No front license plate? Fix it or face a hefty fine

According to my admittedly unscientific survey in numerous parking lots, people with expensive cars like to flaunt the law.

That’s right. It appears the richer you are, the less you care about obeying law enforcement.

Think I’m kidding? I’m not. Just check out for yourself the models of cars without front license plates.

In case you like to pretend you didn’t know that a front license plate is required by law in the Golden State, guess what? Your scam is over.

My buddies in blue assure me they will enforce the law and, according to car chasing attorneys, it can cost you nearly $200 in fines and close to $1,000 in insurance hikes and penalties.

I realize that some people don’t want to disfigure their amazingly cool front grille with something as silly as a license plate. Well, boo-hoo.

When a police officer can’t see a front plate, a car thief or a hit-and-run driver has a better chance of getting away.

Additionally, transportation experts report that missing front plates cost millions in lost revenue.

A Colorado study, for example, discovered that without front plates the state would lose $23.1 million a year in tolls — 34.5 percent of the total.

Online plate games

Thirty-one states require front and back plates and, not surprisingly, there’s robust debate online about the sanctity of vehicle front grilles.

Tesla lovers, for example, agree the company doesn’t offer any front bumper slots and buyers appear just fine with that.

One anonymous chatroom chatterer writes, “When I was at the Tesla service center in San Rafael I counted 30 MS and 4 MX with no front plate and 2 with a front plate.

“Given that the MX looks much better (all cars actually) without a front plate, is there much of a penalty for not installing it? Will I get a ticket?”

The response: “It’s a fix-it ticket … enforcement will vary; just be aware it’s illegal to not have a front plate in CA.”

One online attorney promises to “help challenge this alleged violation for only $179 and when dismissed will eliminate any future insurance hikes, DMV points and traffic school.”

In caps and echoing a couple of radio mattress salesmen, the lawyer adds, “See your savings for free!”

Still, the Ticket Snipers website also offers sobering advice: “Some drivers may opt to put the front plate on their dashboard or attach it to the visor.

“Unfortunately, neglecting to properly install a front license plate on your vehicle registered in California is a violation of the law.”

Even the Lamborghini needs one

For the past several months, I’ve checked out parking lots from Newport Beach to La Mirada, from The Forum in Los Angeles to the city of Riverside. Heck, I’ve even looked at vehicles in Joshua Tree.

It doesn’t matter where you go, about one in five vehicle owners are scofflaws. According to my math, that’s an amazing 20 percent.

Sometimes, I see a battered old pickup or a beat up sedan without a front plate. But more often it’s newer, more expensive vehicles without front plates.

A random survey at a random half-empty parking lot in Rancho Santa Margarita on Friday morning found the following vehicles without front plates: two Mini Coopers, three Lexuses, a Maserati, four big boy trucks (Tahoe, Yukon, Chevy Colorado, Tucson) and six Mercedes.

Last week at a Foothill Ranch parking lot there was a $300,000 Lamborghini without a front plate. Yes, it almost makes me want to cry, too, to think of messing up the awesome lines of a Lamborghini. Almost.

But if you want to drive the highways and byways of California, two plates — one on front, the other on back — remain law.

California Vehicle Code 5200 (a) states, “When two license plates are issued by the department for use upon a vehicle, they shall be attached to the vehicle for which they were issued, one in the front and the other in the rear.”

To ensure there’s no monkey business, code makes clear: “License plates shall at all times be securely fastened to the vehicle for which they are issued so as to prevent the plates from swinging, shall be mounted in a position so as to be clearly visible, and so that the characters are upright.”

Citations will come

Texas A&M Transportation Institute is widely regarded as one of the best organizations in the nation for collecting data on vehicles and notes, “Law enforcement believes that two plates aide in vehicle identification.”

The institute studied states with two plates and compared them to states with just a single rear plate. “Field studies showed a 97 percent read rate for parked vehicles in two plate states, and 76 percent in one plate states.”

When the institute studied read rates for moving vehicles, results varied but the data was clear about the advantage of both front and rear plates.

Read rates were close to 90 percent in states with two plates. In states with one plate, read rates ranged from 58 percent to 22 percent.

OK, you say, but there must be wiggle room with so many drivers leaving front plates inside the trunk.

Let’s get the answer from California Highway Patrol Officer Juan Galvan. “Whenever two license plates are issued,” he makes clear, “it’s required to have both license plates displayed.”

But the dealer didn’t put holes in my front bumper for a license plate, you whine. Tough. Get it fixed.

“The reason we enforce two plates is partly because of red light cameras and toll roads,” Galvan explains. He adds that when a vehicle doesn’t have a front plate it is a red flag for trying to avoid fees.

“By not displaying plates,” the officer offers, “you’re cheating the system and you can even be charged toll violations.”

Galvan echoes the transportation institute saying that drivers fleeing the scene of an accident are more difficult to find; suspicious vehicles are tougher to track.

With that being true, I ask Galvan why law enforcement doesn’t crack down on front plate scofflaws. It turns out, they do.

“We are out there making those stops,” the CHP officer reports. “I’ve encountered people with a new car keeping the plate off,” Galvan allows, “and I gave a citation for that.”

My favorite front plate? One with a little bumper above the numbers. The rubber strip keeps the plate from getting scratched.