Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Front licence plate fix it ticket in CA

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Well, I got a fix it $114 ticket while parked in SF the other day. Today I followed the instructions to mount the plate on the front grill with J bolts on another thread (there is also a U Tube video on this) I am going to the local police station to have an officer sign off on the ticket and mail it in with the reduced $10 fine. I plan on removing the plate after that and do the same thing if and when I get the next fix it ticket. Has anyone else done this. How many times can you get away with this. Does DMV keep track or what happens? I'll appreciate it if anyone can shed light on this. Thank you.:wink:
 
Well, I got a fix it $114 ticket while parked in SF the other day. Today I followed the instructions to mount the plate on the front grill with J bolts on another thread (there is also a U Tube video on this) I am going to the local police station to have an officer sign off on the ticket and mail it in with the reduced $10 fine. I plan on removing the plate after that and do the same thing if and when I get the next fix it ticket. Has anyone else done this. How many times can you get away with this. Does DMV keep track or what happens? I'll appreciate it if anyone can shed light on this. Thank you.:wink:

Thanks for reporting this for those of us running without a front plate. Sorry I don't know the answers to your questions, but can I ask: you have the option of either paying $114 and not fixing it or you can fix it and pay $10, is that right?
 
I have friends that have done it three or four times.

Also, SF is known to ticket every car in sight. You probably got this one from the meter maid and not a real police officer.

That's another reason why I avoid the city (that and the bowling ball size pot holes and piss smell).

But when I do go I always pick a garaged pay lot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jdowell362
Seems that SF is notorious for this. The only times I have heard of anyone getting ticketed for this it's in SF. Did the police have any other reason for pulling you over or just this? (Assuming you were pulled over...)
 
Kaivball : He was parked.

It was the meter maid.

That's correct. I was at the Giants' opening day game and found street parking. So, I have mounted the plate on the grill as per instructions on this forum (with J bolts with foam padding to protect the grill) and after having an officer sign off on the ticket I plan on taking the plate off until the next time I get a ticket. This way I have to pay only $10 instead of $114.
 
as i posted on the LAX parking thread, they issue front license plate tickets at LAX - either when parked or when driving. that's right: they will pull you over for a front license plate violation. absurd.

as for the $10/$114 escalation question, i have heard that the price of the ticket escalates for additional violations, but i do not have first-hand experience on this issue.

in downtown LA at least some meter maids give front license plate tickets, and a friend of mine got one from a guy directing traffic downtown.

santa monica meter maids also ding for front license plates.
CIty of Santa Monica Parking Violations Bureau - Santa Monica - Santa Monica, CA
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: SDRick
I thought the following was notable. I was at the Tesla Service Center in Menlo Park today. Wandering about, I saw about 20 Model S's and 15 Roadsters. Not one of them had a front license plate installed.

Having said that, I will almost certainly get a fix-it ticket on my way home today...
 
I got a "no front license plate" ticket a month ago while parked in SF. I zip-tied the license plate and frame on the car and got it written off. I took the front plate off right after.

From my experiences, traffic cops won't care about the car unless there's a reason to.

Ex. Pay-By-Phone app where you can pay for a metered parking without inserting coins. Unfortunately, after you've added money to the meter using the app, the meter still looks like it is expired. That's how I got my ticket.

Other times when I've put coins in the meter, I've had no fix-it tickets.
 
Please keep in mind that having no front plate automatically gives cops a free reason to pull you over. For example, if you are taking your date/spouse home from dinner and have had a couple of drinks, expect to be put through field sobriety tests. If you fail and get a DUI, that $10 fix it ticket just became a $5,000 DUI expense plus insurance bump plus license suspension. Better hope the tow truck dude isn't an idiot; chances are he's never towed a Tesla before.

If you never ever do anything which is considered illegal in CA, then keep pulling off the plate. My clients however have learned that its not smart to give cops a free shot at getting at you and/or the contents of your car.
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: TaoJones
Seems that SF is notorious for this. The only times I have heard of anyone getting ticketed for this it's in SF. Did the police have any other reason for pulling you over or just this? (Assuming you were pulled over...)
I was pulled over on 101 on the peninsula for no front plate when driving my Corvette a few years ago. Yes, it was only $10 but took an entire morning to go to the courthouse, get the form for the officer, ask one of the courthouse cops to look at my car and sign, then back into the courthouse to pay the fine, and on and on. I just put the plate on all my cars now. My time is worth too much.
 
Been driving in Nor Cal for almost 30 years and half-a-million miles, never had a front plate on any of my cars, only 4 no-plate tickets...

Got 1 no-plate ticket in SF recently while parked. Also got a didn't-curb-wheels-on-a-3%-or-higher-grade ticket...silly...firstly, who knows what a 3% grade looks like?! Second, that car has a manual tranny and I parked it in 1st gear, and the handbrake works well and I used it...it was not going anywhere.

2 no-plate tickets in Berkeley while parked, and was pulled over once for having expired reg tags.

1 no-plate ticket while pulled over for speeding.

Never got pulled over solely for not having a front plate, but did get harassed by the Mt. Lick Observatory 'cop' as I was trying to pull out of the parking lot one-time (he proceeded to insult my WRX and claim that he almost got knocked off the road by somebody coming at him down the middle of the twisty roads driving a WRX just like mine -- it was mine, and no, I didn't come anywhere close to knocking drama-queen cop off the road).

I paid all tickets, but the $124 SF ticket I put the plate on temporarily with double-stick tape and got it signed off.

I don't believe the rate goes up upon multiple violations -- the ticket price is set by the city and it is printed on the citation, unlike when you get a moving violation for which they mail you a notice later on the cost.

So, I will not bother putting on the front plate unless I'm heading to SF and know that I'll be parking on the street ;)
 
  • Informative
Reactions: privater