Like the title says, I moved to Portland, Oregon about a month ago. I just purchased a 6MT coupe and was wondering if its law to have a front license plate. I went on the DMV website and it said if you purchased 2 plates then it is mandatory. However I have noticed many cars around town without them on. Also the car I bought is used and it did not have the front brackets installed. I do have the brackets and the plate in my trunk but didn't really want to mess with them. I moved here from Ohio and it was law to have a plate displayed up front, but to get around this we could just put it on the dash by the windshield.

So I guess my question is whats the real deal here in Oregon? Is it really a enforced law and do cops even care? The last thing I want to do is draw more unwanted attention to myself. Also how many other people in this forum are from the Portland area? I saw a post for meets in Seattle but wondered if people do anything here?

 

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/vehic...#Plate_Display

Plate Display
One license plate is issued to mopeds, motorcycles, trailers, campers, antique vehicles, and special interest vehicles. Two license plates are issued to other types of vehicles registered by DMV, including passenger vehicles and trucks. See ORS 803.525.

If one plate is issued, it must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle. If two plates are issued, one must be displayed on the front of the vehicle and the other must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle. Plates must be in plain view so as to be easily read by the public. See ORS 803.540.

Plates may not be altered and must not be covered by any material that alters their appearance. Plate frames or holders must not prevent the numbers, letters, or stickers from being readable. See ORS 803.550 for more information.

 

Thanks for the reply but thats the exact quote I mentioned I saw before. But like I said I've seen a bunch of cars without the front plate. And the previous owner never had it on. I'm wondering if its one of those laws where it doesn't matter until the end of the month and the cops need to meet their quota and give you a crap ticket for that and nothing else.

 

I think you're required to have the plate attached to the front and rear. Technically, I don't believe having the plate on the windshield counts. However, I suspect people are generally not pulled over just for not having a plate on the front.

 

Yeah I doubt they are too but I'm not sure if I wanna tempt the cops and give them an excuse. However I don't really want to install the bracket if I don't have too. It's a little bit of work I don't want to mess with.

 

The above quotes from the DMV illustrate what the law says, so yes -- ALL passenger vehicles are issued TWO plates and one IS required to be displayed on the front. Since the plate "must be in plain view so as to be easily read by the public" I don't know if the front windshield counts or not. I did some research last summer and IIRC, failing to display the front plate is a Class D traffic infraction and the fine is $94.

That being said, I took the front plate off my G35 coupe about a year and a half ago for a track day at PIR, and have left it off ever since without a problem. I drive about 9-10K miles per year, 95% of which is in and around Portland, but I rarely drive aggressively on the street and usually stay within 5mph of the speed limit, so maybe that's kept me out of trouble. If you haven't spent much time here much before, you'll find that traffic moves very slowly compared to other major cities, and police tend to write a lot of speeding tickets. There are also red-light cameras and speed camera vans around to watch out for.

As you can probably tell from looking at the NW region sub-forum, there isn't a lot of activity for Portland. I know there are several others from the area that post occasionally, and I see other G's on the road daily, but the last meet I can remember was (I think) in July 2004. There are a few guys in town besides myself who have hit the track as well. If you're interested, Team Continental and Cascade Sports Car Club both run driving schools at Portland International Raceway, and several car clubs run track days. Also, on some weekend evenings at PIR you can run the 1/4 mile at the Late Nite Drags. I've done that a couple times, but never seen another G there. Check out www.portlandraceway.com for the schedule.

Jeez, this is more than I usually write. Hope it's helpful, and welcome to Portland.

 

I just put mine on a week or so ago. Yes you have to have a front plate on, however, the Po-Po dont seem to do much about it.

We got pulled over and got a warning, and 10 day to fix it ticket thingy. So I put it on, and had another officer sing off on it. He laughed and said man some of those guys out there have nothing better to do.

You can take your chances and if you get pulled over say what I said...It wasnt on there when I bought it, Im sorry officer. I'll put it on right away.

 

When I lived in Cali, I just mangled my front plate, and tossed it in the trunk. When I got pulled over, I said that I recently got in a wreck, and the bracket was busted and had to be special ordered

Not sure what I would've said, if I got pulled over by the same cop a few weeks later

 

Thanks for the responses. I guess it is how I suspected, a law that isn't that big a deal but is a freebie ticket for cops that are having a bad day. Maybe I'll just suck it up and install the stupid thing. I guess a law is a law and I don't really feel like shelling out $94 at random times to help month end bonuses. I'm still learning to drive a manual so I don't really want more attention and suspicion on me yet. Getting pulled over for not showing a plate I have is the last thing I want to worry about.

Hopefully I can get better quick and can go to PIR to check out those things you were talking about Sandman. I'm not ready to track my car yet but I don't mind checking out other peoples cars. I have noticed a few other G35's around town and I am surprised that you guys don't meet up more. I used to visit an Evo forum all the time, because that was my second choice, and I used to see posts for meetings all the time. The weirdest thing is coming from Columbus, OH I rarely saw Evo's. Now I see at least one like everyday, somtimes in packs of 3.

I know the weather is kinda crappy but something needs to be done about this. I see a few G35's at the gym I workout at and myabe I'll try to find those owners and talk to them, but not in a stalkerish kind of way. Hmm now that I think about it I dunno if thats possible. But if anyone is in the Beaverton area and sees a Diamond Graphite coupe with wheels around the 24HR Fitness off Scholls its probably me; don't think I've seen any others?