License Plate Frames Illegal?

[krazeekalvin]

It is just another reason for pulling you over. Have to bring in that extra revenue for the state.

[Fyrzowt]

That may be true in some instances, but for the most part there was some degree of logic - at least in the intent. Granted, common sense is not common, especially at the state capital. And original intent gets twisted around at times.
Dave

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, one of my jobs at the Ford dealer is to order and stock license frames for Ford and Lincoln / Mercury. It is in my opinion, a California thing. I used to point out, "out of state vehicles" to other people; They would ask me, "How can you tell that, that is an out of state vehicle?' The answer was the Chrome dealer tag, usually stuck onto the back of the vehicle, tailgate, trunk lid, or lift gate on vehicles where they don't allow license frames. Also, My supplier said he had a hard time in Texas until he could prove that his license frame company could make dealer frames without blocking tags, numbers, or state names.

[yukionna]

On my front plate, I was using a frame to support a clear insert which protected the plate from bugs, etc. that were difficult to clean off. Recently, I noticed that when the weather is wet and humid, the inside of the clear insert fogs up which obscures the plate. I have since removed the frame and insert.

[Royce]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Most, if not all, states have a similar statute in their uniform traffic code. These laws are in place to insure that license tags are not significantly obscured. I spent several years as a Motorcycle Officer with the City of Tallahassee, Florida, Police Department, and have made thousands of traffic stops. Generally, law enforcement officers do not go around stopping vehicles because a small portion of the tag is obscured. This statute is usually used as probable cause to stop a vehcle when there is no other violation present and something just doesn't smell right. The most likely reason that the stated DWI case in Texas got the State Supreme Court was that the officer was suspicious of the driver and wanted to stop him to check him out. The defendant probably claimed that he was stopped on suspicion only and, therefore, wanted the case thrown out. The officer used the tag obscuring violation as probable cause to make the traffic stop. Once having made the legal stop, the officer was then able to determine that the driver was impaired and made the arrest. I have made many DWI arrests, and there was always an accompanying violation. Usually, the only time that this is not the case is at a sobriety check point.

I do not care for license plate frames, and don't use them. If I did decide that I wanted one, I would not be the least bit concerned about being stopped by the Police.

Good call Brian,


I am sure that in most jurisdictions you have described the situation exactly. And I am happy to hear that you were allowed to serve in just such a place. Certainly described the place I moved from. Unfortunately in some, the little obscure laws are used for revenue generation. It is my belief that COS is one of them. Sadly here many of those that serve and protect are required to be tax collectors instead of peace officer. That ultimately will make the job less rewarding and much less satisfying. And promotes an “us and them” attitude that is unproductive for all of us. I have friends retired from law enforcement and I can see the slow change in attitude on them. Maybe the difference is just one of population size as COS has gotten rather large.


I also don't like the plate frames and have none on my autos.

[85MH325]

As a currently sitting Chief of Police, I can tell you that traffic fine revenues are an insignificant revenue source at any level of government. Municipalities actually typically have a far greater income from parking citations. In my 30+ years of experience and having seen everything from cardboard plate forgeries to all kinds of attempts to obscure plates on purpose, having a law that says plates have to be displayed as issued is a good thing, and is a signficant issue for maintaining the greater public safety. There's nothing quite as scary as stopping a car full of shady characters and not being able to read a portion of the plate, or figure out what state the plate was issued in. There's nothing more frustrating than having a partial plate number from a witness to a crime and having no idea what state it came from 'cause it was covered by a license plate frame from "Joe's Used Auto Sales".

Airstream owners fall squarely in the "shady character" category!

The scads of special plates issued by all states now are a real problem for law enforcement and identifying valid plates.

Roger

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by 85MH325

The scads of special plates issued by all states now are a real problem for law enforcement and identifying valid plates.

Roger

I know most of y'all won't agree with me, but there are entirely too many specialty plates. There should be a limit to the number of types of specialty plates, and they should look more like the standard issuing states' plate. Last time I was at our local tage office, there was almost an entire wall full of specialty plates.