I'm wondering a bit about this one.
The other day, I was coming back from St. Louis to Louisville, KY on I-64. I stopped in rural, southern Illinois to get gas(exit 130, Grayville, right on the IN/IL state line if anyone is interested) and had a local sheriff's deputy approach me while I was pumping gas. He said that he COULD cite me for not having a front license plate on my car, and suggested that I "take care of it." I mentioned that Kentucky doesn't issue/require a front plate and was told it "didn't matter", so I just thanked him for the advice and went on my merry way.
I travel through this area once or twice a month and can't really avoid it, so I'm a bit worried. Here's my issue, though. I live in Kentucky(i.e. my legal residence is there and I have a KY driver's license) and I was driving a vehicle I own that is also registered in Kentucky.
Kentucky does not issue two license plates for normal vehicle registrations(I was issued two for my MG, but that's a weird thing with classic car tags and I'm entirely sure why they do it). The state only requires one plate to be displayed on the rear, and there's no possible way that I could even GET a matching front plate for my car.
I know this isn't a place for legal advice, but is he correct about this? It would seem to me that if my vehicle is 100% legal(and there's no gray area on that-I don't have any window tinting, it's wearing the same exhaust that the factory fitted, all the lights are working, 2 year old tires in the stock size on stock rims, etc etc) in the state where it's registered, it would be awfully hard to issue a citation for not having something that my state doesn't even offer me the option of getting. The only way to get a front plate-as I see it-would be to register the vehicle in a state where I don't even HAVE a legal residence, and I don't see how that's possible.
Any thoughts on this? Of course, if he HAD cited me, I would have gone to court and fought it, even though it would have been a huge inconvenience to do so. Still, though, since it's been brought up to me I don't want to have the occasion to even test that.
The other day, I was coming back from St. Louis to Louisville, KY on I-64. I stopped in rural, southern Illinois to get gas(exit 130, Grayville, right on the IN/IL state line if anyone is interested) and had a local sheriff's deputy approach me while I was pumping gas. He said that he COULD cite me for not having a front license plate on my car, and suggested that I "take care of it." I mentioned that Kentucky doesn't issue/require a front plate and was told it "didn't matter", so I just thanked him for the advice and went on my merry way.
I travel through this area once or twice a month and can't really avoid it, so I'm a bit worried. Here's my issue, though. I live in Kentucky(i.e. my legal residence is there and I have a KY driver's license) and I was driving a vehicle I own that is also registered in Kentucky.
Kentucky does not issue two license plates for normal vehicle registrations(I was issued two for my MG, but that's a weird thing with classic car tags and I'm entirely sure why they do it). The state only requires one plate to be displayed on the rear, and there's no possible way that I could even GET a matching front plate for my car.
I know this isn't a place for legal advice, but is he correct about this? It would seem to me that if my vehicle is 100% legal(and there's no gray area on that-I don't have any window tinting, it's wearing the same exhaust that the factory fitted, all the lights are working, 2 year old tires in the stock size on stock rims, etc etc) in the state where it's registered, it would be awfully hard to issue a citation for not having something that my state doesn't even offer me the option of getting. The only way to get a front plate-as I see it-would be to register the vehicle in a state where I don't even HAVE a legal residence, and I don't see how that's possible.
Any thoughts on this? Of course, if he HAD cited me, I would have gone to court and fought it, even though it would have been a huge inconvenience to do so. Still, though, since it's been brought up to me I don't want to have the occasion to even test that.
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