Does it look a little ‘boy racer’ for some tastes? Sure. A tow-hook plate mount utilizes this hole as a mount. You’ll notice a little cut-out circle in the front bumper of most cars: pry this out with a flat object and you’ll expose a threaded hole, into which a heavy-duty hook can be screwed. These exist so that if you slide into a ditch, a tow truck can have something sturdy to latch on to, in order to pull you out. Just about every vehicle has a recovery tow point built into the front. This is a clever little invention that I reluctantly adopted when I lived in Virginia in order to get compliant after my ticket. In my opinion (and in that of most law enforcement entities), license plates are best left on the outside of the vehicle.Ī tow hook mount. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, in the event of an accident, this otherwise harmless plate turns into a sharp, flying, metal projectile. Second, it obstructs your view - you’ve got a big metallic rectangle in your field of vision at all times. First, it still technically isn’t legal, so it’s hardly worth bothering. Essentially, this consists of wedging your plate into the space between your dashboard and your windshield and calling it a day. Whether this is a risk worth taking in order to preserve the carefully sculpted lines of your vehicle is up to you. Now, Virginia is a rare case - a state that sustains its existence in part with excessive taxes and fines - but no matter where you live, you’re always risking a ticket if you forego the front plate altogether. When I lived in Northern Virginia, however, I was quickly hit with a $125 fine for not displaying a front plate. Here in Utah, about one out of every five Utah-plated cars seems to skip the front plate with little consequence. In some places you might get away with this - but in others, it isn’t worth the risk. In an effort to cut down on this barbaric practice, I’ve outlined a few of the common alternatives below.ĭon’t use one. Apparently, I’m not alone in this thinking, as society has developed a few of its own solutions to this issue, all with varying levels of ingenuity. What if I don’t want an ugly license plate slapped on the front of my vehicle? What if I live in a state that doesn’t require a front plate, but I buy my car from a state that does? What if I buy my car used and the previous owner used a hammer and nails to affix the front plate? Fancying myself as a non-conformist, I’ve always done just about everything I could to avoid the standard methods of affixing a front plate. This has always driven me crazy as a car enthusiast. For most vehicle designs, the front plate is an afterthought, forcing owners and dealers to take matters into their own hands and drill holes into the front of a new car.