I'm looking for details on the Maryland front license plate law. I've gotten quite a few hits about people not liking it, but I cannot find any sort of online vehicle code or vehicle laws regarding license plates, details, placement requirements, or anything of that nature...

I have found this petition to get rid of front license plates in Maryland:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mdplate/petition.html
...but not any proof that a law exsists.

If anyone knows of a good (reliable) place to find information regarding if and/or how MD license plates need to be mounted, I'd greatly appreciate it.

r/
Wags

 

here is a pdf file of motor vehicle violations in Maryland published by the State of Maryland. . . .

See page 36 where it lists the violation for having plates that are missing/defaced/obscured.

Also see page 45 where it lists a violation for failure to attach plates to front or rear of vehicle.

Other than changing the laws or moving to a no-front-plate-state, I think you are stuck with the front plate

 

With MD installing more and more red-light cammeras that take pictures of both ends of the car, don't look to them ever going to a single plate, no matter how much people complain about it.

 

I signed the petition and I to hate my front plate. It looks like crap on my Aero front end

 

Thanks for the info. After about 90 minutes of searching, I also found the actual laws.

http://mlis.state.md.us/cgi-win/web_...exe?gtr&13-410

Will post the information I found relevant, in hopes it may help others

so no covers.
So it has to be mounted in the front, firmly, not swinging, but it does not specify 'where' in the front... So you can legally remount them elsewhere, so long as they meet the above criteria.

 

I believe there is a exemption available in some states. I've heard tales of owners of Lambo's, Elises and such getting a waiver because no provision existed on the car for a front tag. Don't know if true, nor any idea if it's a pre existing list or can be applied to.

I thought about this as I also hated putting a tag on my aero kit. But I thought about it and came to this theory. The exemption request might exist, and one might even be able to procure it.

But,
If I'm heading down the highway and am accidently just a few over the limit, say borderline, I can just see some officer having a lousy day saying 'Hmmm, 7 over the limit, not too bad, wait, no front tag... Your a** is mine!'. Sure, I could show the hypothetical exeption paperwork but I'm still stopped and I bet he'd right up the rest.

I figure I'm in better shape in a borderline situation with the tag.

 

I also signed the petition. It'll be better for the environment when all those extra front license plates stop being made.

Knock on wood, but I have yet put my front license plate on. I've had Binky for about 4 months now and only just got the plates last month. The plate is in the backseat, I just haven't had the heart to put holes in him yet. AGain, knock on wood that it can stay like that until I get a bracket somewhere and screw the license plate on.

 

Many of us spend a lot of money making our cars look good. Thousands of dollars for body kits and other accessories to make our cars look just how we like them.

I noticed that it does not appear that the state will penalize you with points against your license, so getting a ticket is just another tax.

So why not take a couple hundred bucks and open a savings account that you will save just for the purpose of paying those annoying no-front-plate tickets?

So many people say things like "I've been driving without a plate for over a year without being questioned about it" that I'll bet you a license plate mounting bracket that you would not ever empty that bank account!

 

I too am dealing with the deuce plate law here in MA. Going without for now, but I'm sure I'm pressing my luck.

How does one go about mounting a front plate? I recently installed the front aero bumper and can see no structurally supported location from the rear. I purchased the aero license plate holder (big $$, thanks BMW) and see where it supposed to go. But I'm afraid to drill the holes, as I can see nuthing to screw into. I hope the bumper skin alone is not expected to support the weight and sustained g forces this thing is bound to endure

 

Its not a moving violation so no points. It is a traffic violation. You might also want to consider that if you drop the front plate, now you got two violations going. If they see one, they will probably get you for both.

See http://www.berwynheightspd.com/tinted%20windows.htm

"[font=Arial,Helvetica,Monaco][size=2](Windows that are tinted darker than 35% are very obvious to police officers.)"[/size][/font]

Note that is says it has to be "attached" to the front so it can't be just sitting on the dash and
"It is the duty of every police officer to report to the Administration all vehicles operated in violation of this section"

 

I would imagine that its in direct proporation to the number of speeding tickets you get. If they stop you for speeding, they most likely will also cite you for safety violation. Otherwise, I would imagine they are not going to stop you on some Interstate for lack of a front plate

 

I also hated the idea of the front plate messing up the sly grin of my MINI so I left it in my backseat, figuring I could talk my way out of it. I got tagged for it in Baltimore on my way north for vacation (a not-so-great start to a vacation is being pulled over) on 95. I was speeding, to be sure, but slammed the brakes immediately. He pulled into traffic behind me and tailed me for about 3 miles before pulling me over. Got the front license plate ticket and not the speeding ticket. I tried the "I just got it and haven't had time to put it on yet" and "My dealer never told me I had to install it (which was true!)" but he wasn't buying it. Thankful that it was just the no-plate ticket though. Knock wood, I haven't been pulled over for speeding for 5 years now, and I've given the po-po plenty of opportunities to catch me!

FWIW,
miniwiley

 

well incase you were wondering there are ways to afix your front plate without nasty defacing of your front bumper...

http://webpages.charter.net/battlecattle/1.jpg

http://webpages.charter.net/battlecattle/2.jpg

these are too big for me to post (and don't feel like resizing right now) so just use the link

-Josh

 

CA requires a front plate, but, I don't have mine mounted.

I have always felt that since it is a $10.00 fine and no points that it gives the nice police officer a chance to write me a ticket and let me go on the speed.

The other day I was driving on a freeway that ends at lights at a T-intersection when a Dodge Ram truck was riding so close to me that I could count the bug specks on his grill and he refused to go around me even though the fast lane to the left was empty for about a mile in each direction. Finally I went from 6th to 4th and floored it --- just as I entered the Highway Patrolman's radar. Needless to say, he came out like a bat and stopped me. After he asked for license, registration, and insurance I told him I only did it because the silver Dodge was ridding my a$$. He looked over my car and then asked me if I had the front plate at home. I said yes and he wrote me for no front plate.

Just paid my $10.00 yesterday (took over an hour in line at the courthouse).

Earl

 

two plates required here in VA also.
In my old car, I went without plates for 1 and half year and got 2 warnings and 3 tickets.. Looks like if you get a ticket once for having no plates, the officer will check the front of your car everytime he stops you..
I felt like a criminal everytime I passed a police car, checking my rearview mirror to see if he's coming back to catch me..
I'm planning to keep the front plates on my MCS.. well actually I tried to take them off, but the dealer made two ugly holes on the front bumper to mount the front license plate bracket.

I've seen several MD cars that have the front plates mounted to the front windshield with suction cups. Not sure if that is legal, but they say they never got any tickets for it.

 

I was actually stopped in the Cooper on a back road in Fairfax County last year. It was a motorcycle officer coming in the other direction, so he knew there was no tag up there...

Heck, while he was writing the speeding ticket he even walked around to the front of the car and took another look at the front end... And never said a word about the missing front tag...

Didn't ticket me for it either...

 

there is something that must be said in favor of them, as the following example illustrates.

In the era prior to existence of affordable cell phones, one of my relatives was the intended victim of an attempted street robbery.

The evening the incident occurred, said relative was departing work. As she crossed the parking lot after leaving her office building, she noticed a car parked nose-out in a semi-secluded spot nearby. The two occupants of the car (male driver and female passenger, if I recall correctly) aroused her suspicions- they were watching her intently as she approached her car. She looked for the tag to memorize the number and...
WTF?
No tag.
No number.

The car was backed up in a corner of the lot, in such a manner that it appeared it had been deliberately parked so as to obscure any obvious identifying features, be not visible to passers-by from the street, and still afford a clear view of the lot from inside the car. The nose of the car was in plain sight from her perspective, but without a front plate, this didn't matter.

By the time the victim had noticed the pair and determined that they were a potential threat, she surmised that reaching her own car was her best chance at safety. So, she continued across the lot, rather than turning back for the (now double-locked) building entrance. As the victim was about to open the door to her car, the passenger of the unidentified vehicle approached her, accosted her, and tried (unsuccessfully) to take her purse. As this was happening, the driver of the other car pulled up close to the struggling pair.

Fortunately, after the initial attempt at grabbing the purse failed, the attacker jumped back into the unidentified car, which fled the scene via a path that prevented a clear view of the rear plate. The victim got in her car and drove the short distance to the police station to file a report. Unfortunately, she could only provide a basic description of the car used in the crime, as she is not really a "car person."

No arrests were made in this case, and it remains unsolved to this day.

If the vehicle used to commit the crime had displayed a front tag, the walk to the victim's car would have offered plenty of time to memorize the number- information that might have led to an arrest and conviction of the responsible parties.

***

I'll be the first to admit that the perps could easily have removed their front tag prior to staking out the lot for a victim, but I doubt they would have done so, as:
1) many criminals are stupid, and overlook the obvious.
2) in a state where it is required by law, a missing front tag draws the attention of law enforcement (as some of you can already attest. )

As much of an annoyance as front plates may be, my example demonstrates a concern that I believe needs to be raised, as the attempted crime could easily have been much more serious than a simple unarmed robbery.

Just a little something to consider before signing that online petition...

 

nevermind. Posted something that I misread.

 

Something also to keep in mind - as the HR Generalist for the company I work for, one of my duties is to pull the criminal/driving record (along with other checks) on potential employees we are considering extending a job offer to.

I just had one three weeks ago that had a spotless record, except for the citation he received in 2002 for "Failure to attach plates to front of vehicle". Yes, I know, of course this isn't a big issue, but we still needed to discuss it. Talk about embarrassing for him! And had he been applying for a position where security was key, this may even have kept him from getting the position!

So, yes, I can argue all day long that I don't agree with the fact that should be used against employment (hey, even I had to have a very uncomfortable discussion with my boss regarding my two speeding tickets in the last 7 years!) but it's there...

For my personal experience, I had to watch my dad drill holes in the bumper of my car when I moved to Virginia (the car I had before my MINI) because it had been bought in a state that does not have a front license plate law and the car was even manufactured without a place for the license plate! A little bit of my heart died to see that drill go in through the bumper! And my dad nearly killed me because I kept saying "is it straight? is it level?"

 

I have a 'very' high security clearance.

When my agency came to my area recruiting, they initially denied me for the clearance because of: (short story time)

I had a 2 year cell phone contract. I was going overseas on a ship for 6 months, so I went to Verizon Wireless, and turned over my contract to a friend, and paid all the bills.

Somehow between when I turned over the contract, and the end of the month, another $18 of fees accrued. I never recieved notice of this. By the time I got back from deployment, and attended the interview, my credit report showed that I was over 180 days delinquent on a bill of $18. This was enough to disqualify me from the next step of the interview, using their weeding-out process.

I went to Verizon, took care of it, and came back with a reciept, and was allowed to proceed with the screening...


400 people showed up for the interview. It was a 5 day process, and by the 5th day, there were only about 20 of us. Of those 20, we were submitted for a higher clearance. Not all of those get approved.


Point being, $18 almost kept me from an awesome job.