Slashdot Mirror
Dubai To Launch Digital Vehicle Number Plates (bbc.com)
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.
... 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?
So with built-in GPS, authorities will be collecting location data of all drivers, all of the time? Sounds great!
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...
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?
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
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.
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.
...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...
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