Dubai To Launch Digital Vehicle Number Plates (bbc.com)

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Dubai To Launch Digital Vehicle Number Plates (bbc.com)

Posted by msmash on Wednesday April 11, 2018 @04:43AM from the how-about-that dept.

Drivers in Dubai may soon be using digital number plates under new plans. In a trial starting next month, vehicles will be fitted with smart plates with digital screens, GPS and transmitters. From a report: The new plates will be able to inform emergency services if a driver has an accident. Dubai has recently spearheaded a number of new transport initiatives as it seeks to become an international technology hub. According to Sultan Abdullah al-Marzouqi, the head of the Vehicle Licensing Department at Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the plates will make life easier for drivers in Dubai. As well as contacting the police and ambulance services if the vehicle is involved in a collision, the technology allows real-time communication with other drivers about traffic conditions or any accidents ahead. The number plates can also change to display an alert if the vehicle or digital plate is stolen.

44 of 75 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Waste of money, invasion of privacy by Anonymous Coward · 2018-04-11 04:46 · Score: 1

Also they'll be broken easily and you'll be required to pay an exhorbitant fee to replace them. Stupidest idea I've ever heard.
1. Re:Waste of money, invasion of privacy by Anonymous Coward · 2018-04-11 05:09 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  A rock hitting a stamped metal non-electronic license plate may put a dent in it but it's not going to render it inoperable. Your stamped metal license plate also won't stop working if it gets wet, as opposed to complicated electronics that get destroyed by water getting in them. Then there's also being tracked every goddamned place you drive because the goddamned fucking piece of shit has a goddamned GPS and a goddamned cellular modem in it. Or do you want shit like this to get a foothold ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD as precendent for the U.S. to decide to mandate it, so we're all driving around with the equivalent of a goddamned ankle monitor?
2. Re:Waste of money, invasion of privacy by b0s0z0ku · 2018-04-11 05:12 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I agree with your rage, but it's already happened in parts of the US, where EZ Pass is required for some bridges and tunnels... this being said, there is a pseudo anonymous cash payment option.
  This being said, a lot of things have taken hold abroad (e.g fingerprinting to buy groceries in Venezuela) that don't exist in the US or EU.
  Maybe the best thing to happen to the world would be a massive trade war and recession that will set the progress of privacy robbing tech back 50 years and cause superpowers to go bankrupt.
3. Re:Waste of money, invasion of privacy by QuietLagoon · 2018-04-11 05:32 · Score: 2
  
  ...it's already happened in parts of the US, where EZ Pass is required for some bridges and tunnels.....
  E-ZPass Is the Best Tracking Device That's Already in Your Car https://gizmodo.com/e-zpass-is... It's not just for bridges and tunnels anymore...
4. Re:Waste of money, invasion of privacy by kiviQr · 2018-04-11 05:45 · Score: 1
  
  pseudo anonymous cash payment? do you mean all the cameras pointed at you when you get to tool booth?
5. Re:Waste of money, invasion of privacy by jaymemaurice · 2018-04-11 07:05 · Score: 2
  
  You've never lived in the UAE, have you?
  There is auto plate number recognition everywhere.
  Almost every vehicle in all 7 emirates has a RFID tag on the windshield because there is one toll road in Dubai. Abu Dhabi has cameras above the road every few feet.
  There is CCTV in every mall / parking lot / almost every intersection.
  All cell phones are from one of two carriers, with major government influence. The entire country has coverage. Many buildings have femtocells or carrier approved repeater solutions installed. They employ Cell-On-Wheels solutions to augment their network during local events. Owning a cell phone to receive inbound calls (on the cell network) does not cost anything. You can even place all your calls collect.
  The UAE doesn't need this. It doesn't change anything. If they need to find you, they know where you are and where you've been. TBH I'm surprised these smart plates don't do APNR/facial recognition of all the things around it.
  That said, it's the only place I've been and felt safe to leave my mostly empty wallet on a crowded beach.
  They have some of the lowest crime rates while being a country with a huge wealth disparity.
  They have a huge public infrastructure investment including roads to nowhere and super cheap useful public services (still no income tax)
  You can drive pretty much anywhere - there is not really "private property" land in the American sense. If you look lost while driving near a palace or military installation late at night, expect to be followed (or even stopped) an innocuous looking Nissan Sunny with security.
  You see the Sheikh walking about in public like "just another guy" because he doesn't seem to have enemies in the country. You could probably meet him if you had something useful/helpful to say to him.
  It's a different world there. I suggest you visit with an open mind.
  
  --
  120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
6. Re:Waste of money, invasion of privacy by crtreece · 2018-04-11 07:36 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe the best thing to happen to the world would be a massive trade war and recession that will set the progress of privacy robbing tech back 50 years and cause superpowers to go bankrupt.
  I find your ideas fascinating, and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
  
  --
  file: .signature not found
7. Re:Waste of money, invasion of privacy by Marxist+Hacker+42 · 2018-04-11 08:32 · Score: 1
  
  Dubai has the 2nd most expensive standard of living in the world.
  They left buggies, horses, and camels behind over a century ago.
  
  --
  SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
8. Re:Waste of money, invasion of privacy by Anonymous Coward · 2018-04-11 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  Well, from the post you're replying to it sounds like a North Korea but with food, no snow and you can go anywhere. Both extremely safe places if you visit them.
  Except we know about the conditions of working poor foreigners in UAE, so how you're treated may depend on "race" and wealth/income.
  I think I would rather pay a visit to North Korea, as I'm poor and in North Korea you just can drink beer and alcohol, smoke their counterfeit cigarettes, sing karaoke, whatever. Unlike UAE I wouldn't worry about my passport confiscated, or going to jail if accidentally bumping to a native, or major trouble if traveling with an unmarried sex partner. But you can't work in North Korea at all or stay there more than a week, unless you're a diplomat or doing a very specific job. Can't go anywhere unsupervised at all. Whereas the GP is obviously more interested in UAE where doing business or working and living for years is permitted.
  I foremost need to tell you : you know, there are actual people living there.
  There are major problems with human rights right now : they're used as a political weapon by hypocrite US and NATO to blackmail countries and wage illegal wars of aggression, which are the worst crimes in themselves and lead to large scale human rights violations anyway.
  We need to go back to respecting the independence and sovereignty of other countries. The UAE is guilty there too, and an ally of the terrorists, like Saudi and US and UK and others. Hopefully, the US and the terrorists will lose the war in Syria, then things could improve two or three decades from now thanks to the decline of the US empire and sunni/wahabbi/salafi terrorism.
  But yes, don't go to UAE if you don't want to.
9. Re:Waste of money, invasion of privacy by Peter+P+Peters · 2018-04-11 13:26 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe the best thing to happen to the world would be a massive trade war and recession that will set the progress of privacy robbing tech back 50 years and cause superpowers to go bankrupt.
  I think we on that road now. The inequality between rich and poor, privileged and the rest of us is at record levels. Every other time in history this resulted in revolution or war. Strap your seat belts on...
Only the positives are talked about... by QuietLagoon · 2018-04-11 04:59 · Score: 2

... what about the real-time tracking of each and every vehicle? Is there a concern that the government now knows where your car is at all times?
1. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by Fly+Swatter · 2018-04-11 05:02 · Score: 1
  
  It's even better than that! Exceed the speed limit for the area and boom! Automatic speeding ticket!
2. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by b0s0z0ku · 2018-04-11 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  UAE isn't exactly known as a free country for its residents... probably even less concern about privacy than in the US.
3. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by b0s0z0ku · 2018-04-11 05:09 · Score: 1
  
  Which speed limit should be the maximum? NYC's (50 mph) or Texas's (85 mph)?
4. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by CrimsonAvenger · 2018-04-11 05:12 · Score: 1
  
  Downtown New Orleans (20mph)....
  
  --
  
  "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
5. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by b0s0z0ku · 2018-04-11 05:17 · Score: 1
  
  Thing is, the UAE is not a "free" country, not even to the level of the US. This will probably be used to go after illicit liquor drinkers and people having trysts outside of marriage.
6. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by RandomFactor · 2018-04-11 05:33 · Score: 1
  
  Public roads? You mean the Sheik's roads?
  
  --
  --- Mercutio was right.
7. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by thegarbz · 2018-04-11 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  Is there a concern that the government now knows where your car is at all times?
  No, only in America. In the rest of the world we let the government track our vehicles in real time because we don't get constantly oppressed and we enjoy the services that result from the tracking (better management of traffic, servicing, environmental zoning, etc).
8. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by lkcl · 2018-04-11 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  ... what about the real-time tracking of each and every vehicle? Is there a concern that the government now knows where your car is at all times?
  not at all! they already know where *you* are thanks to your self-inflicted slavery to facebook and other smartphone-infested lifestyle mental disorders so why would tracking your car be considered "outrageous"?
9. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-04-11 06:13 · Score: 1
  
  Who cares about legit access. Is the location send out encrypted? Hahahaha. I think this is going to be fun.
10. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by amiga3D · 2018-04-11 06:14 · Score: 1
  
  How the hell could we do street racing if they limited the speed on cars? People like you just suck the joy out of life.
11. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by Lord_Byron · 2018-04-11 06:48 · Score: 1
  
  Nah, they've already got cellphones for tracking people. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're right & they'll track the vehicles, but from a privacy standpoint, that ship has largely sailed.
12. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by jaymemaurice · 2018-04-11 07:14 · Score: 1
  
  Interestingly, in the UAE, when you go over 120km/h, federated cars make a beeping sound and display a warning triangle.
  They don't often enforce traffic infractions with real police officers. They usually just send you an SMS instead of pulling you over.
  It's a different world there.
  
  --
  120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
13. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by laie_techie · 2018-04-11 07:18 · Score: 1
  
  We have this thing called computers now. It can sort out the "you are in GPS area XYZ, speed limit is 85mph". (Or even use some image recognition to see the posted speed limit.)
  The only thing that would make "actual speed limits" for cars work, is if manufacturers were liable for speeding instead of consumers. Some people will point to the whole "gun makers aren't liable for how they are used". If a gun specifically went off during bank robberies but not during home defense situations, would the gun manufacturer be liable? Hell yes. So why not the same for speeding and cars? (Especially now that's its technically possible to have a car that obeys speed limits.)
  Would police also have to use a "speed limited car"? (I'm pretty sure most laws state that unless sirens are on, they can't do illegal maneuvers like speeding. This could be enforced also.)
  The GPS in my phone can't even tell if I'm on the interstate or a frontage road. The interstate has a limit of 70 (actually 60 right now because of construction) and frontage road is posted as 35. There's another spot where my GPS jumps among 3 different roads not knowing which one I'm actually taking.
14. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by sheramil · 2018-04-11 07:18 · Score: 1
  
  Why do they even make cars that can exceed the speeding limit?
  Because a car isn't just a form of transport; it's the 20th century's equivalent of the padded codpiece. If someone built a car that physically could not exceed the speed limit, millions of 19-year-old boys would either buy something else - that COULD let them roar up and down the road like rutting dinosaurs - or they'd find someone who knew how to remove the limiter so they could roar up and down the road like rutting dinosaurs.
  One of the reasons electric cars have been so slow to take off is that they don't have an exhaust system that sounds like a twelve-ton hog farting through a giant trombone. How are you going to impress the ladies with a car that sounds like a vibrator?
  ... let me rephrase that...
15. Re: Only the positives are talked about... by Type44Q · 2018-04-11 09:06 · Score: 1
  
  One of the reasons electric cars have been so slow to take off is that they don't have an exhaust system that sounds like a twelve-ton hog farting through a giant trombone.
  Right; we've just been turning our noses up at all the various models of viable electric cars over the years because they weren't loud enough. Or you're completely imagining shit./b
16. Re:Only the positives are talked about... by thegarbz · 2018-04-11 09:17 · Score: 1
  
  Nope, I'm serious. There are many countries which have real-time scanning of license plates for a wide variety of things.
  e.g. In China every other intersection you go through may have what looks like a camera flash go off. The ones that don't have been switched to IR so it stops distracting drivers. They are tracking in real time the movement of cars by licenseplate through the city and tracking registrations.
  e.g. In the UAE they do the same thing. Netherlands too. They are starting in France, and Belgium too. In Australia so far they only track using speed cameras which now do automatic numberplate recognition. Also the tolling system there also works by numberplates, none of this backwards throwing coins into a machine, just cruise on through as fast as you want.
  In all of the above places they use this for automatic registration tracking. No more stupid stickers on windscreens / license plates. And no more selective enforcement or the crapshoot of the past where if you get in an accident there was a 1 in 8 chance that in my previous country the driver didn't have insurance or registration.
  Some places do it for environmental zones. If you drive into Rotterdam you will be greeted with the digital sign https://nos.nl/data/image/2016... here it will read your your license plate and if it says "WEL" in green then you're allowed to progress, if it says "NIET" in red and you don't make a u-turn on the other end of the bridge you get a fine in the mail shortly after. In France and Germany you still need to go get a sticker glued to your windscreen.
  One day I got a letter from the department of motor vehicles. It said that they have noticed me driving daily down one of the highways during peak hour and they wanted to invite me to peak hour reduction scheme. I registered. I got 120EUR deposited into a dummy account every month. Every time my car was logged in either the morning peak or afternoon peak on one of the major highways they deducted 3EUR. At the end of the month they transferred me anything left. The scheme did wonders for traffic.
  As for people's trust in their government? The vast majority of the western world doesn't fear their government. They mostly get along in harmony. Government distrust on a national level is something that is almost unique to the USA in the west.
17. Re: Only the positives are talked about... by tlhIngan · 2018-04-11 10:26 · Score: 1
  
  One of the reasons electric cars have been so slow to take off is that they don't have an exhaust system that sounds like a twelve-ton hog farting through a giant trombone.
  Right; we've just been turning our noses up at all the various models of viable electric cars over the years because they weren't loud enough. Or you're completely imagining shit./b
  Well, that is one of the reasons why. Think of it this way - cars have gotten much quieter of late. So much so that many cars actually have "engine augmentation" - i.e., car engine noises are piped into the audio system of the car to make the engine sound "bigger" to people inside.
  And Audi has been working for years perfecting the sound of their E-trons - they have an outside speaker that plays an "electric engine"type noise (take a motor noise, sweeten it up a bit and make it sound futuristic)
  And of course, we have motorcyclists which seem to have a serious flatulence problem... farting down the road so badly it reverberates for many city blocks.
Data collection by Bradmont · 2018-04-11 05:00 · Score: 2

So with built-in GPS, authorities will be collecting location data of all drivers, all of the time? Sounds great!
how long before... by b0s0z0ku · 2018-04-11 05:03 · Score: 4, Funny

How long before they're hacked to display anti government slogans on every second car? Or just a nice pair of ... mammaries.
Also, if the plates have an LCD screen, there should be an option to press a button in the car to send messages to tailgaters...
1. Re:how long before... by Guyle · 2018-04-11 05:41 · Score: 2
  
  Also, if the plates have an LCD screen, there should be an option to press a button in the car to send messages to tailgaters...
  I've considered many, many times installing a marquee LED display in my rear window solely for this purpose. Pretty sure there's probably some law in Texas making it illegal, but I wouldn't be telling a police officer to get off my ass!
2. Re:how long before... by lkcl · 2018-04-11 05:53 · Score: 1
  
  How long before they're hacked to display anti government slogans on every second car? Or just a nice pair of ... mammaries.
  Also, if the plates have an LCD screen, there should be an option to press a button in the car to send messages to tailgaters...
  "K1CK ME"
  "H@CK ME"
  "H0NK ME" .... ....
3. Re:how long before... by Peter+P+Peters · 2018-04-11 13:30 · Score: 1
  
  Also, if the plates have an LCD screen, there should be an option to press a button in the car to send messages to tailgaters...
  I've considered many, many times installing a marquee LED display in my rear window solely for this purpose.
  Wouldn't it be easier just to not hold everyone up? I never have this problem because I either drive fast, or when driving slow I let fast people behind me go around. The road is a shared resource.
4. Re: how long before... by Guyle · 2018-04-11 13:36 · Score: 1
  
  It would be, if I was able to go faster than the guy in front of me. Or if I'm already going 10 over in a lane and the guy can pass me to the left.
ahead of the game by bugs2squash · 2018-04-11 05:11 · Score: 4, Funny

plates in my neck of the woods already have digits on them - often they have letters too. They can also deform to indicate that the car has been involved in an accident and if the vehicle is stolen they indicate a unique number - a code if you will - that can be used to identify the vehicle to police looking out for it.

--
Nullius in verba
Gee, bob, I wonder... by thegreatbob · 2018-04-11 05:14 · Score: 1

... if this will see widepread abuse if broadly deployed.

--
There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
Easy For Bicycles by mallyn · 2018-04-11 05:17 · Score: 1

This will be the easiest for bicycles. Every bicycle serial number is stamped on the bottom bracket (which is the ares between the pedals). It faces down toward the street. All you need is a camera and LED embedded into the street aimed up. The serial number is right there, about 6 inches above the street level.
Something like this (diagram via ascii)
/
/ Pedal Arm
/
( ) Bottom Bracket with Serial Number underneath
/
/ Pedal Arm
/

==( )== Pavement Level with Lucite See Through
IIIOIII Camera and LED below pavement level facing UP
Please note that the camera and LED need good extensive cooling to withing Dubai summer heat, especially when embedded on un-shaded street. I would suggest placement on shaded streets.

--
Most Respectfully Yours Mark Allyn Bellingham, Washington
Loss of telemetry by fox171171 · 2018-04-11 05:21 · Score: 2

The new plates will be able to inform emergency services if a driver has an accident.
How does that work if you're rear ended and the plate is mashed between two cars?
Maybe the loss of telemetry from the plate alerts the authoritarians... I mean authorities.
1. Re:Loss of telemetry by thegarbz · 2018-04-11 08:59 · Score: 1
  
  How does that work if you're rear ended and the plate is mashed between two cars?
  I know right, because there's no space anywhere else in a car for electronics and we don't have any cables or anything to connect the plate to anything else.
all vehicles? by superwiz · 2018-04-11 07:13 · Score: 1

Or just the flying ones? A la 5th element?

--
Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
Too much by nospam007 · 2018-04-11 07:20 · Score: 1

If my own plates rat me out to the police, I'm giving up driving.
1. Re:Too much by Not-a-Neg · 2018-04-12 01:50 · Score: 1
  
  Excellent, glad to hear it. If you are ratted out to the police it means you were committing a crime, the more criminals we can get off the road the better.
  
  --
  -==- Buy a Mac and leave me alone!
Re:Stupid by ledow · 2018-04-11 07:33 · Score: 1

You've never owned a Kindle or anything else with an e-ink screen?
DMV by neoRUR · 2018-04-11 09:11 · Score: 1

I for one can't wait to wait in line at the DMV to get one.. I'm sure it won't take long.