Brave New World or "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"
Posted by Flootus5 5 years, 8 months ago to Technology
Digital License Plates. I would be interested to read thoughts on how this could all turn out. While proponents wax eloquent upon all the anticipated benefits that this technology will provide, could there just be a possible downside? Small stuff, you know, like a complete perpetual tracking system, displayed messages that the owning individual has no control over, and maybe, just maybe, control of the vehicle? And just picture them upon autonomous vehicles - and the server goes down.
If there are going to be license plates (government control), then an efficient method of implementing them is better than stamping out metal plates and then manually putting stickers on them every year. Waste of money and resources.
Identifying who is the rightful owner of a vehicle is one of those government activities that I personally think has some validity.
I agree on license plates as a valid function of government. But which government? In the American form of government this is a valid function left to the States. Not an enumerated power given to the federal government. And, as everybody knows, this has always been a traditional function of the States. There have been attempts to nationalize this whole thing - with all the attendant constitutional issues that centralized power raises.
If the States move on to the new technology, it still raises the above questions of unintentional consequences of data gathering and control.
For me and thousands of other license plate collectors, it likely represents an end to the on-going collectibility of new license plates. The older farts, like me, tend to like the old plates going back 100 + years now, the young bucks have enjoyed all the variations of all the themes, designs and artwork of all the graphic plates of the last 3 decades or so. Whether old or new, a collection of a complete state run for a given year for example is a celebration of the sovereignty of the States. Something rapidly disappearing.
Everything digital and global always raises the issues of power and abuse, etc. Holding an old sheet of metal with the State and the year and number embossed is something I always enjoyed. But in this, I am old school.
Might as well just admit license plates are a scheme to steal from the public to finance things the public would reject if they were voluntary. Making that more efficient encourages and finances more government meddling.