Corvette or a POS 20 year old 4 door with peeling paint?

BTW, in addition to my 07 vert, I drive a faded 22 year old 4 door.

keyplyr

Never had a front plate, never been to Texas, never had a problem.

VET4LES

The interesting thing about the front plate law is why is it necessary? I have never read why and I can't figure out why unless it's just a money maker to issue tickets. There is an additional cost to manufacture two plates per car, think of the savings if they just issued one.

m48xhp

actually both times were by the Burleson County Highway Patrol near Caldwell. over a year apart. and both times bonehead me didn't have current insurance so i got a ticket for that anyway...but got both dismissed after proving coverage within the time limit.