CA: State License Plates May Go Electronic - Plate Would Play Ads When Car Is Idle

[Kadie]

State License Plates May Go Electronic
Plate Would Play Ads When Car Is Idle

POSTED: 11:00 am PDT June 20, 2010
UPDATED: 11:23 am PDT June 20, 2010


SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California drivers may soon come bumper to bumper with the latest product of the digital age: ad-blaring license plates.

State lawmakers are considering a bill allowing the state to begin researching the use of electronic license plates for vehicles.

The device would mimic a standard license plate when the vehicle is moving but would switch to digital messages when it is stopped for more than four seconds in traffic or at a red light.

In emergencies, the plates could be used to broadcast Amber Alerts or traffic information.

The author of SB1453 said California would be the first state to implement such technology if it decides to adopt the plates on a large scale.

http://www.kcra.com/news/23969379/detail.html



more info from sac bee...

snip...

The bill's author, Democratic Sen. Curren Price of Los Angeles, said California would be the first state to implement such technology if the state Department of Motor Vehicles ultimately recommends the widespread use of the plates. He said other states are exploring something similar.

Interested advertisers would contract directly with the DMV, thus opening a new revenue stream for the state, Price said


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/20/2835725/in-california-license-plates-might.html#ixzz0rQg85HZM

[davidinalameda]

1. you're joking, right?

this has to be the damn dumbest idea to come out of Sacramento ever and that's saying a lot!

[awoke_in_2003]

48. BUY, BUY, BUY

the only important concept in this country :sarcasm:

[old mark]

2. Perfect. The Califirnia legislature has nothing better to do, I guess....oh, and

the money from selling the ads goes to the state, right? ...not the person who owns the car?
NY passes microstamtpig of some handguns, which does not exist, and CA looks at electronic license plates with advertising...

I think Philip K. Dick was right...
rec.
mark

[PM Martin]

32. Elected officials are overpaid.

[awoke_in_2003]

50. no, their pay is fine...

it is the side money that is out of control

[Blue_Tires]

62. that state senator probably has a stake in the company that would make these.

[DJ13]

3. If they want to put ads on my car they had better compensate me

[Bennyboy]

44. Right you are there...

I ain't advertising jack shit unless I get a cut and even then i would have to be pretty into that product or service I was advertising..

[Liberal Veteran]

4. Yay! Now I can advertise "Harry's Eco-Friendly Dildos" on every license plate in town!

:woohoo:

[Ian David]

8. More likely it will be "Choose Life" and "1-800-OW-MYBALLS." n/t

[XemaSab]

13. Or the medical pot dispensary

:P

[Spazito]

5. This is from the Onion, right?

If not......holy crap!

[gristy]

6. hahahahaha

snort. wheeze. :P

[lazarus]

7. if they have advertising

my plates better be cheap. As in free.

[WinkyDink]

9. Be prepared: EVERYTHING will be a commercial. Those newly-acquired "charter" schools? Just wait.

[Empathic_1]

10. They had better be prepared to pay ME to sport the advertisement then.

I am NOT paying a fee to be a walking advert.

[nichomachus]

25. What they'll probably do

Is offer a "commercial free" plate for an extra payment of $150 a year. Much like a lot of free software or apps come with commercials and you can get rid of the commercials by paying for the product.

[Empathic_1]

26. You are more than likely correct.

*Heavy sigh*

[tom_paine]

11. Unbelievable and nightmarish. Orwellian.

Yet - it appears to be true.

Yet another signpost on the way to What We Are Becoming.

[justabob]

37. yes it is

I am not the least surprised, but They really are tearing down all the scenery now. More and more of the ugly structure is showing. Why do so few notice? Or care?

[izquierdista]

12. At the bottom of this scheme

Lies a Ferengi.

[David__77]

14. This is the essence of capitalism.

It is soulless, and nothing is "sacred" in the pursuit of profit. There is no consideration of human interest that cannot be quantified and economically exploited.

[ruggerson]

15. Are they insane?

Cell phones and texting are bad enough.

[Lagomorph]

47. If not insane...

utterly shameless and contemptuous of the citizens.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. stupid idea

[jp11]

17. Horrible, I wouldn't drive a foot in a car with the dealer ad plate frame on it I'm not pimping

ads for anyone unless I CHOOSE to.

[nichomachus]

18. Then how could they give you a parking ticket?

If all they could see would be the ad for "Vixens Gentlemen's Club"

[jp11]

21. The link says that the ad plays when you stop and they might or will keep the plate# somewhere even

during the ad play.

[LeftyMom]

19. I'm not putting ads on my vehicle I can't control.

How long would it be before say, an ad shows up on one's business vehicle for a competing business? Or somebody sues the state because an ad for something that violates their personal beliefs shows up?

For that matter, from a public safety perspective, this sounds incredibly distracting and thus dangerous.

Pass this and I'll be registering my car at my aunt's place in Nevada. I'd probably save a mint on insurance anyhow.

[jp11]

22. The ads aren't supposed to play until the car stops for more than 4 seconds though

they say they are looking into the safety issues etc. I could see unplugging the damned thing and writing my plate number down or making my own damn plate if I was forced to use theirs. I could also break them, claim vandalism then turn them in somewhere and repeat.

[nichomachus]

24. I wouldn't try that

Insurance rates are based on where the car is garaged most of the time -- not where it's registered. So, even if you register it in NV, if you have a major claim, the insurance company will investigate and will most likely tell you that you've committed fraud and they're not paying.

[Lucky Luciano]

40. How would you like your plate to say:

Palin/Bachman 2012!

[mikita]

20. just when I think there is no lower limit, capitalism finds a way...

I don't know how much more I can stand.

[Joanne98]

23. Advertising is becoming pollution!

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. As if road rage was not bad enough. This should "ad" to it.

They do say, as Cal. goes, so goes the nation.

[nichomachus]

28. They could cause road rage

I had to remove an anti-Bush bumper sticker after I was menaced on the road by another driver. I decided it wasn't worth it. WHat if some nutcase doesn't like the ad on your license plate. Even though you don't choose it, we are not talking about sane people here.

[Lagomorph]

49. A BP or NRA ad on your plate....

lovely...

[ShadowLiberal]

29. How would the plate avoid running out of power then, you can't just steal it from the car

Seriously, I've seen plenty of times places where cops set up boxes that tell you when you're speeding and how fast you're speeding, they leave them out for over 2 weeks, but after the second or third day they're dead because they've run out of power. An electronic license plate would be just like those speeding things, they'd run out of power after a few days if they're battery powered.

Running it off of the car's power would be even worse, it would cut down your fuel efficiency by sucking up power to show your license plate when you're driving, and then when your car is stopped where can it get it's power from other then your car battery? If it drains the car battery then your car won't start, and since your car is turned off it can't just use the gas in your tank, that would be a safety hazard, people have killed themselves by accidentally leaving the car on in the garage and then dying from the fumes getting into the house.

And then even if they find a practical way to power your plate what if it runs out of power anyway, are the cops going to pull you over and give you a ticket because the solar panels that power your license plate can't get enough energy on a dark cloudy & rainy day?

Edit: Oh yeah, and as a guy who works at a job that requires staring at a computer monitor for 8 hours straight, I don't want to have to stare at a bunch of license plate sized TV monitors on my drive home, my eyes need a rest from that after work.

[IDemo]

30. I'd put an LCD panel over the top

and program it to darken at the same timing as the ads. Or better yet, display my own messages.

That's if I lived in California, that is.

[PM Martin]

31. Again, why I am proud to NOT be an American.

It seems EVERYTHING is open to making money off of down there.

[flvegan]

33. Because what American drivers really need is yet another rolling distraction.

"Officer, I wasn't texting. The car stopped next to me had an ad for a strip club on the license plate. That other driver is going to live, right?"

[EFerrari]

54. Exactly. Good grief!

These people have lost it.

[Historic NY]

34. R they also paying for the car battery too?

[PJPhreak]

35. This sounds like a Hackers Delite...

[Heywood J]

42. Indeed.

I'm waiting for the first person with an obscene message or picture, who can then claim it was an ad. If advertisers can submit video ads, I'll wait for the first one with subliminal messages or for "Catholic High School Group Shower, Mudbath, and Orgy Part VII"

This is so ripe for exploitation that it's not even funny.

[gleaner]

36. Next thing we know ...

They will make us wear advertising on our butts. What a stupid idea.

[Lagomorph]

51. It's coming...

[gleaner]

53. God help me ....

I can't stop laughing. :rofl: Thanks for showing us this. The day needed some brightening. But I have to point out that my advertising space is a lot wider than this, and saggy to boot. Do you think they would give us butt tests the way they do tests to drive before accepting what spaces we have for rent?

[Swamp Rat]

55. no doubt

[Retrograde]

38. This is one reason why the initiative process has gotten out of hand

Our state legislature spends its time on idiotic schemes like this instead of trying to solve the real problems facing the state, and voters feel like they have to do something.

[Jkid]

39. Because it boosts political careerism.

Our state legislature spends its time on idiotic schemes like this instead of trying to solve the real problems facing the state, and voters feel like they have to do something.

If they did try and success in solving the real problems facing the state, they would be forced to resign.

[KamaAina]

They're term-limited here

now I understand why. :eyes:

[KamaAina]

68. dupe

self-delete

[KonaKane]

41. Would the driver be able to control ad content?

If so I dont see whats so bad about it. Great way to push my favorite causes.

[Lucian]

43. So...is it going to do real-time updates?

IE connecting to your car via GPS?

Yeah...I want "them" to know where I am all the time while I'm driving. I already refuse to get OnStar. Why the hell would I want this???

[Fearless]

45. If it's playing ads I get ALL the revenue correct??

:eyes:

[Lagomorph]

46. only if you pay for the...

technology to develop, manufacture and market the product being advertised and the cost of the plate. But you should certainly have the right to sell the space to the highest bidder. But just the same, the plate is there to identify the vehicle. Anybody usurping the plate to do anything else is forcing you to advertise a product or service you may not believe in.

You come outside in the morning to see a BP ad playing on your license plate and all your windows smashed.

Then there is the whole "hacking" thing.

[rucky]

57. The hacking thing could be the fun part.

[Lagomorph]

59. If I had only kept up my skills...

I had a friend who was an electrical engineer. He taught me more about computers in a few months than all the years of classes. He moved on, as did I, but for a while there, I thought I was pretty smart. I was never that one guy who stood out, but as I went on from there, I could keep up with my classes far better than before and my instructors were pleased with my knowledge and learning skills.

Computers and languages flat ran away from me once I entered the workforce and concentrated on CNC programming languages, rather than develop my 1337 haxxor skilz.

To make a long story short, that license plate would say what I wanted to say.

You can bet they will make fooling with a plate a felony that will land you in "pound me in the ass" prison with illegal machine gun makers and 2 digit IQ drug lords.

[Greyhound]

52. Anyone want to bet that the first hack for these new tags is out before

the state issues the first plate?

I hope they do this, chaos is always so much fun to watch from a distance.

[miscsoc]

64. ah, shit, i just posted that downthread. beaten.

great minds think alike

[miscsoc]

65. Why not just pass a law requiring everyone to strap an ad screen to the back of their car?

And keep the plates as they are. It would achieve the same effect and would be no less intrusive, and it would eliminate the obvious possibilities for fraud a digital licence plate would open up.

[Greyhound]

66. My God, that's brilliant!

I'm sure the people will be happy to surrender the use of part of their vehicles, anything to prevent the mega-wealthy pay taxes on their supercool mega-fortunes.

:sarcasm:



(I think, sort of...)

[miscsoc]

70. that's basically what they would do with video licence plates

I think it's fucked up either way, but on top of being fucked up the ads-on-licence-plates thing doesn't make any SENSE.

[rucky]

56. Why stop there? Replace red lights with ads.

[DRoseDARs]

58. But we aren't allowed to use cell phones/electronic devices while behind the wheel...

...because they're "too distracting". :eyes:

The vandal sport of "Plate Smashing" is coming soon to a vehicle near you.

[Jamastiene]

60. If I lived there, I'd raise hell until they used Dr Pepper ads only

on my plate. I want a free supply of Dr Pepper for life for it too. Dammit, they'll EARN my ad space if they do that. I can guzzle some Dr Pepper. :beer:

[CBGLuthier]

61. For the same reason I never wear shirts with logos I would say hell no.

I am not a fucking billboard slave to the advertising industry and I would be damned if I would let a state force me into it.

[miscsoc]

63. I bet someone comes up with a way to hack them and display fake numbers

within a few days after their introduction

[geardaddy]

67. Oh, barf.

:puke:

[Raineyb]

69. Shouldn't they be paying ME to use my car as a billboard rather than

charging me for the plates then using it as a billboard without compensating me for the use of space?

[AsahinaKimi]

71. I could imagine

Sitting in traffic on the LA Freeway bumper to bumper with someones license plate flashing in front of us.. I think that might be pretty annoying, maybe even hypnotic. That could be a problem for drivers maybe driving long hours..being distracted into an accident.