beepster

Yup..! During my first year as a Texas resident I received FOUR (4) tickets for no front plate. I was pulled over specifically for this (with no other driving infraction). The first 3 were warnings but the 4th was a REAL ticket issued when the DPS officer checked his laptop and found I had 3 prior warnings. Pretty remarkable when you consider I only put about 5-6M miles/yr on my vette...yeah, I'd say this law is strictly enforced...

MikeyTX

Seems like the further south one goes in TX the more the DPS enforces compliance with the law. Especially on rural highways. This is of course speculation on my part since none of clan from west TX or the panhandle has seen fit to chime in.

RC4G

You have obviously never experienced a City of Houston Municipal or Harris County JP trial docket.

COH jury trial (not initial arraignment) dockets routinely start at 8am with an average of 150-200 separate defendants per courtroom. Multiple prosecutors then spend then next 4 hours making plea deals with defendants to reduce the number of defendants that will actually appear before a jury to a manageable number. Those plea deals include offers of deferred adjudication and defensive driving to those who didn't take it at arraignment, dismissal of the charge altogether in exchange for court costs, nolo contender please with minimum fines, etc.

Yes, Harris County is but one county ...

... but it is the most populated county in Texas at more than 4.1mm people.


Ellis County is 150k in comparison so I would venture that Harris county produces a much better cross-section for sampling purposes.

As for being ticketed outside Harris/Montgomery/Galveston counties in the last 5 years I have been routinely stopped by various DPS and sheriffs in our Grandsports on trips to San Antonio, College Station, Dallas, Weatherford and Austin and not once was I ever cited for not having a front plate.

Maybe the DPS/deputies out where you live are just too bored or are so revenue driven they are forced to write nuisance tickets.

I would add that a contributing factor to my lack of nuisance tickets is I treat ALL law enforcement with the utmost respect during traffic stops. These guys spend their days working to enforce the law and keep people safe and as far as I'm concerned are underpayed and definitely under-appreciated.

MikeyTX

You haven't been stopped since the law changed and teeth were put into it have you ?

Blue Demon

The DPS troopers have always been very active on Hwy 287 connecting the Ft Worth area to the Amarillo area. I speak from several experiences, but none since the up to $200 fine came into play. A LEO friend told me 287 is a major drug hauling route and any little violation will get you stopped. Same reason so many people get stopped for no front plate on I-20 west of Ft Worth.

MikeyTX

yup, I see it all the time when I travel to Midland on business. Ditto going to Wichita Falls.

RC4G

What change?

Front plates have always been required in Texas and as a misdemeanor eligible to be fined the max amount at the court's discretion.

The only change that happened is that the DMV code specifc to license plates was moved a couple years ago to a different section and they initially omitted to include the fine values (which was subsequently resolved).

As for being stopped since the DMV code change I was stopped by DPS on HWY 105 westbound on the way to College Station (just passed Plantersville). I was driving my wife's 2012 Grandsport with no front plate (or bracket) and had not noticed that the inspection sticker was expired. DPS charger was originally coming the opposite direction then passed and u-turned and lit us up. Officer was very professional, giving me a written warning for the expired inspection sticker and a verbal warning for no front plate. He specifically stated that he would not have pulled me over for just the front plate but suggested I get it taken care of because other officers might.

MikeyTX

You have been extremely fortunate for what ever reason. All I know is that for the past year since the legislature put some teeth into the front plate law in the form of a fine that is three figures, many have been stopped and cited.

RC4G

Well, don't they say its better to be lucky than good?

If so I'm perfectly ok with that.

MikeyTX

At some point in time, that will end.

Corvette_Ed

This would be true if we were sampling a greater portion of that 4.1m people than just one person's experience.


To add my two cents, I was stopped five times in El Paso by the same DPS officer (guy must really not have anything better to do), twice in my 03 Monte Carlo, and three times in my Vette. Since the law went into affect, I was stopped once for speeding, and the officer made a point to walk to the front of my car to check my front plate.

Premiumspeed

I've lived in Harris County my entire 33 years. This is exactly how it works. Deferral is an easy way out or if you have a good traffic lawyer they can typically get it dismissed for ~$150.

I have no problem with them enforcing the law, i just personally will not ruin the favorite angle of my car by sticking an ugly plate on it.

6k miles on the Houston streets and no problems, sooner or later i'm sure i'll get stopped. I know my local Constable very well and he said it's just one of those things to look for if you "want" to pull someone over. Most of the local Cops could care less, but i know those DPS Troopers are hard core.

beepster

I agree that the front plate requirement in TX is blasphemous. I would likely go the court route, but based on past experience, I'd be doing it every couple of months. We are seriously over policed here in central TX with city police, county deputies, constables (not sure what they do), school district police, state police (DPS), Texas Rangers, etc. Other than the drug runs on I-35 and occasional rock throwing incidents, doesn't seem they have enough action to keep them all busy....

Gadfly

I will never put a front plate on my vette. I don't care what the law says.

MikeyTX

6k on the streets of Houston has got to suck big time. Your traffic there is atrocious to say the least. I have two accounts down there I visit several times a month. I time my drive down to get there about 10:30. By 1:30 I'm on the way back north.

TXGS507

I don't need no stinkin plate!

Except in the back... ( read trim)

beepster

Does anyone know if this law has ever been legally challenged? After all, it is discriminatory....not required for motorcycles.

MikeyTX

Have you the time and money ?

zdeckich

Same here. The few police officers here in Fort Worth that I know, say they wont stop anyone for not having a front plate. I'm not worried about it. Haven't had a front plate on any of my cars for the past 15 years and don't plan to do so anytime soon.

F4Gary

What if I win the powerball and offer you 1 million bucks to put it on?

Never is a long time...