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> A hallmark of Vigilant’s solution, the ability for agencies to share real-time data nationwide amongst over 1,000 agencies and tap into our exclusive commerci

> A hallmark of Vigilant’s solution, the ability for agencies to share real-time data nationwide amongst over 1,000 agencies and tap into our exclusive commercial LPR database of over 5 billion vehicle detections, sets our platform apart. 5 Billion vehicle detections seems like an awfully high (and possibly made up) number. Even if you allow for the same vehicle to be detected 5 or 10 times, the total number of registered vehicles in US was barely around 300 million.[1] Or did I mis-interpret that statement / claim ? [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/183505/number-of-vehicles-in-the-united-states-since-1990/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/183505/number-of-vehicle...

sandworm101 8y ago
5 billion is nothing. A busy mall parking lot with many cameras could have 100s of thousands daily, most all of them repeats as cars come and go. Over a year, across multiple malls, it adds up fast.
foota 8y ago
It's probably instances of vehicle observations. If they observe the same, say, million cars a day for a year that's ~400 million observations right there. If it's multiple times a day you could quickly reach 5 billion.
Phlarp 8y ago
5 or 10 times seems low if they have sharing agreements with other third party collection companies or the agencies they serve. 30 or even 50 impressions doesn't seem that out of the question, how often do people go to the grocery store? A single collection point on your path to/from work could get ~40 a month.
ggg9990 8y ago
If they have ten cameras in a mall and catch a car ten times as it circles, they probably count it 10 times.
Spooky23 8y ago
You could get to that just via chokepoints. Examples: The RFK/Triboro bridge in NYC gets 60M crossings annually. I95 at the North/Carolina border gets 14M cars a year. State DOTs publish this information for all interstate and many other highways, so it’s easy to piece see where the flows are. Additionally, DMVs sell all sorts of information, and auto repair and dealerships sell whatever DMV does not. It’s definitely pretty easy to gather and correlate data like this. I’d assume that many players, from billboard companies to the feds to fast food operators are collecting this data. It is too cheap to collect and too valuable to many parties for that to not be happening.
- HillaryBriss 8y ago
  holy crap. what kind of info are the DMVs selling? who are the buyers?
  - Spooky23 8y ago
    Lots of data re vehicle registration and licenses to different groups. Insurance companies and banks are common but there are many others. Everyone from towing/repo people to Experian. New York has a good FAQ. https://dmv.ny.gov/dmv-records/permissible-uses-personal-information https://dmv.ny.gov/dmv-records/permissible-uses-personal-inf... Some states are not so good at protecting data, or rely on an honor system: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/02/11/cbs-11-investigates-your-personal-information-for-sale-you-cant-opt-out/ https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/02/11/cbs-11-investigates-your...
    - HillaryBriss 8y ago
      I like that Texas article particularly. The DMV has a db of 22 million car registrations, and they sold the trust of their citizenry for a couple million dollars.
  - greedo 8y ago
    They sell to companies offering warranty extensions. They know exactly when you bought the car, so they extrapolate the best time to harass you about anything service related with your car.

sandworm101 8y ago

5 billion is nothing. A busy mall parking lot with many cameras could have 100s of thousands daily, most all of them repeats as cars come and go. Over a year, across multiple malls, it adds up fast.

foota 8y ago

It's probably instances of vehicle observations. If they observe the same, say, million cars a day for a year that's ~400 million observations right there. If it's multiple times a day you could quickly reach 5 billion.

Phlarp 8y ago

5 or 10 times seems low if they have sharing agreements with other third party collection companies or the agencies they serve. 30 or even 50 impressions doesn't seem that out of the question, how often do people go to the grocery store? A single collection point on your path to/from work could get ~40 a month.

ggg9990 8y ago

If they have ten cameras in a mall and catch a car ten times as it circles, they probably count it 10 times.

Spooky23 8y ago

You could get to that just via chokepoints. Examples: The RFK/Triboro bridge in NYC gets 60M crossings annually. I95 at the North/Carolina border gets 14M cars a year. State DOTs publish this information for all interstate and many other highways, so it’s easy to piece see where the flows are. Additionally, DMVs sell all sorts of information, and auto repair and dealerships sell whatever DMV does not. It’s definitely pretty easy to gather and correlate data like this. I’d assume that many players, from billboard companies to the feds to fast food operators are collecting this data. It is too cheap to collect and too valuable to many parties for that to not be happening.

HillaryBriss 8y ago
holy crap. what kind of info are the DMVs selling? who are the buyers?
- Spooky23 8y ago
  Lots of data re vehicle registration and licenses to different groups. Insurance companies and banks are common but there are many others. Everyone from towing/repo people to Experian. New York has a good FAQ. https://dmv.ny.gov/dmv-records/permissible-uses-personal-information https://dmv.ny.gov/dmv-records/permissible-uses-personal-inf... Some states are not so good at protecting data, or rely on an honor system: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/02/11/cbs-11-investigates-your-personal-information-for-sale-you-cant-opt-out/ https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/02/11/cbs-11-investigates-your...
  - HillaryBriss 8y ago
    I like that Texas article particularly. The DMV has a db of 22 million car registrations, and they sold the trust of their citizenry for a couple million dollars.
- greedo 8y ago
  They sell to companies offering warranty extensions. They know exactly when you bought the car, so they extrapolate the best time to harass you about anything service related with your car.