California debuts ‘digital’ license plates | Hacker News Reader

California debuts ‘digital’ license plates

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13 pointsarunc23 comments

Let me get this out there first. If they are not already equipped with GPS, they will be. They will then be used to track your speed and give you speeding tickets automatically. They will also be used for per-mile taxing purposes. Eventually, access to the best roads will be auctioned off, so that in the name of “traffic management“, the highest bidders will be given access to Rhodes first, making it even harder for the poor to get by in California.

Do you have anything at all to back up your claims? Because I could just as easily say:

"Let me get this out there first. If they don't already allow custom images to be displayed, they will. They will then display gifs and moving images. They will also get wifi and LTE connections. Eventually, full movies will be streamed on these license plates, making it even harder for me to avoid spoilers for the avengers."

Fine if you don't believe me. I pray I am wrong. Reason to write this: I'm an American. The American government never just steps when it can overstep. California is the most taxed state in the country and spends like a banana republic. They want more more more, and they will get it. Once they iron the kinks out, it will spread to other states. Probably Washington, Oregon, and New York on that order.

All via private contractors, of course.

At first I wondered what the hell the point of this tech is, but then I realized it'd be government-mandated "black box" on each car. Why would a driver want something gimmicky like this (ads on cars? How many square yard of ad space do cars have already?), but if it's mandatory, then, that's the point of the tech.

Use mesh networking and cars can tattle-tale on others, "The Hyundai with the expired tax went that way, auto-cop!", and it'd be easy enough to spot because the display will be blinking "Expired tax" instead of showing the plate.

Literally both things can be true.

Also I hope you're right and he's wrong.

Though I can imagine a pretty cool hacker future where people just hack tags in to place. I'm also afraid of them being equipped with RFID.

Somewhat off-topic, but regarding automatic tracking for speeding, there was a system recently put in place on Turkish highways. Toll roads have booths at each entry and exit — so they can run plate recognition and fine you if your average speed between two booths exceeds the limit (eg if you travel 130 km in less than an hour on a 120 km/h limited road).

Texas was doing this in the 1960’s.

What is wrong with that?

Why do you need to risk a human life to figure out how fast a vehicle is going?( I am talking about a policeman sitting in his car with a radar gun which may or may not be calibrated correctly, then pulling you over and potentially risking his/her life)

Theoretically, if all vehicles were roughly the same mass and traveling the same speed, the probability of death would go down drastically in the event of an accident.

Just my 2cents

Automated enforcement when tied directly to revenue generating activity incentivizes local government to make money ahead of public safety. The blight of traffic cameras in the last 15 years is proof of this. For example, many municipalities have chosen to shorten yellow light times at “gotcha” intersections with red light cams. These have been proven to both “catch” more people and decrease safety.

>I am talking about a policeman sitting in his car with a radar gun which may or may not be calibrated correctly, then pulling you over and potentially risking his/her life

I’m sorry, I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.

I'd like to think that "the better angels of our nature" would prevail, but history has shown the slippery slope is on occasion, slippery -specially when incentivized with local revenue generation.

I would not be surprised at some point someone somewhere comes up with a version where given a "driving score" you may or may not be allowed to get on a given roadway.

They do have GPS, and the police are able to track these.

Automatic speeding tickets seem to be beyond the pale everywhere, they are trivial to implement on toll roads and yet do not happen.

I think there is a good to great chance they are used for per mile taxation in CA, and either mandated for new electric vehicles or encouraged through hassling regulations if you don’t.

I thought automatic speeding tickets are already implemented in Australia.

You’re right, and I’m out of the loop having spent too much time on the West Coast, looks like they are in use in the US as well.

Automated speeding ticket is the norm in the rest of the world. The hero cop chasing a speeding driver in a highway is 20th century stuff that only happens in the US. I have never seen a cop in a French highway

> "If the car is stolen, the plate's manufacturer says the plate can tell the owner and police exactly where the car is or at least where the license plate is if it has been detached."

They are equipped with GPS.

That's a foolproof strategy.

Meanwhile, thieves who aren't fools will simply remove the plates and toss them into the nearest unattended truck bed.

As much as I love tech, things like this make me hate this industry. All that technology seems to be used for these days is to collect more data, chip a little more at your badly bruised privacy, track you, and overall make everything more square, rigid, and controlling.

At first computers were designed to empower and free you and now it's all being turned on its head and the computers control you. This is terrible. Please, everyone, keep the free spirit alive, even if it's by doing something as small as sharing your code on the internet.

I think it would be really cool to have cars driving without visible license plates. They would just look better that way. Not to mention if the car is in an accident we could automatically record the plate to track down hit and run drivers. Usually a pedestrian or cyclist that is hit isn't able to see and memorize the plate. A lot of people in California already have radio transponders for toll roads, this wouldn't be much different than that anyhow.

Then again though, there are plenty of horrible things you could do with this tech too. Mostly, it is the same as what they are already doing with plate readers. Tracking the innocent and guilty alike...

This seems like something that should be blocked by California's own proposed privacy legislation...

Also, who on earth would choose this over a plate of screen-printed metal for $699 with a monthly fee...?

Not sure why any sane person would want them (and why taxpayers would allow Sacramento to purchase those for their own fleet), but the same people who bought Juiceros or stand in line for the latest iPhone would snap these up.

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