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We call it ALPR - Automatic License Plate Recognition and it is both controversial and omnipresent. Average speed checks are not a thing here, ALPR is used prim

We call it ALPR - Automatic License Plate Recognition and it is both controversial and omnipresent. Average speed checks are not a thing here, ALPR is used primarily for toll collection ("pay by plate") and secondarily for law enforcement and asset reposession. (If you drive with a suspended license or don't pay a car loan, a mobile ALPR may bust you) Most plates are still legible to these systems despite the decorations - the remainder are verified by hand for applications such as toll processing. People do stuff like obscuring the plate with a bike rack, a magnetic leaf, tinted license plate cover, etc, but it's a risky game to tempt the toll collector like that.

arethuza 3y ago
There are average speed cameras on the A9 here in Scotland - which I think have been a good thing given the reduction in insane driving I've seen on what was already a very dangerous road. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A9_road_(Scotland) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A9_road_(Scotland)
- blamazon 3y ago
  I personally am a huge fan of average speed cameras and think we should adopt them but that is a hugely unpopular opinion here in the states... it would be career suicide for a politician to campaign on that, quite possibly even for the deadliest roads with the most insane drivers. (For me, instantly thinking of the 'Robert Moses style' New York state parkways [1]) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkways_in_New_York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkways_in_New_York
  - reaperducer 3y ago
    It's easier to just use the beacons from the tires, anyway. Doing it from cameras seems like going the hard way. When I lived in Texas, toll roads were just starting to become fashionable. People worried that the toll tags would be used to give speeding tickets, so a law was written preventing police from using that data for that purpose.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
error503 3y ago
Parking enforcement too.
Eisenstein 3y ago
> People do stuff like obscuring the plate with a bike rack, a magnetic leaf, tinted license plate cover, etc Just get a Tennessee plate -- they decided to use a background color with a text color that both show as the same under IR, so most ALPRs can't read them (at night at least). They refuse to change it, last I checked. * https://www.newschannel5.com/news/capturing-new-tennessee-tags-at-night-may-be-tricky-with-most-basic-license-plate-readers https://www.newschannel5.com/news/capturing-new-tennessee-ta...

arethuza 3y ago

There are average speed cameras on the A9 here in Scotland - which I think have been a good thing given the reduction in insane driving I've seen on what was already a very dangerous road. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A9_road_(Scotland) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A9_road_(Scotland)

blamazon 3y ago
I personally am a huge fan of average speed cameras and think we should adopt them but that is a hugely unpopular opinion here in the states... it would be career suicide for a politician to campaign on that, quite possibly even for the deadliest roads with the most insane drivers. (For me, instantly thinking of the 'Robert Moses style' New York state parkways [1]) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkways_in_New_York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkways_in_New_York
- reaperducer 3y ago
  It's easier to just use the beacons from the tires, anyway. Doing it from cameras seems like going the hard way. When I lived in Texas, toll roads were just starting to become fashionable. People worried that the toll tags would be used to give speeding tickets, so a law was written preventing police from using that data for that purpose.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]

error503 3y ago

Parking enforcement too.

Eisenstein 3y ago

> People do stuff like obscuring the plate with a bike rack, a magnetic leaf, tinted license plate cover, etc Just get a Tennessee plate -- they decided to use a background color with a text color that both show as the same under IR, so most ALPRs can't read them (at night at least). They refuse to change it, last I checked. * https://www.newschannel5.com/news/capturing-new-tennessee-tags-at-night-may-be-tricky-with-most-basic-license-plate-readers https://www.newschannel5.com/news/capturing-new-tennessee-ta...