For Some, Vanity Means No Plate at All Up Front
Question: Over the last several years, I have become increasingly annoyed by the growing number of autos not displaying a front license plate.
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t the California Vehicle Code require plates on the front and rear of all passenger vehicles? Why are individuals allowed to get away with this blatant disregard of regulations? --P.C., Laguna Beach
Answer: There are vanity license plates, and then there is just pure vanity, in which the motorist likes the look of his or her car better without the front license plate.
“They think their car is prettier,” says Steve Kohler, spokesman at the California Highway Patrol in Sacramento.
Section 5200 of the California Vehicle Code states that when the Department of Motor Vehicles issues two license plates for a vehicle, one must be attached in front, the other in the rear. (Motorcycles and trailers are issued only one plate.)
But the rule is frequently broken. Last year, the CHP alone wrote more than 29,000 citations for missing front license plates. Enforcement by local police departments across the state could easily double that number to 60,000.
A lot of people aren’t caught, since equipment violations such as missing plates are not a top traffic priority. The CHP wrote 355,000 citations for equipment violations of all kinds, including broken taillights and malfunctioning mufflers, in 1999.
In the case of a missing front plate, the CHP typically issues what is called a “fix-it,” which requires the motorist to get the additional plate and have an officer inspect it. The fix-it doesn’t carry a fine but usually requires a processing fee of $15 or more.
If a person has been previously cited or warned, the lack of a front plate will bring a citation with a fine attached.
*
One factor that may encourage drivers to flout the law is that some newer cars, particularly luxury models, do not come equipped with the license-plate mounting hardware, said Sgt. Ernie Sanchez of the CHP’s Southern Division in Glendale.
“A lot of the newer, fancier cars don’t have the brackets or a device to fix the plate to the front of the vehicle, and oftentimes you have to ask for it or pay for it,” Sanchez said. “People don’t feel their vehicle looks as fancy, and if they don’t even have the brackets, that’s all the more reason not to mount the plate.”
It’s true: Some luxury imports don’t come with factory-installed brackets.
However, a sales representative from House of Imports in Buena Park, a leading Mercedes-Benz dealer, said the brackets are to be installed at the dealership. A salesman with an Orange County BMW dealership said that the brackets come on all cars sold by that German brand but that many customers later remove them.
*
Law enforcement considers front plates to be an important investigative tool.
“It makes it a lot easier to ID vehicles, particularly during hit-and-run accidents and during pursuits,” Sanchez said. “It also assists people doing parking enforcement.”
But contrary to popular myth, officers are not routinely taught to read license plates backward using the rearview mirror.
“A lot of officers can do it after a number of years on the job,” said CHP spokesman Tim Maley, a former patrolman. “But it is not a skill taught at the academy.”
*
Jeanne Wright cannot answer mail personally but responds in this column to automotive questions of general interest. Write to Your Wheels, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. E-mail: highway1@latimes.com.
