i got ticketed for that **** too. WTF? if it's illegal to have those on, why the **** is every dealership allowed to sell a car with them? luckily, the cop didn't show in court and charges were dropped. still, it's ****ing stupid. they can basically pull over 75% of the cars on the road b/c they have the frames on.
My wife's dad was an HPD officer who worked Vice. Back in 1987 when she went to take her driving test the State Patrol man told her and her dad that the windows were too tinted in her car. Her dad told him he was HPD Vice and the State cop didn't car, got all man and threatened to ticket him too. I don't care for tinted windows btw.
License-plate frames to be street legal again Legislature: House allows partial obstruction; Senate OK expected 10:52 AM CDT on Friday, April 20, 2007 By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News choppe@dallasnews.com AUSTIN – Go Longhorns and Gig 'Em Aggies. Hooray! Brackets on your license plates are likely to be legal again. The House approved a measure Thursday that clarifies a law passed four years ago, which made it a Class C misdemeanor for anyone to obscure a license plate. The law was intended to catch a growing number of sneaks who were spraying reflective paint over their plates so they could run toll plazas without cameras or optical readers catching their numbers. But the statute was so broadly written that a reluctant Court of Criminal Appeals said in an opinion issued in February that nothing on the plate could be obscured – not an oil derrick, little star or cowboy. The ruling meant that most vehicles with license-plate brackets – including those from dealerships and alumni associations – were violating the law. "I don't think people ought to be ticketed because they want to advertise their high school, or their college – or even their car dealership – as long as it does not interfere with law enforcement's ability to do its job," said Rep. William Callegari, R-Katy. Such a measure passed the full House on Thursday, saying that a license plate's letters, numbers and state would have to be substantially obscured before it rose to a violation of the law. The bill already has passed the Senate, but one small amendment added in the House will have to be approved in the upper chamber before it goes to the governor for his expected signature. The law would take effect Sept. 1. The Senate's final approval should take less time than screwing on a new license-plate bracket, said Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands. "This was one of those quirky things that had an unintended consequence when we did it the first time," Mr. Williams said. He even heard anecdotes about law enforcement using the brackets as a reason to pull a car over. "It was never our intention to do that as long as the numbers were readable," Mr. Williams said. "This is just to clarify." http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...-plates_20tex.ART.State.Edition1.4376665.html
What "rights"? The "right" to not get pulled over for breaking a law? Is that one of the Bill of Rights?
first of all, I had just bought the van and it had the temporary plate taped to the back window in plane view. second, the license plate frame was just an excuse to pull me over and test my sobriety. If it had been at noon he would not have pulled me over. so yes - using a sorry excuse for a law to pull someone over so that he can inspect me and my vehicle is bull****. Why not just allow the police to pull anyone over at any time for any reason? Oh yeah - because that would be unconstitutional. carry on, Brock
that particular law - if you have any other trouble with reading comprehension please ask more questions. thanks
if is so unlawful to have a frame around your licence plate, then why aren't cops stopping cars all the time for them? i guarantee you can't drive half a mile w/o seeing a framed plate.
That's not the law. The law is: Senate Bill 439 amends Section 502.409(a), Transportation Code, to provide that, in addition to current statutory restrictions, a person commits an offense if the person attaches to or displays on a motor vehicle a number plate or registration insignia that: # has identification marks that, because of reflective matter, are not plainly visible at all times during daylight; # has an attached illumination device or emblem not authorized by law and that interferes with the readability of the letters or numbers on the plate or the name of the state in which the vehicle is registered; or # alters or obscures the letters, numbers, color, or original design features of the plate. http://www.snopes.com/politics/traffic/texasplate.asp
just about every frame obscures the word "Texas". just like mine did, that was from the freakin' dealership.
right. in my case it's a dealer plate that partially takes off the top letters of the word TEXAS. Unless the police officer was confused which state the plate was from I can't imagine how this would adversly effect the public interest. Especially as the frame only takes off about a 1/8" of the top of the letters. But you are right. Despite the fact that I also had a temporary Texas plate taped to my back window and the license plate was clearly a texas plate with no important items obscured - I was indeed breaking the law. Thank God that nice police man pulled me over before I could cause some real harm... Best Regards, Brock
Yes, it's a stupid law. And apparently, it's going away and rightfully so. Yes, the cop thought you were drunk and that's the real reason he pulled you over. It was probably pretty annoying, but he didn't even ticket you for the plate, right? I'm just not sure how getting off with a warning for breaking a law constitutes a violation of civil rights. Hell, I NEVER get warnings.
it is a lame law and like someone else said i think they are getting rid of it. That being said, i am aware of it and i still have a license holder around my license plate and if i get busted for it then i will take the punishment or whatever. there are always a few bad apples, but cops have a tough gig and hardly deserve some of the ridicule they get
