Does the MD License plate need to be on the front bumper? I removed the front, and found that the plastic plate holder actually melted into my bumper, which really pissed me off. There's a slight gash where the plastic and bumper were bound together for a short while.

 

Yes, Maryland requires a front tag.

That being said, I removed mine a few weeks ago.

 

I've been running without one for 5+ months now without issue. As long as you seldom park on the street, it's not a real problem.

 

Can't I just put mine like, on the front window, on the inside? It's really irritating me how it's ruining my bumper.

 

Keep it in the trunk and have a good story on hand about how it fell off in case you get pulled over...

 

well if it already screwed up the bumper, do you want to go w/o it now and show that mark?

my wife was running w/o a front tag in VA but a cop tailed her and pulled her over and gave a warning. I'm thinking of running w/o it on my car, but its a $75 ticket in VA

 

I would rather have the tag in the front. If someone backs into it. they will hit the tag intead of damaging my bumper.

 

Really? It was only $40 when I got one.

 

My front plate has a dent in it because of that exact situation. Luckily, my bumper wasn't even touched.

 

I thought all ac's had front mounted plates that were under the bumper...


Illinois requires the front plate, but yet I won't comply

 

only good thing about PA is I dont need one.

 

Running tagless in MD here

 

I had no front tag on my old car in MD for about 3 years, got pulled over twice. Both times told the cop I just hadn't had chance to put it on, both times let off with a verbal warning. I second the recomendation to leave it in the trunk.

That said, I have it on now. I don't find it as annoying on this car.

 

I just keep it on.

Like xizor says, it already messed up the bumper, and I really don't have the patience to deal with cops these days. Less hassle for me.

 

TX requires a front tag, but a significant number of people run w/o. I've been running w/o since 1991 and got one ticket (1993, $50, local fine not on record) that was better than the other option...

...here's the rub. The police are trained (at least in TX) to aim their laser at the front license plate. Turns out the reflective coating is ideal for the IR pulse the police speed lasers use, and the location is such that aiming center of front bumper (the generally correct location) at a car 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile away almost always gets a good return.

Will no front plate cause the officer to fail to get a good speed...not necessarily, however if you are using a good laser detector, it might give you an extra second or two to react. When I was popped in '93 it was when I was doing about 80 in a 55 in a C4 Vette...he couldn't get a good reading before I spotted him and slowed down, he jumped behind me and verified TX rear plate and made the stop. I asked why he made the stop, he said he had failed to get a laser speed on me (and wanted to check if I was supposed to have a front plate.

That said, the Vette had a body with no reflectors visible on the front (with headlights off) so was a poor target...the TSX will return from the headlights and foglights (somewhat, I know it is off focus) too.

Da Duck

 

was there a point to your post?

 

Okay, I think this was solved a few weeks back when I said that I'd just keep it on. Just close it.

 

The front plate saved my arse a bunch of times. While parking in a parking lot, I always park with my front in, so when people park in front of me and come to close they hit my plate instead of my back bumper. This has happen to me so many times to the pont that if a parking space is unavailable to allow me to park front first, I will just leave the entire place.

 

it seemed like he was trying to say a $50 no-plate ticket is worth it because it can help you avoid speeding tickets.

 

whats the big deal with the plates? i guess i just dont know any different besides having 2 plates

 

AMEN...

Anyone know if FL has a front plate???

 

i believe this all to be BS. the plate makes a marginal difference on clocking speed, and that's if they're even good enough to aim it at the plate, which is pretty tiny. the huge car makes a good target though.

 

OK, I respect your view, but know that the Reserve Officers I work with reliably report that an average car with no front plate is very hard to get a Laser reading on at a range that a car with a front plate is detectable at.

The plate is reflective of light, and that's what a police IR laser uses, just below the visible spectrum. To reflect properly, the plate has surfaces/materials that will return a beam of light (visible or not) directly at the source.

Consider your car, if you shine a light at it from anything other than a 90 degree angle you see a light spot but not a direct reflection of the beam...the majority of the light is reflected in a different direction and not returned to the source, thus the reduced detection range.

As for good enough to aim...look at an officer aiming a laser. They have a small sight on the top of the unit, and they align this with the target vehicle. As I stated, aiming at the center front of the vehicle (just below the grill if it is visible) certainly will get a return off the plate a vast majority of the time.

OBTW, the front plate missing will also help if the local photo radar/red light camera takes only frontal shots (as a few do) or is a single unit with a fixed direction of photo taking.

Da Duck