Congestion pricing and license plate readers

P

Packard

Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2020
Messages
4,749
New York City has instituted “congestion pricing”.  It is quite controversial.  The price (using EZ Pass) is $9.00 to access parts of NY City during peak hours and $2.00 during off peak hours.

Toll collection is dependent on license plate readers.  So NY City is having a crackdown on license plate covers that obscure the numbers. 

I do wonder if bright LED lights surrounding the license plate could generate sufficient light to wash out the letters and numbers on a license plate. If the LEDs were shielded from view and aimed directly at the letters/numbers it might be hard to recognize by enforcement personnel. 

At any rate, the smoked plastic covers are going to get drivers a summons.

I wonder if some sort of clear prism would would allow visibility at ground level but would obscure visibility when the camera is looking from above. Thin slats of metal, closely spaced might do it.  Or even a honeycomb made from blackened stainless steel.

The honeycomb could allow visibility from ground level and from directly behind lead enforcement to believe that no obscuring techniques are involved, but rendering the license plate unreadable from any angle except directly from behind.

Just random thoughts from an over-active mind.
 
Packard said:
I wonder if some sort of clear prism would would allow visibility at ground level but would obscure visibility when the camera is looking from above. Thin slats of metal, closely spaced might do it.  Or even a honeycomb made from blackened stainless steel.

The honeycomb could allow visibility from ground level and from directly behind lead enforcement to believe that no obscuring techniques are involved, but rendering the license plate unreadable from any angle except directly from behind.

Just random thoughts from an over-active mind.
Click to expand...

Yes, there are plenty of lenticular covers that can be put on a license plate.

A thick coating of hairspray or other clear coating is sometimes successful as well.

It's a matter of chasing the tech.  Old readers were above the lane and thus you just needed to obscure from a high angle.  Newer readers are lower to the ground and placed in the median or on the shoulder.  Some have front and rear cameras to ensure adequate coverage as well.

And, well, the fine for obscuring your plate is significantly higher than the toll, and can be enforced in plenty of other situations besides just toll evasion.
 
Many years ago 3M manufactured a thin polycarbonate sheet that had internal louvers. It was developed to prevent automobile drivers from seeing the traffic signals from an off-axis vantage point and thus being able to anticipate the changing of the traffic light and being able to blow through the signals immediately when they changed. It was placed over existing traffic signals and worked extremely well.

At some point, this material became a commodity item and it was then being offered for everything from shading southern exposed windows to shading license plates. I'm not so sure it's still available.  [tongue]
 
Considering how much it has always cost to enter NYC, the congestion pricing should infuriate the public. There is no need for that with all the bridges and tunnels that must be crossed. It is not like landlocked London.
 
Glad I don't have to go into that city.  But if I did I would rather pay the fees than try to cloak my car and risk higher fines.  That's just me though.

Peter
 
luvmytoolz said:
IR LED's will do that nicely, and they're invisible to the eye.
Click to expand...

I would be willing to bet that the wording of the law will include pretty much anything that even attempts to obscure the plate in any way. It will just give them a new way to pull people over, even if they are not currently in the zone. It would be the "potential" to defraud the system....and a second charge while you actually are there.

onocoffee said:
Considering how much it has always cost to enter NYC, the congestion pricing should infuriate the public.
Click to expand...
There are a whole lot of things about New York City that should infuriate the public.....

I wonder what happens if you don't leave the zone? You pay to get in, but never pay again until you leave and come back?
From what I have heard about this, commercial trucks pay even more, so that cost is going to get passed on to whomever they are servicing. So they are just raising the cost of everything, just what people need  [unsure]

Cheese said:
Many years ago 3M manufactured a thin polycarbonate sheet that had internal louvers. It was developed to prevent automobile drivers from seeing the traffic signals from an off-axis vantage point and thus being able to anticipate the changing of the traffic light and being able to blow through the signals immediately when they changed.
Click to expand...

Here they would call that "anticipating the light", which you can even do by slowing down further up the block, waiting to go through with some momentum, rather than coming to a stop. Most people don't even know that this is a thing, as it is rarely enforced because it requires the officer to actually witness it....and be bothered to do anything. However, if they are actively looking for a reason to mess with you, this is one. It's fairly "suspect" in the first place, you might easily beat it in court (or just pay the fine) but it is a legitimate lawful reason for the stop. Let the fishing begin.
In today's camera happy society, it might be used against you, if you caused an accident doing it. They could look back and see that, while you didn't "run the light itself", you did put yourself in that position.
With as many people who do the "me too", after the light has already gone red, the likelihood of a crash is all too present. I regularly see at least 3 cars go through after the change.
 
Crazyraceguy said:
luvmytoolz said:
IR LED's will do that nicely, and they're invisible to the eye.
Click to expand...

I would be willing to bet that the wording of the law will include pretty much anything that even attempts to obscure the plate in any way. It will just give them a new way to pull people over, even if they are not currently in the zone. It would be the "potential" to defraud the system....and a second charge while you actually are there.
Click to expand...

Digital license plates have been approved for use in 4 states and 10 other states are pending. Originally designed for truck fleet owners for the seamless payment of parking & toll fees, the've recently been "jailbroken" and some unethical folks have been using them to use someone else's license plate number and thus avoid paying bridge & road tolls. Others have committed far more serious crimes and can change the license plate number while "on the run".
https://reviver.com/about/?_gl=1*1dmb7fn*_gcl_au*MjM1MTc1MzI2LjE3MzczMDAyNjc.

[attachimg=1]
 

Attachments

  • Digital RPlate 2.jpg
    Digital RPlate 2.jpg
    72 KB · Views: 178
Cheese said:
Originally designed for truck fleet owners for the seamless payment of parking & toll fees, the've recently been "jailbroken" and some unethical folks have been using them to use someone else's license plate number and thus avoid paying bridge & road tolls. Others have committed far more serious crimes and can change the license plate number while "on the run".
Click to expand...

That makes all of my old favorite Knight Rider scenes irrelevant any more.

And so many more movie tropes for spies and bad guys alike!
 
get one of those trailer hitch bike rack things and put something in it that obscures the plate enough so it can't be read but not enough the cops pull you over
 
Hipplewm said:
get one of those trailer hitch bike rack things and put something in it that obscures the plate enough so it can't be read but not enough the cops pull you over
Click to expand...

There was a walking/bike trail near where I used to work.  There were several small (12 car capacity) parking lots along the trail. 

I used to walk my dog along the trail just before we got to the office. 

I was returning to my car and the car next to mine was fitted with a rear hitch rack for his mountain bike.  It was mounted on a small hatchback. 

A cop had pulled into the lot and because all the available parking spaces were taken, he parked in the middle of the lot.

The cyclist started backing out.  I yelled, “Watch out!” And the cop was able to get out of the way, but the cyclist did not hear my warning and smashed into the side of the cop car.

His rear visibility was significantly hampered by the bike, and the cop car had no business being in the middle of the lot.  Whose fault was it?  Whose liability was it?  And if I had not yelled out, would that cop have ended in a wheel chair?

In any case, for the purpose of obscuring a license plate, they are A+.  But in metro-New York, where many people park by “feel” or “sound”, they are a huge mistake.  Roof-top carriers are far safer. 

Note:  The only word of thanks from the cop was, “Whoa!”  But I took that as a “thank you”.
 
I might get slammed for this but it is interesting to see that people's rection to the new cameras and associated fees is to avoid them using illegal? methods. I watched a video on YT some time ago where motorists were getting pulled over by the police in New York because they were getting ready for the introduction of these cameras and during that operation they caught a lot of illegal activity such as wrong plates on cars etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top