I have never run a front plate but within 6 months of getting my 124 I have been pulled over twice. The first time I literally had the plates in my possession for 6 days because CarMax never bothered to tell me they were in. It's 100% a profiling thing and it pisses me off. I have a very short commute to work and watch people blow through red lights so stale that they're closer to green, yet I never see patrol cars anywhere around here - but in predatory spots where they can write easy tickets for cars speeding after going down a huge hill and no front tag?
I don't plan on staying in my state for very long but here it's a flat fine with no points and non-increasing fine amount so I consider it a "I won't ruin the look of my car and permanently modify the bumper" tax.
Police have been announcing that they're stepping up patrols for distracted driving. $83 fine for using your phone while driving. $75 for no front tag. I like that texting while driving is an $8 higher risk than not running a front tag. I can honestly say I never realized no front tag was so dangerous.
What a joke.
In Alberta, we ditched the requirements for front plates several decades ago, but many of our provinces still require them. I personally don't understand the point behind it, and this is why. I see so many vehicles on the road that have put plates from other provinces or states on the front of their vehicle as some sort of vanity play, and IMHO, those are the ones that should get pulled over and fined.
If you want to put a front plate on that isn't a real license plate, and just the same sized and printed with the logo of your university or college, armed forces affiliations, etc.; I have no concern about that, as they don't create any confusion. But if the vehicle has a used plate from another jurisdiction and there's an incident with that vehicle, you can't rely on using the front plate info as it likely isn't registered to the vehicle.
