Front License Plate?

[KeepRollin]

A team in one of my trucks was pulled over by the D.O.T. in Florida. They had everything in order and did not receive any tickets, but the officer gave them a warning for not having a front license plate. My trucks are plated in Michigan, which only issues a plate for the rear. What am I supposed to do. Can you ask for 2 plates?

Merry Christmas,
Todd

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Michigan will not give you two plates. Other states also have a similar issue. Iowa and one other state tells you to put their plate on the front with nothing for the rear. I think states need to get their act together on this, and the cops/scale masters should know what the other states demand.

You could request a letter from Sec. of State that shows they give only one plate. I am also plated in MI, but haven't been harassed about my plate yet.

"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas

 

[RichM]

I had this happen in Colorado ,you need to install the plate where the state that the tuck is registered in tells you to do.

 

[heel4you]

Had this happen in Florida too.
Officer asked where's front plate...I said North Carolina does not require them and the truck is licensed in NC. He did not look to happy and I just smiled and he rudely waved me through. I thought the look on his face was pretty funny!
I don't worry cause I know I have everything in order according to my state. I pay my road taxes and just keep smiling.

 

[TeamCaffee]

We have had the same problem with Missouri you get one plate and it is for the front of the truck bumper.

 

[Coco]

Ditto in Illinois. The Sec of State gave us a booklet of guidelines highlighting the instruction to place the plate on the front. We have had to use that booklet two times during roadside inspections (Louisiana and Texas)and and another two times when we were pulled over for not having a plate on the rear (Pennsylvania and Iowa). In all four instances, the officer couldn't understand the logic behind the rule.

 

[silverdollar]

I was pulled over in Illinois for no plate on front, truck was based out of Ohio and Ohio said the plate goes on the back. DOT man goes in the scale house and came back out and told me that he learns something new everyday.

 

[kwexpress]

KW Express
o/o till i die

my trucks plated in FL they to only give one plate.

 

[KeepRollin]

Thanks for all the info. Looks like I should get something from the state of MI that says the plate goes on the back.

Hope everyone has a merry Christmas
Todd

 

[greg334]

The trooper has or should have the info about the plates for each and every state. I was puled over in FLA last year and read the riot act about no front plate. I told him, politly I might add, that Michigan laws govern the vehicle and registration of the vehicle which means I am issued one plate and it must be mounted on the plate holder on the back of the vehicle. He accepted this but confirmed it with his Sargent who had access to the info.

About 6 months later US customs asked the same question and also tole me I needed to get a replacement plate for the issing plate. In that case I told the nice agent I will do that as soon as they get the new forms for replacement plates at the SOS.

 

[nightcreacher]

I've got funny story about officers and plates.
I was bob tail,going to my CAT engine shop when i got pulled over by a city cop, for no back lisc. plate,here in ohio.
We all know Ohio only issues,1 plate to commercial vehicles,and tracto trailers are to put this on the front,as the trailer,more than not,is hooked to the tractor,after he made about 6 calls,he finally let me go,his answer was,since know one knows,I'll just have to let you go,highway patrol knows,guess he didnt have their number

MERRY CHRISTMAS,AND HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

[Turtle]

I want to preface this with the fact that this is not a personal attack.

"In that case I told the nice agent I will do that as soon as they get the new forms for replacement plates at the SOS."

Uhm, I left my Super Sekrit Decoder Ring at the house.

This forum drives me crazy in the impetuous, reckless uses of acronyms and abbreviations that are uncommon and not referenced within the posting by the poster.

By far, the most common usage of SOS is the Morse Code equivalent of the MAYDAY distress signal. I don't get the license plate connection here.

OK, we're on the Internet, so on the the next most common usage, which is used in Internet Chat Rooms, meaning Sibling Over Shoulder. The license plate thing doesn't seem to apply here, either.

I didn't see where the plate was dirty, so I don't think SOS Soap Pads were used for cleaning it.

Condoleezza Rice is the SOS (Secretary of State), but I don't get that connection, either.

After much (much too much) time I'm finally able to decipher the code to discover the intended information conveyed. That, unlike the vast majority of states, Michigan classifies its Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV, which is by far the most common acronym used in the US for the department that handles license plates) under the Secretary of State (SOS) Department of State banner. That, people who are from, and are familiar with, the state of Michigan would understand that SOS and DMV have the same meaning when talking about license plates. I can only assume that the Customs official was from Michigan, and that he completely understood the full meaning of the SOS as used here. (Then again, if he was from Michigan, he wouldn't have questioned the missing plate. So, I dunno.)

My point being, the use of acronyms and shorthand is fine, but what's the point unless everyone is on the same mental page as the author of the posting?

And with that, I give you my version of the opening line of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, in SMS Messaging:

4scr + 7a ugo r 4fthrs brt 4th on this cn10nt a nu nAshn cnCvd in lbRT + ddc8d 2 th prop tht (evRE1) r crE8d =

Go crazy, folks! Go Crazy! :+

 

[nightcreacher]

you could of said MERRY MERRY,HAPPY HAPPY,forget internet,cb talk

 

[greg334]

Turtle,

You could have just asked me to clarify what it meant. Sorry to get your feathers ruffled ah..... shell rubbed the wrong way and I do see your point.

Well I would have spelled out what I meant to say but after an 11 hour drive, going through the mail, dealing with a list of stuff I have to do for the wife and home, my mind was on other things if you know what I mean.

But anyway, hope your Christmas is great.

 

[Rikk]

Happened to me too.... I got yelled at for one plate by a scalemaster for not having a front plate in TN, he told me it had to be on front if there was only one, I did that.... Got pulled over in OH a short time later and had a bit of a time with a rookie local, I asked him if I was to stop at the border and move my plate around or what. He wouldn't answer it, told me he would call the state cops got tired of the disscussion and told me to get the hell out of his city (I kid you not)

So I still run the 1 Indiana power unit plate on front.


Rikk Sullenberger
KG4AAO
D-Unit

 

[Moot]

I drove a company owned cargo van for Con-Way Now. Believe it or not all company vans ran IRP Apportioned tags. One plate was issued (Illinois??) and it was mounted on front. A printed plastic tag sized plate was attatched to the rear door in the plate holder which read- IRP Apportioned Power Unit Plate Displayed On Front Of Vehicle- not the exact wording, but close enough.

The I in IRP stands for International. I would think there would be a standard for tag placement that would supersede an individual state's requirement. I personally would operate with the plate on front since that is the most common i.e. tractor/power unit.

We are talking state issued IRP Apportioned plates and not state issued commercial plates...right?

 

[cheri1122]

Good grief - doesn't the Ohio Highway Patrol ever learn? They pulled me over 20 years ago, for the same thing! Except that it was my personal vehicle, plated in Fla, which uses one plate, on the rear. It boggles the mind, that drivers are expected to know the laws of every state we pass through, yet the officers charged with enforcing the laws, don't seem to be aware of common issues like this one! x(

 

[Bruno]

Well, The plates are to go where your state tells you to mount them. I bet a Richfield, Ohio Cop a $100.00 that Ohio only has one plate because he was going to write a ticket for only having one plate on the truck. He wasn't so Happy when OSP told him that trucks over 26,000 lbs have only one plate in the state of Ohio. No Dot or State police officer can tell you that the plate needs to be on the front of the truck when your state says it goes on the back.

Next time this Happens to anyone, Tell them if they would like you can get your state DMV or your state police so they can ask them why you only have one plate. This will nip it in the bud right then and their. Most officer's just don't know that most trucks over 26,000 GVW only have one plate.

I do agree that every state should have two. It's all about money.
To buy a new plate that has been lost or is rusted is like $10.50 in most states. They only last about 2 years at the most, then they fall off the truck which means you have to buy a new one. This has happened to me like 7 times over the years.

 

[greg334]

I call my friend who is an MSP CE trooper and she said that tractors need them on the front, the straight trucks and vans go in the back of the truck - Michigan issues one plate and only one plate.

The rules of the registering state govern the placement of the plates - not the state where you pass through.

 

[jaminjim]

For Ohio plated trucks, when you get your plates there are directions that come with the plate, keep them with your permits. That will take care of the questions.