License Plate Light

[Bobert]

So my friends and I were driving through a parking lot with about 1.5' of water. Maybe 5 mph getting a free car wash, when we see johnny law coming from about a mile away, park and hide with his lights off waiting for us to come out.

He must think he is camoflage maybe? So after one more pass we go on our way with cop tailgating, looking for a reason to pull me over. About 2 mins later, He found one.

No what's this about a license plate light? I know my m1009 didn't come with one. Not even a place for the plate.

There must be a crackdown around here because my buddy got pulled over for the same thing, only he has a smoked cover.

So is a m1009 required to have a light on the plate?

 

[GM72K10]

In our state (pa.) it is. Not hard to rig up.

 

[M543A2]

I have never had any of that kind of trouble here in northern Indiana. Picky yo-yo, wasn't he? I love it when they do that kind of stuff and drug deals are going down all around them.
Did he ticket you? We beat nuisance things like that here by keeping insisting on our right to a jury trial, representing yourself. They may give you BS, but it is your right to a trial by your peers, so keep insisting. Usually the charges just go away because they do not want to spend the court cost for the trial, they just expect you to meekly pay the fine. Also, if the arresting officer does not bother to take time to show for the trial, you win.He may think twice about it next time if he thinks someone might force him again to take time out from other things he deems more important to show up for a trial over a trivial thing. My defense would be the vehicle was never equipped that way. The law allows these extremely loud and annoying Harleys to go through town, but if my car is too loud in their estimation, they write it up. The reasoning there is the Harleys came equipped with those pipes from the factory, therefore it is allowed, so why not plead the same kind of reasoning here?
I obviously am very adamant about keeping the freedoms we have, especially from trivial harassment by the law!
Regards Marti

 

[Croatan_Kid]

It's really easy to rig one up on an M1008, not sure about the M1009. I just tapped in to the right rear parking light wire and made a little bracket out of a piece of marine grade stainless steel I had just laying around (lol). Then I drilled two holes in the bumper and bolted the plate to the bumper. The light LOOKS like it would be in the way, but I have never had a problem with it and it's in such a place that when the tailgate is down, it's in the groove. I think the light was like 3.50 at Auto Zone.

Perhaps I will go get a few pictures of it for you.

 

[m35a2kevin]

its kind of funny, i owned my duece for three years before i started runnig
plates on it , i mean i was insured and all of that,i just wondered if
i could get away with it,,, and i did! just threw on the cover and jacket, they never knew the differnce never got pulled over, cops
would drive by and wave, now that im in pa,, its a differnt story,you got to many ex service men and guardsmen,, as state police, they know better! so tag is on all the time.
sorry,, didnt mean to change the subject
kevin

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Do a search. This was discussed a good while ago and a few folks showed some really good setups for doign it.

 

[CARNAC]

For most states, yes you do need a light for the license plate but it also may depend on how you license the vehicle--historic versus normal plates. All the states around me require one and this law overcomes the law of the fact the vehicle was never built with one. But also keep in mind I only checked on regular plates and not historic plates.

Go by the old addage---when in doubt, whip it out.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Just do like I saw a while back.

Rusty S10 Blazer with a trailer hitch. Apparently the plate lights didn't work so they duct taped a flash light to the curve in the tongue so it was pointed at the plate.

 

[Recovry4x4]

They are required in FL. Sometimes they are looking for any opportunity to check you out and that is one. They legally have the right to do it here. If they cite you follow the path required to go to trial and explain it to the magistrate. For the most part, the magistrates suffer less from napolean syndrome that some cops play into.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Just do like I saw a while back.

Rusty S10 Blazer with a trailer hitch. Apparently the plate lights didn't work so they duct taped a flash light to the curve in the tongue so it was pointed at the plate.

This brings back memories. When I was younger I had the license plate light prolem on my off road truck. I kept losing plates off road so I mounted it on the roll bar. After a few citations I got fed up and mouted a 75 watt spot light in the bed aimed right at the plate. It was so flooded with light you could barely read it. Of course that didn't go over well either.

 

[tymbom]

I wish people wouldn't bag on cops all the time. Somebody has to be out there doing the job. Maybe the cop was like me and just wanted to check out your truck.

 

[saddamsnightmare]

April 12th, 2008.

IN TEXAS:

If you reqister the vehicle as a regular non-commercial truck and opt to use the bumper markings or the hood markings as the registration numbers, no need for a license plate light. USE a regular plate with numbers, and yeah, they're probably gonna bust your chops sooner or later. My truck has a plate at present, but as the rear one's bolted to the rear cross sill under the tailgate, there ain't no way to fit a light to it that the tailgate's not going to bust it up.....
I am planning to go back to the bumper markings ASAP just to frustrate the cops..... Even if they are nice cops...

Cheers,

Kyle F. McGrogan

1971 Kaiser Jeep M35A2 Wo/W "Saddam's Nightmare" Desert Storm and Vietnam Veteran Deuce.
""???"" Johnson Mfg. Co. M105A2 1-1/2 ton Cargo Trailer, Woodland MERDC or NATO Camouflage,OK Army NG.
1967 MEP20A Hercules Gasoline Generator Set, OD Green -
1963 Swiss Army Cargo Unimog S404.114 Mercedes Benz NATO Green (Do you see a theme developing here, or a disease????)

 

[DriverSideImpact1008]

WI. law states there has to be license plate lights, but there are other Vehicle Equipment laws that state if something was not installed from the factory it isn't required. I'm not sure if you could get away with that argument though.
As for the bagging on cops... no, not all cops are bad, they do get a bad wrap sometimes. (Yeah, crazy thing to hear from a 19 yr old) I am in defense of those who do their jobs; pull over drunk drivers, speeders/reckless drivers, ya know keep other people safe. But when they just follow you, waiting for you to screw up or till they find some trivial thing to pull you over for, thats just wrong.
I have been pulled over or been in a car that has been pulled over numerous times (all in Mequon, WI. Hmm, thats odd ) for no other reason than because we were teenagers and not driving the common vehicle of the local townspeople; a high-class, nice looking car...Yeah I know "standard excuse," but can a cop see a brake light out when he's traveling in the opposite direction and you never hit your brakes??
I feel bad for other honest, hard-working cops, like most of the cops in my town (Grafton, WI) who end up getting ripped on all the time, because of cops like these.

 

[swbradley1]

I wish people wouldn't bag on cops all the time. Somebody has to be out there doing the job. Maybe the cop was like me and just wanted to check out your truck.[/quote


I was married to one and of all the time I spent with the police she worked with I'd have to say that they seem to have higher number of little dictators in their midst.

MLK said judge a man by their actions and I wait to see what kind of officer I'm dealing with first.


I don't envy their job and I thank them for helping every time they come out to our place. (Too frequently for my tastes but that's a different story.)


steve

 

[Tibby]

You are supposed to have one in Illinois. I have my plate on the right side of the bumper where there are two convenient holes (covers the convoy light though). I have them attached with those bolts with a tiny bulb in them, Lighnting Boltz, I think they are called. I got lazy and never hooked up the wires, even though it is easy enough to do. Seven years that way in Sangamon County here, and never been ticketed or warned. I have noticed that there are lots of vehicles running around with burned out license plate lights, so I blend right in.

 

[oifvet]

We beat nuisance things like that here by keeping insisting on our right to a jury trial, representing yourself. They may give you BS, but it is your right to a trial by your peers, so keep insisting. Usually the charges just go away because they do not want to spend the court cost for the trial, they just expect you to meekly pay the fine. Also, if the arresting officer does not bother to take time to show for the trial, you win.He may think twice about it next time if he thinks someone might force him again to take time out from other things he deems more important to show up for a trial over a trivial thing. I obviously am very adamant about keeping the freedoms we have, especially from trivial harassment by the law!

People could definitely bring this country's (justice system) to a screaching halt by demanding/requesting a jury trial for everything. That is true.

Court time = overtime! I know few LEOs that don't want or need time-and-a-half $$ for a fix-it ticket!

Pre-emptive stops (for little things) often lead to bigger fish. Ask Timothy McVeigh. Oh wait, we can't.

A quote from Wikipedia:

"Shortly after the bombing, while driving on I-35 in Noble County, near Perry, Oklahoma, McVeigh was stopped by Charles J. Hanger, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper from Pawnee, Oklahoma. Hanger had passed McVeigh's yellow 1977 Mercury Marquis and noticed it had no license plate. He arrested McVeigh for carrying a loaded firearm... Three days later, while still in jail, McVeigh was identified as the subject of the nationwide manhunt."

I do think stopping an MV and citing for "no license-plate light" is a little "C-S."

I have historical plates on my truck. I'm going to carry them in the cab and stencil the bumper. That's good for OH, but inconsistant laws from state-to-state are a PITA.

 

[rmgill]

I wish people wouldn't bag on cops all the time. Somebody has to be out there doing the job. Maybe the cop was like me and just wanted to check out your truck.

Maybe they could just ask like normal people instead of acting like Dan Chapman eh?

 

[Bobert]

Yep, I looked it up and it says Every vehicle does need a light. There must be some exceptions.

The cop was an alright guy except for pulling me over and all.
He didn't give me a ticket for the light, but that may be because I was already getting a $380 ticket for not being able to find my proof of insurance. doh, I have to go to court for that.

I might stop someone for doing the type of shenanigans I pull sometimes. And cops are not experts on the law so there's no point in arguing.

So I see where they are coming from, but the times that one treats me like some punk wears down on my respect for peace officers as a whole.

They are just regular people that like to try and keep me from having too much fun.

 

[DriverSideImpact1008]

$380!!!! Holy crap!!!!!

P.S.~ Tibby, you had better knock on wood, or you'll probably get busted withing the next 2 weeks.
And is your truck an ex-Ill. Nat'l guard truck? Cuz mine has those holes drilled (where I have conveniently mounted my plate) in the exact same place. (or maybe it was just a common general Army thing)

 

[swbradley1]

I have historical plates on my truck. I'm going to carry them in the cab and stencil the bumper. That's good for OH, but inconsistant laws from state-to-state are a PITA.

If it is legal in the state the truck is registered in then it should be good in any state due to the reciprocation agreements between the states. Sort of like concealed carry laws and being able to carry in over thirty states because you have a license in two them.

But I'm not a lawyer although I play one around my house....