This looks like it has a huge potential for misuse. :eek3: Police are testing an automated system that automatically scans and records auto tags of moving cars into a database with time and gps coordinates. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...OL-?SITE=WBNSTV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Sounds good to me, now they won't have to pull people over to see if they have warrants resulting in alot less profiling.
"highway speeds" mmmhhh ok "85%" hmmm i wonder what the remaining causes it not able to read Q: Distance capability ? What if the "0" looks like an "8" license plate in the front ? hmmmmmmm
Well if these scanning checkpoints are scanning plates of most all cars and recording latitude, longitude and time and this information is recorded in a centralized database it could also be used to write up cross country speeding tickets, for starters. This could also be used to enable usage based vehicle taxes or tolls.
I would like to know how the ACLU thinks it's an invasion of privacy..... you drive along, the thing zaps your plate..... if something's wrong you get stopped, and if not, you keep on driving and nothing happens..... you have no expectation of privacy on the rear of your car as you drive down a public road..... I randomly run tags all day long, this thing just does it on a much larger scale..... I don't see that it's enough of a difference for the ACLU to get their collective panties in a bunch..... Could it be misused? Sure, I guess, just like any other piece of equipment we have, and I'm sure it will be regulated somehow if it's implemented..... kind of a cool idea, I think......
I support this. It should cut down on profiling, AND if it is implemented nation wide and lets say on interstates and major state highways there are 'check points' between exits...it should clean up the streets nicely. I dont think its an invasion of privacy as a license plate is out there for ANYONE and EVERYONE to see. That and you are on a PUBLIC road. If you are illegal, you should not be on the road. If you are legal, then have a nice day. It would be different if they were developing a scanning device to scan the entire contents of your vehicle...
On the surface it doesn't bother me since I'm legal. But! like most large government/business information databases, it has the potential for abuse. Ref. pretexting, SSN leaks, identity theft, FOI Act exposures, lost laptops, etc., etc. If this gets implemented how long afterwards til you hear about a misuse of that info? "We didn't need a warrant because........ he's a terrorist. Yeah, that's it. Terrorizing our roads going 10 over." I'm still waiting for the duck man "Quacker?" to chime in. He's always down for these threads! Does anyone remember a few years back in GA when the police captured license plate #'s from cars going to a hydroponics business? They used the car's presence at that business to get warrants to raid people's houses. I remember a really pissed rose grower! (course they caught a few pot heads too)
I think people don't like it because it's kind of big brother-ish. I can see it being alright if it were to scan the plates, and if nothing is wrong, immediately disregard it. Having a huge database full of everyone who has driven down this road (especially if you were taking a cross country trip) is just kind of creepy. Granted I don't know exactly how it would work... "Every plate being scanned won't be tossed away but stored for future use. Once a warrant is issued on a plate, officers can pull up the previously scanned data, using coordinates on a map to pinpoint the exact location and time of the car when it was identified." Ok, yeah, that's not cool in my book. Way to much potential for abuse there. At least IMO.
the aclu is aware (and exists because) of the inheirent problems that accompany the mass collection of data. it's not about what's legal today, it's about what's legal tomorrow. therin lies the eternal value of privacy. personally, i'm not against this, but it does need to be monitored well. come to think of it, traffic cameras give me more pause than this. because context can be lost or manipulated from the instant a photo is snapped to the moment when it is interpreted. next topic? RFID chips or "WalMart has a right to be in your home"
Damn the man! I already get too many speeding tickets! What will this be used for? And NO to RFID chips!
I don't see how this could be big brother privacy issues. If you're on public property you have no expectation of privacy. Craig
Maybe not privacy, but anonymity to some degree. By extension, would you be ok if the govt required cellphone equiped GPS units on every car that transmitted location, time and speed to a central database and kept that data indefinately? Just 1 small step more would be needed (put it on the car).
I think it could be beneficial to us all. I am sure it will only be a matter of time before it is abused just like everything else though.
I see it being abused as well...as with radar not everyone knows that you cannot pick out 1 car of 10 that they are shotting at...I'm sure many people have gotten speeding tickets that truly were not speeding...it may piss off the officer but ask him to show you how the radar gun works...he is by law supposed to ask you if you want to see the gun work...and if the officer does not have his hat on he cannot write you a ticket......but its the Gov. (do as I say and not as I do) they can do anything they please...:evil:
Nope, you may ask the officer to check the calibration of the radar (does not apply to lidar), but he (or she) is not required to show you how the equipment works..... And wtf with the hat thing? :rofl:
Sorry, i've been out of town in Winder far away from internets. Just now seeing this. The problem is that the public is becoming increasingly distrustful of the oversight involved in such systems. And rightly so. Politicians and officials first job is to keep their jobs, not actually doing their jobs. Therefore, the oversight of this system will always be thought of from the POV of who gains the most power from this system being in place. As soon as that answer is 'some political figure,' thats when civil rights go out the window. Think about all the traffic cameras the DMV uses now to monitor the perimeter. The technology currently exists for state patrol to give you a speeding ticket by timing how long it takes you to show up on one camera from the next. Who is responsible for the oversight on how these cameras are used? Is this any different than the tag scanner? ...the ACLU rep in the article is a moron, and he's yelling about the wrong thing. There is a simple civil liberties issue, but the case is still out on this in federal law, as many states have differing laws. That issue has to do with right to know when you're being monitored by authorities in normal circumstances (like radar and lidar detectors.) Does the national database purge scanned plates after a length of time? No, not even if the plate is clean. Therefore, without oversight, there exists a log or database of waypoints tracking your vehicle's activities without your knowing. Some states have made laws against detector devices and base their decisions on saying the public doesn't have an inherant right to know when they're being monitored by an authority of the state. Most states DO recognise that right, short of a court order of course. The article says over 2 months, they scanned 86,000 plates. I'm curious how many officers that breaks down with. also, for me, the success rate in reading the plate is not high enough to be field useful yet. It should be past 95% accuracy.
It could theoretically be simpler than that..... DOT uses the cameras, as well as stationary radar IIRC, to monitor traffic..... they use it to figure average speeds for travel times..... Only slightly OT, this is a neat site for those who are interested or might happen to care: http://www.georgia-navigator.com/
That stuff you spray on your tag? I've never seen it work..... a couple of local police departments have tested it, as well as at least one news agency, and it hasn't worked yet..... it's a good way to burn 30 bucks I guess.....
oh, you mean... oh. well, anything you can put on a plate to mess with its reflectivity wavelengths is going to have an effect...though proof is hard to find.