urBan_dK

It ain't innocuous, bud.

Getting a front plate ticket while driving is a moving violation and will count against your insurance. I realize the OP got it from a meter maid, but most will get it in your run of the mill traffic stop. The fact that in these circumstances it is a moving violation is patently ridiculous and certainly not harmless.

mikegarrison

You are confusing the sense he meant the comment. He meant that the law requiring the front plate was innocuous. You are complaining that the consequences of not following the law are not innocuous.

Fastfour

Did anyone else find it funny that he used "ain't" and "innocuous" in the same sentence?

124Spider

Thanks, Mike. It's nice that somebody in this neighborhood can read.

You guys are hilarious!

The front plate law exists for a purpose. You may not like the purpose. You may think your car looks hotter without a front plate. But the law requires you to have a front plate on your car.

You choose not to comply. You know you're breaking the law. As previously noted, the law is innocuous, violating only your overactive aesthetic sense; it isn't a reasonable candidate for passive resistance.

And yet, many times a year, some yahoo posts here to whine about getting a ticket for violating this law.

fastD

I've seen meter maids ticket expired tabs, so no front plate seems to be within reason...

mikegarrison

Now I'll disagree with you. I know many reasonable people who drive without a front plate. There is more to it than just one simple law and a few people who feel like they must violate it.

It's natural to grouse a bit about getting caught doing something illegal, especially when you think the offense was really no big deal. But the righteous indignation displayed over offenses involving cars is a strange view into our psyches, I think.

People often seem to treat their cars as an extension of themselves, and certain things that would be no big deal for property generally are treated as highly intrusive offenses against personal freedom when they apply to cars. "I can't believe that pig gave me a ticket for running a test pipe!" "They gave me a ticket for not having a front plate, the fascists!" And then there is speeding....

We seem to have the idea that we should be able to do anything we want to with our cars, just because they are so personal to us. But unfortunately, what we do with our cars impacts other people, so as a society we have made some rules. It's everyone's personal choice whether or not to follow the rules, but the amount of sympathy you'll get for the consequences of violating them may be limited.

124Spider

Even I know otherwise reasonable people who choose to violate this law (Jeff?). Sometimes when I'm taking my race car to the gas station to fill it up preparatory to a race weekend, I forget to put the front tag on (although that's mere negligence, rather than intentional misconduct, since I have to take the front tag off when racing).

But just because an actual adult chooses to violate the law doesn't make that a reasonable choice, or a good candidate for sympathy; I have no more sympathy for Jeff's ticket (sorry, Jeff) than for any of the new kids' tickets.

lig

Hey Mark -

No offense taken. My S2000 does look better without a plate. It is currently wearing a plate.

I asked for a hearing and showed the judge a picture of the plate mounted up and she waived the fine.

The Audi still has no front plate but I don't really feel like drilling holes in the front bumper...

urBan_dK

I see what you're driving at, but I bundle the law and the consequences for not obeying it as being kind of a package deal.

I actually agreed with what I perceived 124spider to be saying until I found out a few weeks ago (from you, I think) that it was a moving violation.

Okay, maybe it's not a candidate for Gandhian civil disobedience, but I guess I feel justified in breaking this law.

The punishment doesn't fit the crime. I'm happy even to pay a $124 fine, I just can't fathom the fact that this is a moving violation and insurance companies are happy to charge higher premiums when they see this on the MVR.

mikegarrison

As I understand it, the officer has some leeway whether he checks the "traffic" box on the ticket or not. If he does, then it's a traffic infraction (ie. moving violation). If he doesn't, then it's not.