New Texas Law started sept 1

[civic hatch]

ok guys, just heard thison the local news and it seem bull to me so here it is


ABC13 Eyewitness News
(9/09/03 - HOUSTON) — Is any part of your car's license plate partially covered by a frame or any stickers? If it is, you're breaking the law, and don't be too surprised if a state trooper soon pulls you over.

Several Texans we spoke to didn't even know they were breaking the new license plate law. What's legal and what isn't and why? First, it's a new state law passed by the legislature. It became effective on September 1.

DPS Trooper John Sampa explained, "If a bracket or some type of device obstructs the visibility of the license plate, meaning that it touches the letters, touches the numbers or alters the design of the plate, that gives an officer probable cause to make a traffic stop."

And give you a ticket with of fine of up to $200. The rationale behind this -- officers need to clearly see a license plate in case they have to investigate a potential suspect.

We went out on the road and saw lots of vehicles with illegal license plates. Some didn't even have a license plate on the front of the vehicle -- that's illegal, too.

Susan Degner didn't know about the new state law until we told her. Her license plate is partially covered.

"I think it's ridiculous," said Degner. "Everybody's going to have to change the license plate and I don't know where to go to find something to change it out with."

Driver Jane Rulfs didn't know she was breaking the law. "Well, it's the one that the dealer put on. … I'll take it off."

According to Trooper Sampa, legal license plates should have "nothing that's obscuring the letters, the numbers or the design of the plate. It may look ugly, but in the state of Texas, it's legal."
(Copyright © 2003, KTRK-TV)


here is the link

new texas law

 

[Linguistics]

dude, its a license plate. what kind of decoration do you have on yours anyways?

 

[civic hatch]

nothing fancy i just have the one i got when i bought th car from the dealership, but its small and they want to give 200 dollar tickets, use those cops to get real criminals

 

[Beelzebubba]

Originally posted by Rice4Brains
dude, its a license plate. what kind of decoration do you have on yours anyways?

UT fans put little Bevo (the Longhorn) stickers in the center of their plates.

 

[DirtyD]

Originally posted by civic hatch
nothing fancy i just have the one i got when i bought th car from the dealership, but its small and they want to give 200 dollar tickets, use those cops to get real criminals

they're saying if it covers any of the numbers or letters... it's for people with those ricey license plate covers (the ones that divert the light or something) so that photo radar cant get them

 

[MiGsB16]

how about the front license plate? Can you take it off. One of my friends told me that they made a new law that you have the option of having one in the front or not. Does anyone know about this or is it bullshit?

 

[Melt]

i live in ca so i cant help you guys here but from the sound of that article it sounds like they are gonna bother people who simply have a lisence plate frame that touches the letters.

 

[KennyC]

im in ca too, but ive never ever been pulled over cause of my car, and ive been pulled over alot.

 

[Maestro]

What about liscense plates in the back window?

 

[gabezcivic]

I have my license plate in the interior of my front winshield because there is no other place to put it and i haven't been pulled over for that. Cops pass and run my plates when im chilling and they say thing because of where it's located.

 

[Liz]

I got pulled over for my livense plate in front of my window about a month ago. The cop said "it has to be at the far most tip of your car." and he said it was a law.

Hope this helps...

 

[NOFX]

We can't have any license plate frames in Delaware. I didn't know until a cop pulled over my ex for speeding and told us he'd change the ticket to an equipment violation for the license plate frame instead. He even told me to keep the frame (from the dealership) on my plate and if I get pulled over again for speeding to ask if the cop could change the ticket for an equipment charge. (The ticket ended up being the same amount, just no points on his license.) I wouldn't ask another cop though because I could get in alot more trouble for that.

 

[Liz]

thats pretty cool he did that for you. I sure wish I could get that lucky...

 

[NOFX]

Yeah, he was an awesome cop. And everyone always says that the cops in Smyrna are dicks! Most of them are though. Like the angry fat bald cop that pulled me over. I had just gotten my first car (and I had just learnt stick) and he was behind me at a traffic light, though I couldn't see he was a cop because his lights were bright and I had moved my mirror so I wasn't blinded. I chirped it just a little off the line. I wasn't driving fast, but he pulled me over almost immediatly, yelling, "Do you have any idea how fast you were going?!?!" I admitted I was going about 60mph (in a 55). He screamed back that I was going 80! In my stock Civic EX that had just left a stop light. Right.

Oh, the first cop did say something disturbing. He was pretty young and attractive and seemed nice enough. So I mentioned, knowing that most of the area's cops know my mom, not to tell my mom about this. So he asks who she is and I tell him she's a judge and tell him her name. Ewwww.... He told me that he thinks she's hot and that he was checking out her legs the other day. I'm so tired of guys who are so close to my age tell me that my mom's hot!

 

[spursfan]

another BS law