Finally got pulled over last night; haven't had the car for even a month yet! The cop was merging into traffic and I slowed to let him in front of me (big mistake). I merge off of the road on the next exit (city freeway system Minneapolis MN, and YES I WAS going the speed limit), and what does he do? He slows down, gets behind me, and follows me. About a quarter mile later I see the red and blue in my rearview. I pull over, and he walks up to the car “Do you know why I pulled you over?” “No” I say, and he proceeds to lecture me about not having a front license plate! I’ve read threads about this, and know it is some cop’s pet peeve (Vettes w/o front plates), but I figured I had a little more time before it would happen to me. He was nice enough to write me up with only a warning, so I can’t be too angry… The best part of this was that we were going to a local car hangout. When we got there, there was another Vette in the parking lot with a proudly displayed ticket resting on the dash. Guess what it was for?

I know some of you will say that the cop was only doing his job, but IMHO the guy is a jerk. I was obeying all traffic laws, not driving erratically or aggressively, using my signals, and even courteous to let him merge in front of me.

Pull over people that are real hazards to themselves or others, such as all of the cars packed full of kids (I’m talking rug rats, not teens) that are going 90MPH and nobody has a seatbelt on.

 

You were NOT obeying the law, obviously. Otherwise you would not have gotten a warning.

 

I've paid 3 tickets now for no front plate....I refuse to put it on....

 

Ummm... As I clearly stated, I was obeying all traffic laws EXCEPT for the the front plate (obviously). Oh, and I have no intention of 1) Putting the plate on the front of the car and 2)Ever letting a cop merge in front of me!

 

You make the choice, don't complain about the result...

 

Cut the guy some slack. Front plate laws are a revenue device and a way to jerk folks around.

On the other hand (OP) - smile - you got off with a warning, so he wasn't being too much of a jerk. If you don't want to run a plate, be willing to take the heat.

I recently put my front plate on because of the new VA "abusive driver" fees. A no front plate citation could cost in excess of $1000 in the commonwealth now.

 

Not big deal, unless you get pulled over by the same cop again. I once had a cop give me a $150 ticket for no front liscense plate, and at the same time he also gave me $90 ticket (post-dated 30 days) for non-compliance of order for front liscense plate. He said the post dated ticket would be cancelled if I brought the car in a showed him a front liscense plate before 30 days. The real kicker is, I was in a city 2 hours from home, the cop knew I wouldn' be able to make it back to show him. What a Jag-Off

 

That 2nd one I don't understand, how can he give you a pre-emptive ticket?

To the OP, either play ball, or do the time .

 

A violation is still a violation, no matter how petty it may seem.

 

If there's a front plate law, you broke it. Pissing and moaning about a ticket (Hell, he didn't even give you a ticket, he gave you a warning) won't undo the ticket or prevent future ones. Could the cop have better spent his time? Yes. Did you break the law? Yes. The option list is slim: Put on a front plate or roll the dice again.

We have a front plate law. I don't use one. If I get pulled over and ticketed I have no one to blame but myself.

 

Hey, I'm not complaining about getting pulled over. I know I don't have a front plate, and I know that its breaking the law.

I'm complaining about the circumstance!!

 

How would you be feeling right about now if a cop pulled you over and lectured you and gave you a warning for.....oh, say 66 in a 65? Technically, you are breaking the law - but do you think that would be a good use of your tax dollars?

 

I got a ticket within the first two weeks of owning my 06 vette!

 

I couldn't agree more with both your point and your frustration. As a society, don't we have bigger fish to fry???

 

That's not a fine that's a "taking." I can't believe the majority of (rational) people would support an obscene money grab like that. I know many states already have these outrageous penalties and many other states are drooling over the prospect of enacting similar laws.

Has there been any movement within the state to reverse these Draconian laws? Sadly, people are so apathetic they generally just bend-over and take it instead of exerting a little time, effort and money trying to right a wrong. I imagine these excessive penalties will be spreading to everyone's area soon.

 

Complain all you want ..... I'm with you.....Proudly running without a front plate forever!!!!

 

I'm really sorry, but if that's a cop's pet peeve, it's time to look for another occupation. I'm not positive what mine would be, but I'm pretty sure it would have to do with, oh I don't know, child abuse, selling drugs, drive by shootings, dogfighting, rape, embelzzlement...you get he idea.

As for the VA laws, there is a petition with over 100,000 signatures so far. When i signed it, it was at 58,680. Problem is, I think our illustrious state government has figured out that there is a simple way to make the laws constitutional, which is to apply them to out of state drivers as well as VA residents. Their next challenege is to figure out a way around other states not having to enforce VA law. Hopefully, that will be all she wrote for this BS.

 

 

I got stopped twice by the same cop no ticket either time but I decided that I was pushing my luck and finally gave in.

 

I have always believed that part of the blame for so many owners not liking front plates on the 06 goes to GM. Why? For not designing a decent mounting place for the plate. The C5 is much better in this regard. You may not like a front plate on a C5 but at least you don't have to use the butt ugly 'wart' mount supplied by GM.

The aftermarket supplies good alternatives but still I think the factory mount is just a poorly designed afterthought on the part of GM.