National Car Tracking System Proposed For US

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National Car Tracking System Proposed For US

Posted by timothy on Wednesday September 17, 2008 @04:56AM from the arrogance-of-power dept.

bl968 writes "The Newspaper is reporting that the leading private traffic enforcement camera vendors are seeking to establish a national vehicle tracking system in the United States using existing red-light and speed enforcement cameras. The system would utilize Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to track vehicles passing surveillance cameras operated by these companies. If there are cameras positioned correctly the company will enable images and video to be taken of the driver and passengers. The nice thing in their view is that absolutely no warrants are needed. To gain public acceptance, the surveillance program is being initially sold as an aid for police looking to solve Amber Alert cases and locate stolen cars."

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I'm all for it by jollyreaper · 2008-09-17 04:57 · Score: 5, Funny

I cannot possibly foresee a way that this could be turned against the public in some horrific Orwellian fashion.

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1. Re:I'm all for it by halcyon1234 · 2008-09-17 05:26 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I'm going to build motorized, retractable cover for my front license plate if this system is implimented. Fuck that.
  Jeeze, if you're going to buck the system, why not go all the way and fuck up the system? Don't just hide your plate. Make it work for you.
  Take a ride past your local police parking lot, and jot down two or three license plate numbers. Then use a good quality laser printer and make yourself some copies of those "plates". With luck they'll never notice they're effectively tracking themselves
  Or heck, just copy ANY plate(s). Randomly switch them around. The system will think cars are vanishing and reappearing all over the place. Or maybe you'll get even luckier, and it will snap a shot of two of the same plates at the same time, and cause a referential integrity error in the system, crashing it.
  The minute the implement random manual spot checks by humans to ensure the integrity of the data, slap a Goatse on your plate. You should burn out the employees pretty quickly with that one.
  Whatever you do, be creative. The more you can clog the system with crap, the lower their cost:profit^H^H^H public safety ratio goes down. Make it hit a critical point, and the system will be abandoned.
  
  --
  UTF-8: There and Back Again
2. Re:I'm all for it by turtledawn · 2008-09-17 05:36 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  There's a car in Pike Country, Kentucky that actually has Goatse as the personalized plate. I saw it here in Lexington- I'm assuming a college student, but who knows. I have never before actually considered reporting a personalized plate for vulgarity, but I was so distraught that I missed my turn and had to go around the block because of it. Horrifying, I tell you.
  
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  Uh, "if it looks roughly mouse-shaped according to my infra-red sensitive pit, eat it"? --Chris Burke 09-08-10
3. Re:I'm all for it by rudeboy1 · 2008-09-17 05:54 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Personally, I think I'm going to pay the extra money for a vanity tag, and solve everyone's problem the first time I'm scanned.
  
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  Raging in an online forum won't do anything for the world around you. To see change, you must take action.
4. Re:I'm all for it by Leebert · 2008-09-17 07:50 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  ust look at all the hassle we have to go through at the airports because some British nutjob tried to blow up a home-made shoe bomb.
  Yes. I'm sick of removing my shoes. Why, oh why couldn't the shoe bomber have been a bra bomber?
5. Re:I'm all for it by toddestan · 2008-09-17 14:01 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I was so distraught that I missed my turn and had to go around the block because of it. Horrifying, I tell you.
  Well, at least you didn't rear end him.
Dude, by IceCreamGuy · 2008-09-17 05:01 · Score: 4, Funny

Where's everybody's car?
This is America by Kreigaffe · 2008-09-17 05:03 · Score: 5, Funny

Don't expect to see this go anywhere, not for a long time at least.
On this side of the pond.
To my friends in the UK, I'm so terribly sorry. I'm assuming you will have this technology installed and in full swing by next Tuesday.

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Re:Inductive sensors by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2008-09-17 05:20 · Score: 5, Funny

This is my Civic.
There are many like it, but this one is MINE.

--
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Re:Inductive sensors by Lobster+Quadrille · 2008-09-17 05:30 · Score: 5, Funny

I guess they could require you to attach some kind of placard to the back of your car with a unique combination of numbers and letters on it....
I dunno though, the logistics of doing that kind of thing on a large scale are pretty limiting.

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"The cup is in turn designed for holding hot or cold liquids, and has an open rim and closed base." --US Patent #5425497
Re:Inductive sensors by pwizard2 · 2008-09-17 05:32 · Score: 4, Funny

It's easier to just put RFID chips in license plates and install sensors on the side of the road. They will do this eventually.
That will eventually give rise to tinfoil body kits.

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"It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that is the common right of humanity."
Re:Inductive sensors by OrangeTide · 2008-09-17 05:37 · Score: 4, Funny

then attach the placard with screws that can be easily adjusted in a parking lot. in case you need to swap placards quickly, for example while escaping from the police.

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“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Re:One layer of indirection by Manfre · 2008-09-17 05:40 · Score: 4, Funny

That's a great idea! Definitely better than not running a red light.