No front license plate>cool>ticket=I love Texas!

[RossBMWZseries]

I have a 1 hour lunch. On my way to Office Depot to pick up $835 that they owe me, a super slow mini van is in the left lane. As soon as he moves over to the right, I passed him, slightly heavy on the acceleration. Valentine 1 isn't picking anything up and then there I see it! A police SUV. My car's nose dives in and I see him looking at me. My first reaction is to unplug the radar. He tailgates me for about a minute, then pulls me over. I think he assumed I was a douchebag as most BMW drivers are (pun intended!), so he was being a smartass with me. He told me saw me speed and slam the brakes. I didn't deny it and told him I was just passing a vehicle. He then went around my car inspecting it. He asked why I didn't have a front license plate. I played dumb and said I didn't know texas required it. He said he didn't believe me until I told him that I live behind a police station and I've had the car for 4 years and NEVER have I been told by law enforcement that I need one, even the times I get pulled over. He said then he must be the only cop doing his job, apparently he is he went on saying that he's pulled over more expensive cars, like $100k Lamborghinies and Maseratis lol.

He realized I wasn't a douche, he became friendly and gave me a warning but did say if he saw me again, he'd give me a ticket. It's near my work area and I'm in this area pretty much every day of the week. I don't want to put a license plate in my car. My bumper is brand new, I don't want to drill holes and it looks plain ugly.

I've searched but cant find it, a front license plate that has a mechanism allowing it to hide and come out when needed to be displayed. I know I've seen it somewhere online. Anyone??

[RADRACR]

Before I lived in Florida (no front plates) I bought this and kept it in the hatch: http://www.gominigo.com/NHLPB-main.html

My plan was if I ever got pulled over or asked about it, I would show it to the officer and say I had forgotten to put it back on. It never happened. Although I did occasionally put it on if I had to street park for extended periods of time downtown.

So there's that, unless you want to get a more advanced mechanism. Personally, I think even a hiding mechanism would ruin the aesthetic.

[acpro999]

I have this. It's well made and discrete

http://www.skenedesign.com/FPBracket/index.shtml

[NickyC]

I doubt you'll see him again. I've never run a front license plate here in Missouri (over 20 years now) and I've only been pulled over once. It's so far down their list of priorities, you have to be doing something else stupid before they even notice.

[mfanatic325]

The whole front plate requirement thing is just a load of !@#$%^&*
As long as you even have a valid plate, who gives a flying fck
"doing their jobs" my ass. How about not camping on the side of the road giving out BS tickets to feed their money pool; and actually respond to emergency/distress calls?

anyway, enough of my ranting. Sorry you got gypped. Just get one of those tow hitch things like others have mentioned. Then you can take them off whenever you want. The "Rho Plate" is another option available to you @ ~$70 USD.

[RossBMWZseries]

Originally Posted by NickyC

I doubt you'll see him again. I've never run a front license plate here in Missouri (over 20 years now) and I've only been pulled over once. It's so far down their list of priorities, you have to be doing something else stupid before they even notice.

Thank you all for responding. I've seen all those options but it's not so much the drilling holes in bumper that bothers me. What bothers me is having an ugly plate stealing the front look of your car :/
Nicky you are right. I'm sure It's not their priority but this happened near my workplace. Chances are I might see him again. Im 28, been driving since my teen years without a plate and I've never been given BS

[phickson]

Go motorized....

http://www.hidetheplate.com/product_...&products_id=2

[whatcubed]

Did you get a written "fix-it" ticket warning, where you have to go to the courthouse and show that you have a front plate installed? Or just a verbal warning?

If you got a verbal, you could just take your chances and keep running without one. Chances the same cop sees you again are slim. If you're worried about him keeping an eye out in the short term, get the bracket that screws into your tow hook. That way you can run it for a while, and in a few weeks/months/whenever, remove it and throw it in the trunk. With that bracket, you won't have any holes in your bumper.

[KevinC]

I've always wondered - are europeans as pissy as we Americans about the requirement to display a (giant in their case) front plate? Or do they just accept it and comply and not give it another thought?

I'm really amused by some of these elaborate solutions to prevent drilling. Most look like A$$, whereas just screwing the thing on properly looks fine. Puts a few holes in the bumper? Sure, but since the plate is theoretically there to stay, who cares? It's not a Wayne Carini museum piece, it's a driver.

All this from a guy who lives in a no-front-plate state, and that also allows tinting to ridiculous extremes (despite 35% being the law), thanks to our desert climate.

[3002 tii]

...but 90% of your posts on BFC are related to street "kills" lol, you sure it wasn't a mere pass?

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by RossBMWZseries

Thank you all for responding. I've seen all those options but it's not so much the drilling holes in bumper that bothers me. What bothers me is having an ugly plate stealing the front look of your car :/
Nicky you are right. I'm sure It's not their priority but this happened near my workplace. Chances are I might see him again. Im 28, been driving since my teen years without a plate and I've never been given BS

Then you definitely have a decision to make. I bet you won't ever see him again, but he will certainly write you up again if he sees you. The one thing officers hate more than anything is if they feel you are disrespecting them in some way. The officer no doubt viewed it as a "gift" that he let you off with no ticket, and if he sees you still running around without a front plate after this "gift", you better believe he's coming after you. I have to be 100% honest here however, I would agree with him. He no doubt has better things to do than pull you over for not having a plate, and please remember he's only doing his job. You and I both know front plates are BS, but it is the law and he has to enforce it.

If you do decide to go without the plate and he hits you again, I would strongly recommend being as upfront and honest as possible and apologize to him. I know it's only a plate, but cops can be set off in the most mundane ways these days. Good luck.

[WAMz4]

I bought this small plastic bracket as it is soft enough to bend to the shape of the bumper, http://www.ebay.com/itm/FRONT-LICENS...-/110716410615 bolted the licence plate to it and bent it to match, then 3M mounted it to my front bumper. No holes, no mess. when Colorado comes to its senses and drops the front plate requirement, i can just peel it off.

[RossBMWZseries]

Originally Posted by phickson

Go motorized....

http://www.hidetheplate.com/product_...&products_id=2

This is pretty much what I'm looking for but in this case, you have to step out of the car and manually display the plate. By the time you step out, the cop either knows you don't have a front plate. What im looking is the same thing but it's controlled through a remote ran inside the cabin. Kinda like the Transporter movies

[RossBMWZseries]

Originally Posted by whatcubed

Did you get a written "fix-it" ticket warning, where you have to go to the courthouse and show that you have a front plate installed? Or just a verbal warning?

If you got a verbal, you could just take your chances and keep running without one. Chances the same cop sees you again are slim. If you're worried about him keeping an eye out in the short term, get the bracket that screws into your tow hook. That way you can run it for a while, and in a few weeks/months/whenever, remove it and throw it in the trunk. With that bracket, you won't have any holes in your bumper.

Well it was a verbal warning but he also gave me the yellow paper indicating its a warning. He didn't mention anything about going to court. The warning paper doesn't indicate that either

[RossBMWZseries]

Originally Posted by KevinC

I've always wondered - are europeans as pissy as we Americans about the requirement to display a (giant in their case) front plate? Or do they just accept it and comply and not give it another thought?

I'm really amused by some of these elaborate solutions to prevent drilling. Most look like A$$, whereas just screwing the thing on properly looks fine. Puts a few holes in the bumper? Sure, but since the plate is theoretically there to stay, who cares? It's not a Wayne Carini museum piece, it's a driver.

All this from a guy who lives in a no-front-plate state, and that also allows tinting to ridiculous extremes (despite 35% being the law), thanks to our desert climate.

Mmmm I think we are the drama queens lol. But like I said, I don't care about the holes, like you stated, they'd be covered by the plate anyway. I just HATE how the plate takes away the nice look of the car from the front IMO. Trust me, if I had the option to use a Euro plate, I totally would. I believe it actually improves the car, giving it a foreign German look.

[RossBMWZseries]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

...but 90% of your posts on BFC are related to street "kills" lol, you sure it wasn't a mere pass?

Hey hey hey! What are you doing here?? Haha you're right though lol. But here on Zpost, I'm a changed man.........

I did accelerate a bit too much, I possibly hit 50 on a 35 :/

[RossBMWZseries]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Then you definitely have a decision to make. I bet you won't ever see him again, but he will certainly write you up again if he sees you. The one thing officers hate more than anything is if they feel you are disrespecting them in some way. The officer no doubt viewed it as a "gift" that he let you off with no ticket, and if he sees you still running around without a front plate after this "gift", you better believe he's coming after you. I have to be 100% honest here however, I would agree with him. He no doubt has better things to do than pull you over for not having a plate, and please remember he's only doing his job. You and I both know front plates are BS, but it is the law and he has to enforce it.

If you do decide to go without the plate and he hits you again, I would strongly recommend being as upfront and honest as possible and apologize to him. I know it's only a plate, but cops can be set off in the most mundane ways these days. Good luck.

I agree with every word you said. I'm a very honest man, even with cops. I usually admit to them when I'm at fault, they seem to appreciate that I'm not trying to bs my way out, so they'll usually let me off with a warning. BUT, I'm gonna keep running plateless.. I'm gonna buy the motorized plate and have it hidden at all times. If a cop ever pulls me over and questions me on front plate, I'll insist that it's there. When he asks me to step out and go see for myself, my story will be, "ooooooohhh! I'm sorry officer, the screw must've came off! Here, it's fixed now "... And walk away with a warning every time, as long as it's not the same cop. Sounds like a credible story... To me...

[RossBMWZseries]

Originally Posted by WAMz4

I bought this small plastic bracket as it is soft enough to bend to the shape of the bumper, http://www.ebay.com/itm/FRONT-LICENS...-/110716410615 bolted the licence plate to it and bent it to match, then 3M mounted it to my front bumper. No holes, no mess. when Colorado comes to its senses and drops the front plate requirement, i can just peel it off.

I thought of doing this as well, just 3M taping it on there. How long has it lasted on your bumper now?

[Efthreeoh]

Why don't people get upset about having to mount a rear license plate? It's just as ugly and don't more people see it, since everyone driving is always looking forward?

I don't get it.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Why don't people get upset about having to mount a rear license plate? It's just as ugly and don't more people see it, since everyone driving is always looking forward?

I don't get it.

Because rear plate won't ruin the lines of the car.


OP you should use Waze app. I get tons of police notifications and find that combined with V1 is good for most situations.

[Slalom]

I was dropping my son off at school, cop across the street looked at my car and pulled me over for no front plate. Told me to install it is 24 hours and they would cancel the ticket. I used 4 wire ties to hold it in place and went to the police station. They cancelled the ticket.

After 4 years with no front plate I figured that it was time and had the stock plate holder painted body colour and the plate mounted.

[RADRACR]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Why don't people get upset about having to mount a rear license plate? It's just as ugly and don't more people see it, since everyone driving is always looking forward?

I don't get it.

Because all car rears are designed with plates in mind because it applies worldwide.