[imarkchoe]

Well, i parked my car and the next thing i know, i have a ticket for not having my front license plate bolted on...what do i do? the ticket says the bail out money is $76 so is it a fix it ticket or do i just have to pay the money and its all good? HELP!!!

[SES_D]

It's a fix-it ticket. Just slap on your plate one way or another and bring it to a police station to get it signed off. The fine here in Norcal is $10 after the sign off.

[mroach]

In MA not having a front plate is a non-moving violation (as in it has nothing to do with the way you were driving = no insurance involvement) and you just pay the fine and you're done.

I'd check the law though to see that they can actually give you a ticket for that when your car is parked. When your car is parked you could also remove your headlamps and tail lights which would make it completely illegal to drive, but it's not being driven when parked, so how can they ticket you?

[BMW F22]

^ It's weird but meter maids can give you tickets for not having a front plate. It's crazy but it's true. I suppose they can because if you're parked in public you must have drove the car there. No reasonable person would drive with it on and take the plate off when they park. So it's safe to assume that you've been driving without one and thus the ticket.

[SES_D]

Meter Maids are POS...I've gotten 2 no front plate tickets because of them. I wouldn't mind if a cop pulled me over for one because I feel that is more legitimate.

I hate them all even if they are "just doing their job".

[E90330iS]

$76 for a fix it??

[shaddai]

Originally Posted by Kenny@JleviSW

I suppose they can because if you're parked in public you must have drove the car there. No reasonable person would drive with it on and take the plate off when they park. So it's safe to assume that you've been driving without one and thus the ticket.

I got a ticket once for having expired tags while my car was sitting in the parking lot at work. That was their argument ("You obviously drove it there on public roads") when I took it up with the local PD office.

[bsamoul]

my dad's been lucky, 2.5 years without a ticket yet. and my truck hasn't had one for who knows how long

[Pedal2Floor]

Originally Posted by SES_D

Meter Maids are POS...I've gotten 2 no front plate tickets because of them. I wouldn't mind if a cop pulled me over for one because I feel that is more legitimate.

I hate them all even if they are "just doing their job".

When in the city with meter maids that may ping you for a ticket, just use double sided tape. Slap on the plate -- peel it off later. I know at least two guys that do this (well, one guy uses a magnet). You can also get fake plates some with even raised lettering but still plastic, and use that so your real plate does not get nicked. I have seen that done as well. It is hard to tell if its a real or fake unless you are really looking and I assume the meter maids are not going to look too hard but it is easy to spot a missing plate vs a car with a fake.

[AdamJ]

Originally Posted by Pedal2Floor

When in the city with meter maids that may ping you for a ticket, just use double sided tape. Slap on the plate -- peel it off later. I know at least two guys that do this (well, one guy uses a magnet). You can also get fake plates some with even raised lettering but still plastic, and use that so your real plate does not get nicked. I have seen that done as well. It is hard to tell if its a real or fake unless you are really looking and I assume the meter maids are not going to look too hard but it is easy to spot a missing plate vs a car with a fake.

I'm pretty sure people don't leave the front plate off their car because they are worried about nicks.......

[raceyBMW]

Keep your plate in your glove compartment, and whenever you park somewhere in public parking just put the plate on your dash. That's what I do here (front plates required) and have never gotten hassled....but I have the two times I forgot to do it.

[bsamoul]

I could care less if the plate got nicked...

[jlipton]

F***ing pisses me off too. I live in NoCal and, whenever I get a new car and try to go without front plates, I get a ticket from the meter maids. Here in SF, if you park in the Marina, you will get a ticket. So I invariably give up and drill into my front bumper to avoid the hassle. Last time, when I brought the car to the police station to get the fix-it signed off, the cop actually said "oh man, it's a shame you had to drill your bumper. That car isn't meant to have a front plate." But I still see a lot of people driving around without front plates. I guess I'm just unlucky.

[3er858]

$76= not putting the plate back on and just paying the fine.

$10= putting the plate on and having a cop sign it off. 10 bucks is for the admin fee...

[mroach]

I should correct myself. I have a front plate, it's just not a legal one

The car already had holes drilled in the bumper for the plate holder so I figured why not...



I've had it on there about 5 weeks so far and no tickets yet. Had a flag of Norway instead of a real plate on my previous car for about 3 years and never got a ticket for that. Maybe they don't care in MA...

[Deda]

i dont get it,why are you driving without front licence plate and paying police such a stipid thing...in Europe its a normal thing to drive with both front and rear,and that thing with german plates is worst thing i ever saw!

[darkphantom]

wow....double sided tape to the station....

[mroach]

Originally Posted by Deda

i dont get it,why are you driving without front licence plate and paying police such a stipid thing...in Europe its a normal thing to drive with both front and rear,and that thing with german plates is worst thing i ever saw!

But you guys get to naturally use awesome plates. We have really ugly and crappy plates here.

[e93burner]

For a quick fix, pick up some blue painters masking tape and some double sided 3M foam tape. Clean the center of the bumper well, lay down some masking tape, and attach the plate with the 3M tape on top of the masking tape. Go get signed off on the ticket and then easily remove it all in 20 seconds. This sticks well enough that you can also use this as a long term solution without messing up your bumper.

[imarkchoe]

Originally Posted by e93burner

For a quick fix, pick up some blue painters masking tape and some double sided 3M foam tape. Clean the center of the bumper well, lay down some masking tape, and attach the plate with the 3M tape on top of the masking tape. Go get signed off on the ticket and then easily remove it all in 20 seconds. This sticks well enough that you can also use this as a long term solution without messing up your bumper.

I'm just scared if i do that, they'll actually check to see if it's screwed in or not..and if it isnt..then hahaha so i think i might just pay the fine

[mrbrett]

Originally Posted by imarkchoe

I'm just scared if i do that, they'll actually check to see if it's screwed in or not..and if it isnt..then hahaha so i think i might just pay the fine

Wait now... I live in Southern California too, and was in this situation. Is the ticket White or Yellow? The cop that gave me mine, went out of his way to give me a yellow ticket for speeding, and a white fix-it ticket, that has to be fixed no matter what. I tried to just pay the fine, but they would not let me. It was the douche nozzle highway patrol though, so I don't know exactly if it's different.

I got one of those plate holders that screws in under the bumper so you can't see the holes, and then I can take it off easily and you cannot tell a plate holder was ever there and no ugly holes in the bumper.

[e93burner]

I believe there is no law that says you need to screw the plate down. It just needs to be secure so adhesive is fine. Also, for my fix it tickets they just looked at the car from a distance and signed the back of the ticket.
Many people on the forum here use double sided tape instead of screws and it seems to be a good solution. When I did Euro delivery BMW used adhesive tape and even at 145mph on the autobahn it stayed secure with one strip of tape across the top of the plate.