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Get Scanned As You Drive Through Ohio 70

Posted by timothy from the it's-called-a-registration-plate dept.
kai5263499 writes "A local news station is reporting on a new license plate scanning system being tested in Ohio. This new system is supposed to be able to scan a passing vehicle's license plates and match it against a database of reported stolen or lost vehicles. Lawmakers are supposed to be briefed at the year's end for further funding and/or implementation in other areas."
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Get Scanned As You Drive Through Ohio More

Get Scanned As You Drive Through Ohio

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  • To send you a citation for expired tags.

    It could also be used to find out whether or not someone committed perjory when they filled out a certificate of non-use.
    • To send you a citation for expired tags.

      Next thing you know these bastards are going to find a way to stick automated speed traps throughout the state and just mail you a ticket if you're caught speeding. Welcome to John Ashcroft's Amerika. Why not just implant a microchip under our skin and mail us a ticket anytime we do anything wrong?

      • "Next thing you know these bastards are going to find a way to stick automated speed traps throughout the state and just mail you a ticket if you're caught speeding. Welcome to John Ashcroft's Amerika. Why not just implant a microchip under our skin and mail us a ticket anytime we do anything wrong?"

        They do that to cut down on fatal car accidents at intersections, not to make us happy compliant americans.

        Don't be so dramatic.

      • Re:Of course the next step is... (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Posting AC since I just modded you up...

        This is already in use in Washington DC and Phoenix, AZ. In DC there are police cruisers that sit on the side of the road and take pictures of the backs of passing cars which are exceeding the speed limit. The ticket is then sent to the registered owner's address.

        In Phoenix they don't even use the police - it's actually contracted out to a private company which has white vans which again, take your picture as you drive by. They're supposed to be conspicuously mar
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Next thing you know these bastards are going to find a way to stick automated speed traps throughout the state and just mail you a ticket if you're caught speeding.

        They've been doing exactly that in most parts of Europe for over a decade now, and it's nothing that even remotely resembles invasion of privacy. Unless, of course, you have an expectation of privacy while barrelling down a school zone at 60+?

        It's a safety measure that is impartial, accurate, and allows police officers to use their time mor

        • because it's in the police dept. or private contractor's best interest (or would that be conflict of interest) to have the speed camera detect a little higher than actual speed, plus the fact that it is almost impossible to dispute a cam ticket since you didn't even know when you get one. I'd like to see cars implement an optional speed log that could be used to fight cam tickets (the camera can't tell if you just accelerated to avoid getting T-boned by some dumbfuck)
          • Bullshit. If you can prove the camera is calibrated wrong, go for it. If not, you're talking urban legends.

            You certainly can dispute a camera ticket if you want. Your speeding fine will (or should) say where you were speeding, so you can look back and work it out. Speed cameras aren't on the junctions themselves, so getting T-boned in a camera zone is most unlikely. Plus in the UK at least, cameras need to take two photos of you speeding (at fixed intervals to prove how fast you were going), so if you
            • Of course, usually it *is* almost impossible to dispute a cam ticket, because nearly always you've been caught red-handed and there's nothing you can do about it.
              Except there's no way to prove that I was the one driving the car. My wife may have been doing the driving that day, or I may have loaned the car to a friend.
              • If that excuse was allowed to stand up then everyone would use it. I guess they are saying that unless your car [was reported] stolen, the owner of the car can be held liable for actions by persons that they have permitted to drive their vehicle. This doesn't sound much different than what corporations have to face. If Van X owned by Company Y commited some major raod crime, Company Y better prove who Driver Z is or its there a$$. (Disclaimer: IANAL just like most of us)

                If it's such a big deal, hook
              • Excellent. Then you can write to them and say "It wasn't me, it was my friend." And get your friend to acknowledge that yes, it was him/her. The police will take into account that the vehicle may be driven by the spouse of the owner, or that it may be a hire car, or whatever. Whilst the original ticket may have been issued automatically, you can bring in humans after that to deal with the special cases.

                What you *can't* dispute is that your car was going past the camera in excess of the speed limit, so

      • Re:Of course the next step is... (Score:4, Funny)

        by Nynaeve ( 163450 ) on Wednesday June 09, 2004 @04:03PM (#9381660)
        Next thing you know these bastards ...

        Click ... Whirr ...

        "AKnightCowboy, you are fined one credit for a violation of the verbal morality statute."
    • They are already doing that [washingtontimes.com] in Arlington, VA.
  • Isn't Ohio also the state that checks the timestamps on your Ohio Turnpike ticket and cites you for speeding if you get to your exit "too soon"?
    • Isn't Ohio also the state that checks the timestamps on your Ohio Turnpike ticket and cites you for speeding if you get to your exit "too soon"?
      No, I drive on the ohio turnpike at least once a week sometimes averaging over 80, and the limit is 65. There are some areas that are really nasty speed traps, as some cities seem to have a thing for making a 50mph road 25 as soon as it enters the city limits and not posting it very clearly, but its probably like that everywhere.
    • I don't have a problem with this. As soon as you stop for fuel or to take a leak, and factor in 15-20 minutes at zero miles per hour, your average speed for the trip goes way down.
    • I don't know about other areas. But the e-pass system in Central Florida has specifically stated that time stamps collected (and recorded) will NOT be used for speed enforcement.

      'Course, I'm sure they are free to change their minds at any given time. I've never had an issue with it, though.

  • Big deal. This kind of thing is already in place on the 407 ETR highway in Ontario, Canada. It's purely a side effect of the automated billing system (it's a toll highway), but you can get speeding tickets based on how long you went through two toll points ... both that and your toll bills are mailed to your house, by looking up your address via license plate. I'm sure they check for stolen plates/vehicles while they're at it.
    • I've been on the 407 quite a few times in the last year and haven't had this happen yet and my average speeds through there are well over the posted 100km/h. I also know of several people who are on there regularly (again at average speeds over the limit) who have never received tickets. So unless this is a really new program (ie. last few weeks), I'd put this down as an urban legend.
      • As much as I hate replying to my own post, I forgot the backup in my last post:

        407 Policies [407etr.com]

        Under the section of things they don't do, speeding enforcement is explicitly listed. The same thing is stated on the insert that comes with the toll bills.
    • Big deal. This kind of thing is already in place on the 407 ETR highway in Ontario, Canada. ... but you can get speeding tickets based on how long you went through two toll points

      AFAIK, this is complete nonsense. The 407 is a privately-controlled toll highway (paid for by taxpayers and then leased out to a private company for a sickeningly low fee). The co. that controls the 407 pays the public police force to do enforcement on the highway. Part of the 407's attraction is that the police that patrol it

  • Uh oh!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonvmous Coward ( 589068 ) on Wednesday June 09, 2004 @03:41PM (#9381434)
    Ohio's enforcing the law! READY PITCHFORKS!!
    • This is actually good news, for once. We already have automated systems that give tickets for speeding and automated systems that give tickets for running red lights... while useful for enforcing the law (and teaching those bastard San Fransisco kids that RED means STOP), none of these helps out the owner of the car. Trying to return stolen vehicles automatically is actually really nice. If your car was stolen, wouldn't you want the automated scanners that they already have anyway to call the police?

      Wou
    • And, just incidentally, anyone with access to the system can determine where and when you travel anywhere.
      • "And, just incidentally, anyone with access to the system can determine where and when you travel anywhere. "

        Uh right. And they can't do that through your cell phone or credit card?
        • I can very easily not use a cell phone or credit card. Depending on where you live, it might be nearly impossible to go places without a car. "Going places" should not be opt-in like cell phones and credit cards.
          • "Depending on where you live, it might be nearly impossible to go places without a car."

            You have public transportation. :)

            Nar I get your point. Thing is, I'd be more alarmed if we were talking RF implants or something.
  • In Toronto (Canada), they have had vehicles that drive around town doing that for years. They say they recover thousands of vehicles a year.

  • One step at a time (Score:3, Informative)

    by Nynaeve ( 163450 ) on Wednesday June 09, 2004 @03:54PM (#9381578)
    The patrol will report to lawmakers by year's end and won't implement the system or expand it without approval by the Controlling Board or the Legislature, said patrol spokesman Capt. John Born. Some lawmakers and advocates for civil liberties are worried the scanners could invade the privacy of law-abiding residents. "It's a free society, and we're supposed to move as we like without the government tracking us everywhere," said Jeff Gamso, legal director of the Ohio American Civil Liberties Union. Born said the devices don't take pictures or make videotapes and don't create any databases of individuals.
    Imagine how much crime could have been prevented in the 19th century if we'd required license plates on horses!

    The devices use optical scanners similar to those used in supermarkets to read bar codes.
    Somehow, I doubt it uses a laser to scan license tags on passing cars. My guess is that it uses a CCD camera with image processing - a simple task, really. This is what happens when journalists don't research an article and the editor doesn't force them to pay attention to detail.
    • "It's a free society, and we're supposed to move as we like without the government tracking us everywhere,"

      In a free society you should be able to track whoever you want, without punishment. In a free society you should also be free to prevent anyone from tracking you, without punishment.

      • BWAHAHHAHAAHA! Excellent point. Far too many people don't realize that freedom is a double edged sword. Most people don't REALLY want freedom, they just want everyone to do what THEY want to do.
    • Your probably right about it using a CCD. But that doesn't mean it's not like "the Optical Scanners used to read bar codes"

      See:
      http://www.symbol.com/products/barcode_scanners/b a rcode_handheld_vs4000.html

      Symbol makes a CCD based bar code scanner. Basically it takes pictures and firmware/software digitally detect the barcode thru image processing. Great thing about it is that you can barcode something, AND take pictures of it. EG if the product is damaged er whatever.

      Same concept here, but you
  • In Toronto, they have a similar system mounted to a car wich drives up and down streets reading plates. It checks the numbers, and then tries them against a db, no flags, it keeps going..

    I couldnt find any reputable sites about it, just a forum post by somebody with more info on it here [annistonstar.com]
  • OHIO has always been super anal about speeding. I mean they have cops camping the interstates at the border 24/7. If you are going even 1 over and you have out of state plates they pull you over. Then they let you pay with a credit card right then and there. The plan has always been to increase revenue for the state by stealing it from non-Ohionians. While they say that they are looking for lost and stolen vehicles they are no doubt going to use it to ticket every traffic violation they can detect automati
    • Pay with a credit card? No thanks, just put it on my tab. They will have a hell of a time finding me in New Mexico anyway. What are they going to do, send a paddy wagon to my house in the mountains for a speeding ticket?

      They probably would just so I can pay some marked up fee attributed to "court costs" for the whole ordeal. I got a ticket in Texas a while back for getting stuck on the beach. They plow it up for spring break, putting 3 foot high walls of sand to separate the two lanes of traffic. Real sce
    • I don't have a problem with strict enforcement of speed limits, since a car is potentially a deadly weapon. The discrimination you mention is very wrong, however, and should be stopped---by treating every speeder that way.

      What concerns me about tracking and surveillance systems is their value for blackmail and witch-hunts.

  • has anyone seen the strange poles on I-95/128 in Mass? Are these the same things? White poles every ~3 miles, two solar panels on top, and a small white box mounted half-way up the poles aimed at traffic perpedicular to the highway about the same size as a boze indoor/outdoor speaker? Anyone have a clue what these things really are???
  • Replace or take off the license plate. That was a hard one!
  • Let's tie this to biometric ID's, RFID tags embedded in your underwear, facial recognition cameras on every corner, etc. until we know exactly when someone does anything suspicious or unusual. We should record everyone's habits, so we can alert officials when you do something new. I bet you could even predict when someone's about to commit a crime with enough information about where everyone is and what they're doing.
  • muddy plate. Strategic placement of dirt can do wonders for making it difficult for these cameras to get an accurate bead. Sure, there's an outside chance you'll be cited a non-moving violation for obscured plate, but that's better than being tracked like an animal by armed forces of the state and having your movements recorded in a database for ready access by any cop, politician, or person who knows somebody who might take an interest in you or a member of your family.

  • *yawn*
    This was initaited in London years ago [thefreedictionary.com] suposidly in resopnce to a large IRA bomb attack.

    And dont even get me started on the automatic congestion charge [cclondon.com] cameras.
    More details here [ukspeedtraps.co.uk]

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