Posted on 05/07/2014 11:47:50 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
It might be time to reconsider that license plate frame boasting your allegiance to your favorite baseball team, charitable cause or alma mater, especially if you’re driving in The Hawkeye State.
The Iowa Supreme Court just ruled that drivers whose cars display the frames can be stopped if they obscure the small print below the plate numbers. The decision ended a five-year court battle stemming from the 2009 traffic stop of a man suspected of dealing drugs based on information from a confidential informant. The court ruled 5-2 last week that a 1984 law requiring drivers to “permit full view of all numerals and letters” on the plate includes the county name.
“While a person who sees a driver commit a crime may not be able to remember a complete license plate number, the person may be more easily able to recall the county name,” Justice Thomas Waterman wrote. “This would narrow the search to identify the vehicle. The county name on a plate also shows whether a vehicle is registered locally or not, which may be relevant in identifying suspicious behavior.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Dim solar lighting can be used separate from the cameras also to prevent cameras from being seen and to introduce outfacing light noise for more residential privacy (lower costs than using starlight tech.).
“I submit it would be the latter.”
And you would be wrong.
and you know this based on your vast experience?
My sense is there would be more white camry’s in Sample County upon the roadway without obscured plates than there are with. This was a discussion for sample county not the whole state and for the observation of vehicles on the road not parked in a garage. If it were the whole state, you would be correct though.
Anyway, a hypothecial wherein someone knows the county but was unable to read any part of the alpha numeric on the plate defies logic. It would be like reading an eye chart from the bottom up and saying you don’t see the E.
I’ve heard of drivers getting into trouble for “obstructed license plates” in other locals. One reason why I never put obstructive frames on my car.
Uhhh, not quite. It was a discussion about the "sample county" logo being obscured. If the surround plate hides the county label, police are forced to expand their search to the entire state, which is far more difficult.
So, my contention stands as .....correct.
My understanding is that many readers are using IR. This allows the use of an illuminator without it being seen. OCR works well in that spectrum as well. I have also seen IR lighting kits for license plates which cause an over exposure, ruining the data collection. Not sure what the percentages are for plate readers, clearly most traffic cameras use visible light.
Most chips are protected against that kind of attack today, however, they do respond to the energy and the image is washed out. It is a good way to monkey wrench nosy neighbor cameras and the like.
Ohio does. It's on a tiny sticker in the corner of the plate. You need to be real close to see it... ;-)
Just shows how we let our Freedoms slide away, inch by inch "for the greater good" with no push back.
Do you need a License to ride a Horse? A Horse weighs more than some Cars and Motorcycles and it could injure or kill someone in an accident. If the issue is protecting others, make Liability Insurance mandatory for any form of Transportation. That way the Public is protected. Did Geico Insure Wagon Trains?
I will agree to disagree on that point and let it go. I was not on the top of my game yesterday due to an ailment.
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