Stupid front license plates :( (legal, vehicles, deal)

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by txtea

You don't have "drill holes" in your bumper. A couple of self-tapping screws and you're done. Most front bumpers have small dimples in the bumper where the screws go in to mount the plastic license plate holder. No mess, no problems. It's not that big a deal.

Yeah, that makes for a REALLY pretty hole in the bumper if you don't pre-drill. It's a big deal because I had to deface a pristine bumper in order to mount an unnecessary front tag(or mounting bracket).

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

Yes, there is a cost for the second plate, but it is less than money lost on things like tolls (refer to the link posted earlier).

I have driven through the central Texas toll stations with at least four new vehicles that had NO tags and never have they failed to bill me. The front tag is not necessary from my experience. And why should EVERY vehicle owner have to pay to make it easier(if it is) for the toll authorities to do business?

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by RMESMH

The OP failed to mention that, at least 10 years ago when that happened, there was no financial penalty.

There is a law requiring two plates, but no financial penalty was assigned to it.....

You get a written warning.

Unless the law has changed since the Summer of 2017, it is still that way.

I got one of these written warnings on the car I had in 2011, and three within six weeks in the Summer of 2017 (all three on the same car in 2017, but a different car from 2011). Both cars = registered in Texas.

THAT is interesting! In fact, My Darling did get a warning(not even sure if she got a written one); but no other ticket. Also, the indignant "Why do you THINK we issue two tags?"

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

THAT is interesting! In fact, My Darling did get a warning(not even sure if she got a written one); but no other ticket. Also, the indignant "Why do you THINK we issue two tags?"

A ten year old indignant comment to someone in your house hold. Does it always take that long to process?

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

I have driven through the central Texas toll stations with at least four new vehicles that had NO tags and never have they failed to bill me. The front tag is not necessary from my experience. And why should EVERY vehicle owner have to pay to make it easier(if it is) for the toll authorities to do business?

Good grief, read the studies. It costs everyone more money, not just on tolls.

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

I think Texas does a half decent job of handling the inspections of vehicles. In Georgia, you could count on at least one vehicle at each stop light not being able to pass a basic inspection.

Back home in SC they've done away with vehicle inspections. The crap you see on the road would amaze you.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by m1a1mg

Back home in SC they've done away with vehicle inspections. The crap you see on the road would amaze you.

I grew up in Columbia. Made the mistake of taking the car to an Exxon Car Care TRAINING station for inspection(my then 10 year-old Studebaker Lark VIII). Naturally, they were ultra-strict on everything...including my makeshift red plastic cover that replaced the original busted tail light
I learned a valuable lesson





I read they got rid of the inspections because they couldn't keep up with the corruption and fraud in the system. Dang!

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

Good grief, read the studies. It costs everyone more money, not just on tolls.

Here are the study results, according to the article:


The study found:

• Front plates were easier to read in the daytime environment because of the effects of sun glare.
• The lack of front plates has a significant impact on photographic evidence related to fining toll violators. In Virginia, 23 percent of toll violations could not be pursued because the rear plates were unreadable.
• Without front license plates, the E‐470 corridor in Colorado would lose at least 34.5 percent ($23.1 million) of their toll revenue annually.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports that the number of plates not read on vehicles, because of the lack of two plates, made a significant impact in their border processing; 6 percent of plates at the northern border and 3.4 percent of plates at the southern border were unreadable. With the volume of vehicles processed every day, along with homeland security concerns, the front plate allows CBP to operate more effectively.
• Law enforcement in Pennsylvania, a one-plate state, would like to see two plates to improve their ability to read plates (especially large commercial trucks) using ALPR technology. Sixteen percent of the plates that pass through the tolling facilities are unreadable, which impacts the state’s ability to pursue toll violators.
• Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport reports that 10,000 parking transactions per year (an average of $30 per transaction) rely on ALPR plate reads to determine accurate charging. Fifteen percent of those transactions had to be processed manually because of sun glare on the rear plates.
• Field studies showed a 97 percent read rate for parked vehicles in two-plate states and 76 percent in one-plate states. For moving vehicles, the read rate in Maryland and Texas was 89 percent, in Pennsylvania and Arizona it was 22 percent and 58 percent, respectively, on the roadways connecting Maryland and Pennsylvania. These read rates are based on the opportunity to read a front plate.
• For states with more than 100 miles of toll roads, one-plate states account for 55 percent of the total tollway miles. As fiscal pressures mount, efficiency in the collection of tolls and the pursuit of violators become critical. Front plates increase the likelihood of collecting that revenue.

Again, why should EVERY vehicle owner pay for tolls and parking enforcement???

Heck, the Texas toll folks KNOW who the worst violators are ....and do virtually nothing to prosecute; instead spending their efforts on hassling law abiding citizens who had a credit card expire

[10scoachrick]

By the bye, that first "finding" from the study baffles me. WTF?

[CalTex Ranger]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Yeah, that makes for a REALLY pretty hole in the bumper if you don't pre-drill. It's a big deal because I had to deface a pristine bumper in order to mount an unnecessary front tag(or mounting bracket).

I'm with you here. I have a vintage Porsche that there's no way in hell I'm defacing.

I just keep the plate under the driver's seat and fling it up in the windshield if (errr.... when) I get pulled over.