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I agree that it is a choice made. We all know the laws (or at least should) and are able to make our own choice to follow them or not. If we choose not then we are choosing to accept the consequences. I have 5 vehicles registered in Wisconsin and the only one with a front plate displayed is my truck, and the only reason for that is because it has a spot in the bumper that is recessed and it looks bad WITHOUT a plate.
I got pulled over a few years back and the cop asked why I had no plate. My answer was "Because it looks bad and ruins the lines of the front of the car, I have the plate in the trunk if you would like to see it". He was taken back and then asked me if I knew it was the law. I said "Yep". I think he was blown away by my blunt honest answers. He ran all my info and then wrote me a warning. I went home with warning in hand, screwed on the front plate, went to the local police to have them sign the warning (which I had to send back to the issuing officer for proof I fixed the issue), then went home. An hour later my wife comes outside and asks me what I am doing. My answer was "Taking off this stupid looking license plate". To which she reminded me it is the law and I could get a ticket for it. Again, all I could muster was "Yep."
Point is, if you don't want the hassle put it on. If you're like me and think it looks terrible leave it off and deal with the consequences.
One thing not mentioned yet on this thread that should be:
Running no front plate gives police an excuse to pull you over. So if you commonly run drugs in your car you should probably have a front plate, preferably one that isn't a vanity plate like "CRK DELR". Also, if you are one of those who have two beers and drive your car you can find yourself pinched for being over the legal limit and not even knowing it. Don't mean to start a whole bother debate on what is the appropriate amount of beer to consume before you decide to not drive. Just want to point out the fact that by running without the front plate you are inviting the police to pull you over for the hell of it.
Something else for our Illinois brethren. When I was a kid in the Chicago burbs my dad drove around in a 1957 Chevy (I was a kid in the eighties) and at the time Illinois had a law that if your car was 25 years old or older you could run vintage plates as long as the car was registered. We got pulled over ALL THE TIME and would get into arguments with police about the law until my dad actually printed off the statute and would just hand it over to them when they walked up to the car. Moral of the story, buy a 2002 and slap a vintage plate on it and you'll most likely get to visit with lots of Illinois finest.
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