One license plate in a Two-Plate State

[Rhymingmechanic]

A Colorado state trooper pulled me over once for the same reason. I was driving a plain white Caprice that had started life as a sheriff's car in rural Colorado but was registered in Mississippi. He got about a car length ahead of me and then dropped back and hit the lights.

I explained that Miss. only issued one plate. I think he asked to run my license anyway, so the plate was probably just an excuse. This was long before legal weed, and I don't think I looked too suspicious.

 

[Dinoburner]

Will save my rebelliousness for off highway pursuits. Not much ruins a nice day on the road like some idiot deputy dawg, fortunately my few encounters have been cordial.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by bunnspecial
Originally Posted by Vern_in_IL
Quote
any thoughts on this?


Yeah, go around Illinois next time pal! Don't want you here, and if you do come, buy our Gas and stuff and pay our tax rate! We got enough problems. and you want your State Concealed Carry permit to be valid here?

Quote
Illinois Does Not Honor Pemits from these States:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming


GET THE MESSAGE?

Better have that unloaded firearm in a case! All you would be felons!


Trust me, I don't want to tempt fate by having a gun, unloaded and cased or otherwise, in the car. If the officer had actually tried to cite me, it wouldn't have surprised me if I got the 3rd degree when my KY CCW permit popped up in connection with my license.

I almost always have a gun in the glovebox in KY-something legal here without a permit. I'm not taking a chance on it anywhere near IL.

It's even more frustrating that-not only does IL not recognize any other state's permit, at least per my understanding, but also don't issue non-resident permits.

I just need to convince my girlfriend to move here from the St. Louis area so I don't have to travel through there

Yep... I have the same issue. I did read somewhere that out of state people *could* according to this:

"A non-resident may transport a loaded concealed handgun in a vehicle if they have a valid CCW permit in their home state. They cannot under any circumstances remove the firearm from the vehicle. If they need to exit the vehicle they must lock it or place the firearm in a locked container.

The Law
430 ILCS 66/40"

I don't though, too much hassle for no real benefit. Plus my windows are tinted kind of dark, don't need to give any more reason to get in trouble beyond that.

 

[Kruse]

I reside in Kansas, a state that requires only a single rear license plate, but live very close to Nebraska, a state that requires both front and back license plates. I spend a lot of time in Nebraska, especially at night.
Dozens of times at night, I've met a law-enforcement officer on a two lane highway and will then see him slam on his brakes (after seeing no tag on the front of my vehicle), do a quick u-turn and then get very close to my rear bumper, all while having his brights shining in my rear view mirror.
After they recognize that I do not have a Nebraska-registered vehicle, they call in my tag number, get an obvious reply about 30 seconds later and then quickly apply their brakes, do another u-turn and be on their way. Except the one that did it to be a few months ago was exceptionally close to my rear bumper for about five miles. I had to adjust the rear view mirror because his lights were so bright. Had i done a hard brake, he would have rear-ended me. I was traveling home and he turned off exactly one mile before me driving back into Kansas.
It's all quite humorous, except for the part when they are riding my bumper very close with their bright lights shining into my vehicle.
There's an old Bugs Bunny cartoon where a truck hauling costume hats has the door blow open, have all the hats blow out, and then each character changes their personality to fit the hat that magically lands on their head.
Your cop either was on an ego trip or was completely clueless to the laws of the land. Or both.

 

[KD0AXS]

2 plates required here in MN. On a vehicle I used to have, I was issued new license plates and when I went to replace them the bracket for the front plate broke. The very next day I was stopped for no front plate. I had the new plate and the broken bracket with me, and explained that I had already ordered a new bracket. The cop still gave me a ticket for it.

 

[beanoil]

Originally Posted by ammolab
Your car was legal in Kentucky the state of registration...and it was legal in all other 49 states.

The cop was an idiot or jerk, maybe both.


THIS.
And next time stop over the state line in Indiana for cheaper fuel. That Grayville exit is only recently attractive because of the truck stop and campground. If the state of Illinois needed an enema, East Saint Louis would be where the tube goes, but that Grayville, (and Mount Carmel/Carmi in either direction) is the unwashed armpit with BO.

 

[SevenBizzos]

My state (which is the same one where OP had the issue BTW) requires two plates and all three of my vehicles only have a rear plate because I hate the look of front plate. I've owned 12 cars over 25 years and never once has anything been said about it.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Sounds like the cop was being a bit of a pest. Even here in Ohio that takes two plates, if you get temporary plates they only issue one cardboard tag. So if you just bought a new/used car, chances are good you will have no plate on the front and one cardboard tag on the rear until you can get new plates or transfer your old ones. Surely he could have identified you had one out of state plate and figured that state was a one plate state.

 

[drfeelgood]

As noted, the cop was wrong and/or being a jerk. I hate the front license plate requirement. Cars look like crap with them, ruins the aesthetics. This was such an issue for me, being a "car guy", that when I finished my medical training and was looking for a place to move to and practice, I ruled out all states that required a front plate.

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted by beanoil
Originally Posted by ammolab
Your car was legal in Kentucky the state of registration...and it was legal in all other 49 states.

The cop was an idiot or jerk, maybe both.


THIS.
And next time stop over the state line in Indiana for cheaper fuel. That Grayville exit is only recently attractive because of the truck stop and campground. If the state of Illinois needed an enema, East Saint Louis would be where the tube goes, but that Grayville, (and Mount Carmel/Carmi in either direction) is the unwashed armpit with BO.


I've gotten in the habit of stopping at the Road Ranger truck stop at Grayville because it's a nice, clean, roughly halfway point on my trip that sells top tier gas, and this actually is exactly where the referenced encounter happened.

I'm thinking that on the next trip through there, though(which will be Wednesday evening), I'll take your advice and "pit stop" before I cross the Wabash river. Hopefully my bladder cooperates and I can make it to my destination without having to stop again in IL(or at least not until I get to my girlfriend's, who lives on the IL side of St Louis). If I do have to stop, there are 3 rest areas on I-64, so I'll take advantage of those rather than spending money in Grayville.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Make sure you write the Graysville mayor to let him know why you won't be spending money in his town again. That might result in remedial training for the police department.

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted by ArrestMeRedZ
Make sure you write the Graysville mayor to let him know why you won't be spending money in his town again. That might result in remedial training for the police department.


I don't know if things are organized this way in Illinois, but at least in KY contacting the mayor wouldn't do any good. The mayor's office has basically no interaction with the sheriff's department, or at least no influence over them.

 

[dave1251]

You should contact his department and nice written letter to his watch commander will go far.

 

[exranger06]

CT is a 2-plate state, but it's never enforced. I know more than one person who hasn't had a front plate on their car in decades and have never been stopped for it. That being said, I have front plates on all my cars. I really don't mind the way they look anyway.

Probably because I'm so used to seeing them that cars look strange to me when they're missing.
On a somewhat related topic: Last year I drove my old Honda Accord down to West Virginia for work, which has a front plate, but I have antique/classic car plates on it. I know a lot of states have restrictions on these plates, like you're only allowed to drive the car on the weekends to car shows and such. CT has no restrictions like that. I'm allowed to, and do drive the car back and forth to work every day with them. Anyway, nobody stopped me, but I wondered if they would because of that. I would've told them that they're essentially the same thing as regular CT plates, and that I can drive wherever I want, whenever I want, just like I could with regular plates. I wonder what their response to that would've been.

 

[kkreit01]

That's crazy. Living in KC, people cross the state line every day. MO requires a front plate. KS does not. No one is ever bothered about it (that I've heard of).

 

[Cardiobuck]

Originally Posted by Throt
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
The cop was an idiot for sure.

I'm considering moving to a two plate state this year. Whether or not I'll actually run two plates remains to be seen...



I used to live in Ohio, which requires 2 plates. I only had 1 car that already had the mount in the front so I ran it on that one, the rest of the cars I owned, no way was I installing that hideous mount on the front of a brand new car. Especially the Cadillac I had. I was never pulled over and I nearly always had illegal tint. Thankfully Florida doesn't require 2 plates! I did read though that Ohio just passed a bill that removed the requirement for the front plate, finally. https://www.daytondailynews.com/new...-hike-for-diesel/8VJaHvF5DjRP0baUb5831J/


I wish Ohio could get it together. The 1 plate thing passed in the Ohio house but in the Ohio senate they revised it back to the 2 plate after law enforcement complained, again. So the version that will go to the governor to sign has a 2 plate rule.

Not that it matters to me. I run 1 plate on the A4 because the front grill is a thing of beauty and will not be marred by a plate. Custom plate in the back. I've read the law and even though we require 2 plates an officer can not initiate a stop only for the plate. You must be pulled over for something else i.e. speeding and then if he/she decides the $100 fine can be added on for no front plate.

I will gladly pay the fine a time or two before I even start consider a 2nd plate. I've not been bothered about it though. I'm not the only one in the area that only uses 1. It's not like we are all getting crazy #s of tickets for it.
Had a state trooper who was in front of me maneuver aggressively to position behind me once. I figure he noticed nothing on the front and wanted a closer look. When he got behind me and saw the custom plate with carbon fiber surround he likely understood the driver to be an enthusiast rather than a criminal trying to get away with something. He followed for a moment and then just turned off.

 

[92saturnsl2]

I've known a few people get tickets for not having a front plate, but it was registered in a state that DOES require front plates. My mom got a ticket for this in Vermont when I was a kid. She took it to court attempting to use the excuse that we recently moved to the state (we had a few months earlier) and they slapped her with the ticket still, plus court costs and the wisdom that ignorance is no excuse.

But for a vehicle registered in a state that does not require front tags, there's no way they could enforce that. How can you put a front plate on if you don't have one?

For some reason KY gave me two antique plates for my pickup, all other vehicles only have one. No idea why.

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2

For some reason KY gave me two antique plates for my pickup, all other vehicles only have one. No idea why.


Purely speculating, but if I had to guess it's because the HMV plates are "for life" whereas standard plates are replaced every so often(although who knows how long Unbridled Spirit will actually last since smiley sunshine only made it two years-if I'm figuring right, we'll get new plates in 2022, which will make 14 years for Unbridled Spirit).

In any case, that is a two-plate exception specifically spelled out in KRS 186.043(4) "Upon payment of the fee established in KRS 186.162 and an application in accordance with regulations issued by the Transportation Cabinet, the secretary of the Transportation Cabinet shall issue a certificate of registration and two (2) special license plates of a different color and design than the regular license plate, which, in the judgment of the secretary of the Transportation Cabinet, will best advertise, popularize, and promote the Commonwealth of Kentucky. These plates, besides the word "Kentucky" shall have the words, "Historic Motor Vehicle" inscribed in a conspicuous manner and carry no year date. These plates shall have a serial number beginning with the number "100" and continue in a consecutive numerical sequence."

On my MG, one of the HMV tags rides between the transmission tunnel and the passenger seat, while the other is on a shelf in the garage

. Under KRS 186.043(5), "Historic vehicles may display an authentic Kentucky license plate, twenty-five (25) years or older, or a reproduction of such a plate, if the historic motor vehicle plate and the registration receipt are kept in the vehicle at all times." I display a 1970 Kentucky license tag. I actually need to swap it out-the one I have on there now is from Fayette county, and I have one from Franklin(where I'm from).

I'm also a big fan of the "Kentucky Cloud" plate, which I think got phased out in 2006. I have one kicking around, but I guess I'll need to wait until 2031.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by bunnspecial
I'm also a big fan of the "Kentucky Cloud" plate, which I think got phased out in 2006. I have one kicking around, but I guess I'll need to wait until 2031.


I think the smiley plate was discontinued because of public opinion and backlash-- understandable enough, the graphic reminded me of the sun on a box of Kelloggs raisin bran, looked rather goofy on a license plate. The cloud one I liked well enough, I don't really mind the Unbridled Spirit plate, though it's sort of plain.

I remember the DMV gal telling me I just had to have one of the HMV plates in the vehicle, she didn't elaborate as to why I was given two-- I always thought it was to fill the front plate space on show vehicles that have a factory front plate mount, but then again people can just use decorative plates if they wish.

Always been curious why the county is listed on some states' plates. Here in KY, they are often incorrect, DMV doesn't give new stickers when you transfer to another owner (even one that lives in different county) or when you move. KY, Tennesse, Kansas, OH (numerical), FL (though some simply say Sunshine State IIRC), sure there are plenty others that do this. Anyone know why?

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2

Always been curious why the county is listed on some states' plates. Here in KY, they are often incorrect, DMV doesn't give new stickers when you transfer to another owner (even one that lives in different county) or when you move. KY, Tennesse, Kansas, OH (numerical), FL (though some simply say Sunshine State IIRC), sure there are plenty others that do this. Anyone know why?


As best as I can tell, you're stuck with the county sticker from where the car was initially registered/titled unless the state issues a new plate or if the car were transferred out of state and then back in. I supposed you'd get a "correct" one too if you got a specialty plate and then decided to go to back to a standard one. My dearly departed LS wore a Daviess county plate(Unbridled Spirit) from the time I bought it in '08 up until I sold it in '17-the car never even set a wheel in Daviess in the time I owned it.

Of course, these days I'm not sure how relevant the county stickers are since they seem to fade after a few years, or at least on Unbridled Spirit plates. I bought my MKZ from my grandfather, and he transferred it here in 2013. It's nearly illegible now. I don't remember that happening on earlier plates(I have a few "twin spires" plates kicking around that are still perfectly legible).

I'll also say that I don't really mind the Unbridled Spirit plate either, it's just a bit too plain to me. Truth be told, I didn't mind the smiling sun that much either, but I know a LOT of people who hated it. Personally, I'd have thought the state would have toughed out the normal 8-year cycle considering that it apparently really upped the sales of specialty plates at the time.