I was putting new plates on my car today - struggling with the bolts on the front plate and I thought… Why the hell do I need front plates anyway? And why aren’t front plates mirror image so you can read the plate of the car behind you in your rear-view mirror? What is the purpose?
in some states you don’t need plates. i live in PA and we don’t use/need them here
I’m in much better condition to read your plates before you run over me than after.
Ah. But if I run you down successfully, it won’t matter that you’ve read it.
I think front license plates look the way they do because:
- You don’t have to make two different sets of plates with different imprints (regular and mirror)
- They are probably read most frequently (or diligently) by people giving you parking tickets. They don’t need to see them in a mirror.
This comes up all the time in Illinois, with some people saying front plates can’t be that useful if other states get away with not having them and the police saying that two plates gives you about twice the chances of seeing the plate on a car. Granted, you might not be able to read it in the mirror, but you can read an approaching car (provided it’s moving slowly). Even if it gives you a 20% better chance, it’s still 20% better than you had.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
If you are among the unfortunate people who live in cities with photo radar it provides an image of the front of your car with your beaming face and license plate in the same picture, thus proving your heinous crime without a shadow of a doubt.
The second plate allows someone to steal the front one and use it as their back one. You won’t notice until you’re arrested as the getaway driver from a bank job. 
Oh, easy, so the cops can point their radar gun at it…duh.
Funny thing is, the fine for not having your front plate on in Illinois is a measly $25, and it’s not a moving violation. Most Chicago parking fines, much less Illinois moving violations, are far more. You’re probably not going to get caught here unless you’re pulled over for something else; the cops have bigger fish to fry. Considering how no other state I’ve lived in ever required a front plate, I leave mine off out of civil disobediance. (Ooooh! What a rebel I am!)
Handy wrote
“Oh, easy, so the cops can point their radar gun at it…duh.”
Then why aren’t they required in all 50 states? That can’t be their actual purpose.
Although, Kuwatto’s point about photo-radar rings true, front plates have been required by law for MUCH longer than we have had photo-radar used in this state (Colorado).
NY state has had front and rears for as long as I know. We have a couple old plates hanging in the garage from the 50’s and of course there are two identical plates. My guess is the cops have always wanted two for ID purposes. I seem to recall reading that there were 2 plates even during prohibition (the local history book “Rum Along the Mohawk” perhaps). At any rate it was probably more important in the past when it was easier to outrun the law. Now there is much more communication, better police equipment, etc.
If you see someone hit by a car wouldn’t it be nice to know you could read their plate in the front of the car?
I always thought it was the “cheapskate” factor. Some states get by with one because of the cost savings.
I got a ticket once for not having the front plate on my car, as soon as I saw the citation on my windshield I went to a pay phone, called the police and reported a stolen tag. Then I went to the traffic adjudication window and gave them the report # and the citation and they let me off with no questions asked.
I have seen cars that appear to have no place to attach a front plate, no holes for bolts or anything- what do these people do in states that require front & rear tags?
By the way, I don’t live in any state.
Yeppers, in Colorado they require front and rear plates. They have photo-radar in Denver, Boulder and a couple of other smaller cities in the state, but not here in C Springs yet…so photo-radar has nothing to do with it.
Personally, I think it’s to give the prisoners more work time in the license plate room. Hey, they learn a valuable skill!
hehe
First of all that book title should be “Rum Along the Border” (note to self, don’t post past your bedtime). Second, I searched Alltheweb.com for “New York”+“License plates” and ended up with way to many links. One of the links was for a “set of '31 NY plates”. NY has had them for at least that long.
I really don’t care, except they look really ugly on some cars; XKE’s, for instance! I don’t like them on my Rabbit; makes it look buck-toothed!
Some cars have no built-in place to attach a front plate. On these cars, there’s a plateholder attachment that can put on by the dealer in states where front plates are required.
I assume that if the dealer DOESN’T put it on that they just leave it in the trunk, but I’ve never bought a car that didn’t already have it installed. In fact, one car had one installed AND one in the trunk.
A friend of mine lives in WV where only a back plate is required, and bought a car (Honda Accord) in VA where they require a front plate. He specifically asked that they not drill the holes in his front bumber and deface it when he didn’t need a front plate. But alas, they do that pretty much when they get the car so he had to live with it if he wanted the better price he got at this dealer.
“Shoplifting is a victimless crime. Like punching someone in the dark.” -Nelson Muntz.