Should PA Registered Cars Also Have Front License plates? (Pittsburgh: sales, crime)

[Wells5]

Supposedly, the reason why PA has only rear license plates was to preserve steel during WW2 and also during the Korean War. But that reason is no longer valid since there is no shortage of steel.


Having both front and rear license plates would make it easier for cops to identify scofflaws who throw litter on the highways and speeders going in the opposite direction from the cop car. It would also aid in the automatic enforcement of the law w.r.t. cars not stopping at stop lights and stop signs, a major problem in cities.


It's also way past the time for a new license plate design. The current license plate design dates from 1973.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Supposedly, the reason why PA has only rear license plates was to preserve steel during WW2 and also during the Korean War. But that reason is no longer valid since there is no shortage of steel.


Having both front and rear license plates would make it easier for cops to identify scofflaws who throw litter on the highways and speeders going in the opposite direction from the cop car. It would also aid in the automatic enforcement of the law w.r.t. cars not stopping at stop lights and stop signs, a major problem in cities.

News to me. How long have the cops been pushing for this?

It's also way past the time for a new license plate design. The current license plate design dates from 1973.

You sure about 1973? When I moved here and ditched my front plate in 1993 I was handed a gold-on-blue plate. Then some years later I had to swap that one for the current blue-on-white plate. The reason for the switch was to advertise the state's new website on the Information Superhighway.

[Tweb66]

I didn't know this was on anyone's radar but I would be really mad of a got a car that wasn't meant for a front license plate, and then was required to add one. If you purchased an Alfa Romeo, you probably care about style more than anything else, and wow does it look awful with a front plate. I've seen them with that ugly yellow NJ plate, completely ruins it.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

I didn't know this was on anyone's radar but I would be really mad of a got a car that wasn't meant for a front license plate, and then was required to add one. If you purchased an Alfa Romeo, you probably care about style more than anything else, and wow does it look awful with a front plate. I've seen them with that ugly yellow NJ plate, completely ruins it.

Alfa Romeo's are made in Italy, and all EU countries require front plates. The glossy photos in the sales brochures may omit the front plate, but they also omit the inspection sticker, EZ Pass, and dead bugs on the windshield.

[PAhippo]

front plate, yes.
new design, no. waste of money. It's a license plate not a decoration.

[SteelCityRising]

Yes. I wish we did have front plates.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Supposedly, the reason why PA has only rear license plates was to preserve steel during WW2 and also during the Korean War. But that reason is no longer valid since there is no shortage of steel.


Having both front and rear license plates would make it easier for cops to identify scofflaws who throw litter on the highways and speeders going in the opposite direction from the cop car. It would also aid in the automatic enforcement of the law w.r.t. cars not stopping at stop lights and stop signs, a major problem in cities.


It's also way past the time for a new license plate design. The current license plate design dates from 1973.

They must have reinstated two plates after WWII and then got rid of them. I have a set of 1950 plates.

Here in Maryland the Maryland State Police go nuts if anyone suggests getting rid of the two plates. They say it's "ease of identification for enforcement" issue. Many speed cameras flash on both plates, so you get a picture in the mail of your vehicle both coming and going.

In any event, the two or one issue is a tempest in a teapot kind of thing. The majority of states, thirty one, are two plate states.

[bridge12]

I agree that vehicles should be required to have front plates, just like NJ. Traffic violence is at an all-time high.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by bridge12

I agree that vehicles should be required to have front plates, just like NJ. Traffic violence is at an all-time high.

There must be a study that shows Philly has more Traffic Crime than Boston, that Pittsburgh has more than Cleveland, York has more than Syracuse, etc, correlating to the lack of front plates.

I'm not denying those studies exist, just asking to see them from the cops who are demanding front plates in PA. Not even asking to prove causation, just correlation and I'll make the leap from there.

[TLC1957]

Not everyone in NJ has a front plate.


https://www.city-data.com/forum/new-...e-license.html

Lived in NJ for 58 years never gave it thought before we moved to Pa 8 years ago. Well at least both of my Hondas have the front plate setup. My CRV I purchased from a NJ dealer while living in Pa it came with the front plate hardware. So what did I put on the front plate?? of course a NY Yankees plate…lol

Tom