License Plate Scanners.

[MossRoad]

Bridges, Red light cameras and commuter lanes now exclusively use license plate scanners to bill or deduct payment from those with transponders...

Twice in the last 5 years I have received Toll Evasion invoices with penalties and short time line to tender payment.

Thankfully a photo is part of the invoice and both times I have been able to clear as the vehicle bears no resemblance to mine...

There is a cottage industry altering license plates to evade tolls... mostly by scraping off the reflective surface causing havoc.

My Toyota Sedan bears no resemblance to a full size van...

As automation and AI advance it's just one thing guilty until proven innocent.

Just yesterday morning a coworker of mine was pulled over while on his way to work by a state police officer. The officer told him his license plate hit back to an owner with a suspended license. Said his license has been suspended for several years. Coworker told cop he hadn't been pulled over for a few years, for too many people in the car, and paid it off. Cop told him it was probably a mistake, but he couldn't let him drive on suspended license. So cop told him to park his car and the cop gave him a ride to work. No ticket.

Could have been worse, I suppose. So coworker has to get that straightened out.

 

[Eagle1]

Just yesterday morning a coworker of mine was pulled over while on his way to work by a state police officer. The officer told him his license plate hit back to an owner with a suspended license. Said his license has been suspended for several years. Coworker told cop he hadn't been pulled over for a few years, for too many people in the car, and paid it off. Cop told him it was probably a mistake, but he couldn't let him drive on suspended license. So cop told him to park his car and the cop gave him a ride to work. No ticket.

Could have been worse, I suppose. So coworker has to get that straightened out.

Wait, does your coworker have a valid (not suspended) license? If so why would it matter the registered owner (not your coworker) is suspended.
I mean if you own a car and are suspended you could still let your spouse, kid, friend, etc drive the car as long as it is registered and insured.
I'm confused......

 

[Oaktree]

Edit; I think your comment went over my head at first; yes, your devices certainly do track you; but I for one feel better about Google/Samsung/Huawei tracking my movements, than the US gov. Sure, they can get those from private companies, But they need a search warrant. These Flock cameras are constantly scanning every vehicle; no search warrant needed.

I'd never heard of this Flock outfit before this thread, but you said upthread that they are a private company. So how are they different than Google/Apple/Tesla/whoever tracking your movements and selling that data to who knows who? It's all creepy and very 1984.

I mean that any modern car with GPS and connectivity also tracks every movement the car makes and that data is frequently sold on the open market.

But you can turn this off (even if you don't). Your option. Not with Flock.

But can you actually turn it off? I've heard plenty of stories about cellphone aps that track you even when you've told them not to. Ditto with GM vehicles with no active Onstar subscription. I'm sure at this point in time every other automaker has something similar and does the same.

 

[RandyT]

Wait, does your coworker have a valid (not suspended) license? If so why would it matter the registered owner (not your coworker) is suspended.
I mean if you own a car and are suspended you could still let your spouse, kid, friend, etc drive the car as long as it is registered and insured.
I'm confused......

From the story I am assuming that the license plates on the vehicle are suspended, not the coworkers drivers license.

 

[Oaktree]

Wait, does your coworker have a valid (not suspended) license? If so why would it matter the registered owner (not your coworker) is suspended.
I mean if you own a car and are suspended you could still let your spouse, kid, friend, etc drive the car as long as it is registered and insured.
I'm confused......

Me too. Couldn't the cop have run his license on the spot? The only thing I can think of is that the cop DID run the license and there was an error in the DMV's database and it showed it as suspended.

Not sure what Moss meant by "Coworker told cop he hadn't been pulled over for a few years, for too many people in the car, and paid it off."

 

[MossRoad]

Wait, does your coworker have a valid (not suspended) license? If so why would it matter the registered owner (not your coworker) is suspended.
I mean if you own a car and are suspended you could still let your spouse, kid, friend, etc drive the car as long as it is registered and insured.
I'm confused......

Plate is registered to person with suspended license. So they pull it over to check. If that person isn't driving, off you go. If they are driving, whatever comes next.

 

[MossRoad]

Me too. Couldn't the cop have run his license on the spot? The only thing I can think of is that the cop DID run the license and there was an error in the DMV's database and it showed it as suspended.

Not sure what Moss meant by "Coworker told cop he hadn't been pulled over for a few years, for too many people in the car, and paid it off."

Coworker thinks the only way his license could have been suspended was from when he got pulled over and ticketed for too many people in the car a few years ago. He paid the ticket. He thinks maybe it never got recorded as paid. That's the only thing he can think of.

So, he'll find out next week at the DMV.

 

[Chewwy]

I doubt this would hold up in court. Criminal laws don't apply to civil violations

Traffic violations are not civil cases. Most are either infractions or misdemeanors.

 

[WinterDeere]

It's kind of like a Tesla owner objecting to being filmed when their Tesla films anything within range.

More like every person who has ever walked past any Tesla, ever. The owners are making a conscious choice to have their likeness recorded, identified, and logged for location and time. But every other person ever walking past a Tesla is at least theoretically subjected to the same, without consent.

 

[LouNY]

Maybe in Nevada since it’s really close to the left coast.

Would never get a ticket here or most places I have lived and worked. Dirty snow works just as well also. You may get stopped and warned but that is unlikely.

Have never seen washing stations where dirt roads or driveways connect to paved roads anywhere.

Texas outlawed red light cameras a few years ago. They were not solving the problem, iirc, more accidents were reported.

We have a few toll tag options. They usually are discounted versus pay-by-mail or toll booth. (Only booths remaining in DFW are at the airport, I believe). The tags also work in other states.

These are not considered 'moving violations', so the tickets go against the car owner, not the driver (like a parking ticket). I try to avoid tolls, but sometimes my time is worth the money. I have no problem paying tolls by mail. You know when you use them. If you didn't, there is a dispute process.

I do have issues with red light/speed camera stuff by mail. Too many examples of what anyone else would call fraud. We don't have those here anymore and I won't pay out of state ones.

New York has gone with cameras to issue tickets in "work zones", same gambit the ticket will be a non point violation tied to the car and up to the registered owner to pay, pay and pay again.

As far as tickets for obstructed or obscured plates NY has had lots of pisspoor quality plates made where much of the printing flakes off, an individual can still easily read the plate but their F---ing scanners can't. They are making a big push now to force people to get new plates to fix their screwup and they willing to and are giving out tickets just for that reason. My wife got one a couple of months ago and had to go to court to fight it. The damned asst DA was going to push it and was wanting the fine and points. Fortunately this particular Judge was reasonable and dropped the charges when it got to him and she plead not guilty (had a heck of a time getting her to plead not guilty) wasted about 5 hours between travel and waiting in the court room.