License plate frame illegal in CT? Just got a ticket for it.

[Dragonwind]

So I get pulled over for the first time in over 15 years and I get a citation for "Improper plate attachments". Apparently the PORSCHE frame I have on the rear plate is illegal. I've only had it on there for six years with no problem.

I guess every dealership is braking the law...cop even said so. Now I wonder if I should fight this or just let it slide and pay the fine. Fighting probably means a court date etc. that I don't have time for. $117 fine...so much for that.



Chris

[Heiko]

You got a picture of that illegal frame... it be interesting to see because so many of us have Porsche frames on our vehicles... hell if its an official Porsche frame from a dealership I would fight it... how were you supposed to know... just say you didn't know and take it off! The officer could have been nice and gave you a warning... Up here they are starting to crack down on the plate covers as the auto-toll cams don't like them and it obscures the visibility of the plate apparently...

[Dragonwind]

This is an old pic but it hasn't changed since then.

[Heiko]

If that's what he gave you a ticket for.... fight it - Seriously...
If that's illegal then every plate frame on other cars is illegal...
Frigg man, somebody must have pee'd him off earlier in the day and you
got the heat for it!

Originally Posted by Dragonwind

This is an old pic but it hasn't changed since then.

[jacabean]

Connecticut is one weird ass place . People think mass is bad but that place is like natziville

[Dragonwind]

Found the law...I guess having PORSCHE cover the CONSTITUTION STATE is technically illegal.

(c) Official number plates when displayed upon motor vehicles shall be entirely unobscured and the numerals and letters thereon shall be plainly legible at all times. Such number plates shall be horizontal, and shall be fastened so as not to swing and, during the time when a motor vehicle is required to display lights, the rear number plate shall be so illuminated as to be legible at a distance of fifty feet. Nothing may be affixed to a motor vehicle or to the official number plates displayed on such vehicle that obscures or impairs the visibility of any information on such number plates.

[BFeller]

I believe that plate frame would also be illegal in NC. A law was passed a few years ago in NC making coverage of the plate illegal.

[TeamOxford]

Fight it.

I was born and raised in Connecticut; I received 29 speeding tickets during the time I lived there. Got my license suspended twice for driving what in Texas is considered a safe and reasonable speed. The speed limit (55) was strictly enforced, and the cops were SUPREME DICKS!

Last time I was there, the cops were all over the place. Unfortunately, Connecticut is a depressed State now. The only employment I could discern is healthcare, the trades, and government, i.e. cops..................lots of cops, who apparently have nothing better to do than issue expensive bull**************** tickets.

Just sayin'..........

TO

[Flavor 987S]

Dragon, what's the rest of the story. Something is missing. For example, were you speeding, got pulled over, and instead of a speeding ticket he gave you the ticket for the plate frame?

[Dragonwind]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

Dragon, what's the rest of the story. Something is missing. For example, were you speeding, got pulled over, and instead of a speeding ticket he gave you the ticket for the plate frame?

Yes there is a little more. I was almost home and was stuck behind a slow poke Prius. Once it finally turned off at a light I went the other way and being aggravated I revved up in 1st-2nd to about 40 then coasted to my street. The Barracks are at the end of my street so he probably heard my engine and figured easy ticket. I have a very clean record and was more annoyed that I see people on my street going what appears to be 50+ and here I'm being stopped...just my luck. I was within a couple hundred feet of my house...I could see into the living room.

So yes he had an alternate motive and that was all he could really ticket me for...a vague law concerning license plate frames.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by Dragonwind

Yes there is a little more. I was almost home and was stuck behind a slow poke Prius. Once it finally turned off at a light I went the other way and being aggravated I revved up in 1st-2nd to about 40 then coasted to my street. The Barracks are at the end of my street so he probably heard my engine and figured easy ticket. I have a very clean record and was more annoyed that I see people on my street going what appears to be 50+ and here I'm being stopped...just my luck. I was within a couple hundred feet of my house...I could see into the living room.

So yes he had an alternate motive and that was all he could really ticket me for...a vague law concerning license plate frames.

Then the cop did you a favor by giving you a non moving violation rather than a speeding ticket or display of speed ticket (both are moving violation).

Still sucks, but sucks a little less. Go talk to the judge and SA. Have a picture and maybe your receipt for the frame from Porsche. Probably will be dropped. Good luck.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by TeamOxford

I was born and raised in Connecticut; I received 29 speeding tickets during the time I lived there. Got my license suspended twice for driving what in Texas is considered a safe and reasonable speed. The speed limit (55) was strictly enforced, and the cops were SUPREME DICKS!

..............some people learn at different rates

[Dragonwind]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

Then the cop did you a favor by giving you a non moving violation rather than a speeding ticket or display of speed ticket (both are moving violation).

Still sucks, but sucks a little less. Go talk to the judge and SA. Have a picture and maybe your receipt for the frame from Porsche. Probably will be dropped. Good luck.

Possibly. I think he was looking for an out of town rich guy and that isn't me. Fighting it means tine off from work, etc. so this one not being a large fine is erasure to pay and move on.

[Mark_T]

One of my favorites. I hope I get a chance to actually use this one day.

A women gets pulled over on her way to work . The cop asks the usual question "Why are you in such a hurry?". The women replies that she is late for work and he cuts her off and says "I suppose you have a really important job like a doctor where it's a matter of life and death that you be there, huh?". The lady says "No, actually I am a a$shhole stretcher." The cop says "An a$shhole stretcher? What is that?". She says "It is where you start with one finger and then work in a second until you got your whole hand in there and then the other hand and you keep stretching until it is about six foot." The cop says "Well what do you do with a six foot a$shhole?" The lady says "Give him a gun and badge and have him pull people over that are late for work."

[Perfectlap]

congrats.

A cop with nothing better to do (usually small town with lots of attitude) comes along about once in every 15 years. I call it the $8 annual tax.

I've not had a front plate on my primary vehicle since 1998 and have yet to get a ticket.
I will be sure to point that out to the next cop who does decide to pull over and cite for such.
Actually, since the state did away with vehicle inspection a couple of years ago (for the most part) I didn't have a current sticker until last summer and still no cop could bother himself to pull over a driver for such a thing.

p.s.
I have been pulled over for a moving violation at least 8 six times (pre-valentine one) and never once did the cop even mention the no front plate.
I used to spend a lot time in municipal court fighting tickets... always worth fighting those tickets though.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by Dragonwind

Found the law...I guess having PORSCHE cover the CONSTITUTION STATE is technically illegal.

c) Official number plates when displayed upon motor vehicles shall be entirely unobscured and the numerals and letters thereon shall be plainly legible at all times. Such number plates shall be horizontal, and shall be fastened so as not to swing and, during the time when a motor vehicle is required to display lights, the rear number plate shall be so illuminated as to be legible at a distance of fifty feet. Nothing may be affixed to a motor vehicle or to the official number plates displayed on such vehicle that obscures or impairs the visibility of any information on such number plates.

From what I can see in your picture, this law was not broken.

[Deserion]

Lot of people here in Florida have plate frames that obscure the state name, many coming from dealers. Think I read an article in the local news recently that police were stepping up tickets for that.

[southernguy]

Originally Posted by Deserion

Lot of people here in Florida have plate frames that obscure the state name, many coming from dealers. Think I read an article in the local news recently that police were stepping up tickets for that.

They shouldn't be., Ruling a few years back was the only thing required to show was the actual plate number and the decal. Everything else (i.e. Sunshine State etc) was deeming not important and could be obscured.

[Muzzle of Bees]

Frames around plates have been illegal in Texas for many years, but I still see many autos with them. I have removed my frames. I don’t really need to be a rolling add for someone else’s business either.

[thstone]

What a jerk of a cop. Yeah, they have a tough job that isn't any reason to piss on someone else's parade just because you can.

I'd fight it - but then I fight every ticket that I get. Cops write notoriously bad tickets and in my experience they make up about 50% of what is presumed as part of the violation. Win rate: ~85%. Your mileage may vary.