No front plate or no license plates at all?
No license plates at all. I never put on front plates. But right now in California cops are strictly enforcing the new license plate law. I forgot to mention, you are correct you can pay the fine for $196 and not even fix it, however, you will be at risk for getting pulled over repeatedly. The only good thing about this ticket is itâs not a moving violation so insurance rate doesnât go up nor do you get a point on your driverâs license.
Some cops wonât allow you to fix-it and make you pay the fine, just like some tint tickets. Itâs really up to the cop.
Lawyer on speed dial. 
So why arenât people using their plates?
I am bothered by this problem regularly.
The issue does not happen much at all in my town, but in shadier areas of the Bay Area, people keep or put on (fake) paper plates indefinitely. Not for the benefits of free tolls, but because they are involved in criminal activities. Almost every time there is a theft, robbery, shooting, etc., the news reports vehicles with paper plates.
I have a friend who lives in a city where you see it all of the time. I have even witnessed vehicles with absolutely no plates, paper or otherwise, on the front or back (in our county, it is illegal to operate a car without both). They drive without worry.
In her complex, it is rampant. I do not often visit, however, months will pass, I will return, and the vehicles still do not have license plates, yet they drive their cars daily. One of her neighbors has not had license plates for 18 months. Another went without them for 16 months. And those are just two examples of many.
And now since the law in California requires personalized temporary plates with identifiable numbers (AB 516), you see a surge of cars 15-20 years old with new license plates.
I visited and stayed overnight and came out to a sizeable dent in my driverâs side door. She has surveillance cameras, which showed her neighbor opening her door and hitting my SUV. I turned the information over to my insurance company, and they informed me that the plates did not match the car, and the registration belonged to a company that did not exist. The neighbor got rid of the vehicle the day after my insurance notified them (my friend witnessed it being towed away, with the owner present, at 2:30 AM). They got another car. It had no plates at all for two months. Fortunately, I have a $100 deductible.
(I also, unfortunately, have not visited my friend in 6 months - she visits me)
I was on the freeway a couple of months ago when a truck carrying rocks had one hit my car (I was two lanes over, and it still got me). The company truck had no plates on it. I have a dashcam, but unfortunately, that day it was overcast, and so I was unable to give any reliable information to my insurance company or law enforcement. I had the chip repaired out of my pocket. It is the third time in a year that damage has occurred to my cars, in that area, and I have had to pay for the repairs.
It is a massive problem in California, yet no one seems to care. I am not sure why law enforcement would not be all over a vehicle that is from the late 90s/early 00s driving around with paper plates, no plates at all, or expired stickers (tags). I could see others doing it before the change in law, but not now.