Have you seen supercars parked by a curbside displaying only a number plate at their rear? Many Teslas do not have front license plates. Even though the company says adhesive mounts are available for Tesla owners who desire to comply with the law, only a handful actually use them.
You may wonder if this is legal or not. Perhaps these owners find front number plates unappealing. But are they breaking the law? After all, if it’s about vehicle registration or renewal of vehicle registration, services like swift tags are readily available.
The importance of number plates
Number plates are essential parts of vehicles as they make it easier for everyone to differentiate one automobile from another. For instance, the only way to tell apart two vehicles of the same model, make, and color is with their distinct number plates.
Number plates make it easier for cameras and police to identify the vehicle,on the off chance they are involved in a crime or road accident.
Regular-issue numbers or license plates for passenger vehicles generally have about 6 to 7 characters. Vanity license plates are known to have as many as eight characters, but only in a few states. In most cases, number plates are issued in ascending order. If you are familiar with this sequence, you can easily tell when a particular license plate number was assigned.
But in very few cases, such as when Virginia switched over to 7 characters due to the standard issue of 1993, numbers have been issued in descending order.
The point is that no 2 number plates are exactly the same. It is also crucial for a number plate to be easy to read and crystal clear. There must be no symbols or marks that block off any license plate characters.
Vehicle owners must also abide by specific rules for displaying their number plates. For instance, all the characters on your vehicle’s number plate must be printed or written in the 7-digit oval die font.
Modern number plates have to be reflective. They must display black characters in standard sizes, printed on a white background for the front and a yellow background for the vehicle’s rear.
No symbols are permitted on number plates for the reasons highlighted earlier. However, there is a small exception: some number plates display national flags. Football team badges and brand logos are not permitted on number plates. But many are using these items illegally and unknowingly flouting the law.
Why car owners remove front number plates
Some vehicle owners deliberately remove their car’s front number plates to make their automobile look sleeker. Looks are everything. This is why supercars, such as Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris, and other popular cars bear no front number plate at the appropriate area. Instead, the front number plate is displayed on the front window.
But how legal is this? Has no one ever been arrested for this?
Is it illegal to drive a vehicle with no front number plates?
The straight and blunt answer to this question is yes, it is highly illegal for car owners not to display their front number plates in the appropriate area. It doesn’t even matter if you make your vehicle’s front number plate visible through the windshield.
Vehicle owners who disregard this rule may end up paying a steep price for it. Removing your vehicle’s front number plate implies that you are getting rid of the only item that makes your automobile unique.
If that vehicle is involved in a crime, snatched at gunpoint, or prevents the cameras from picking the plate during a drive-by, you will be involved in a very tough and messy case.
Conclusion
The number plate is not a fashionable item, especially the front number plate. It is there for a specific reason, such as to make it easier to pick out a vehicle in a sea of other vehicles of the same make, color, and model.
Removing your front number plate is illegal and may pit you against the authorities. Therefore, ensure that your front number plate is properly attached to its assigned area at all times.