More police and private citizens are using automated, high-capacity license plate scanners, as this technology gets cheaper and more powerful. Read on to learn how to avoid the risks in this era of increased surveillance.

The Basics of Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR)

We all know that vehicle license plates contain information that traces back to owners.  Law enforcement has long used license plates to find out information about cars, trucks, and motorcycles and their owners.

In my younger days, I used to strap a small pontoon boat on top of my even smaller Hyundai Accent hatchback. (See the bio pic that accompanies my byline if you are curious.)  Once I drove through a speed trap and noticed the officer in his radio car taking a long look at my car-top rig even though he didn’t pull me over.  A few days later, I received a ticket in the mail for expired registration that I didn’t even know I had.  My theory is that the officer got my information from my plates after being curious about the pontoon boat, and then noticed the expired registration. He was just doing his job, and I got the registration up to date.

Sidenote: that was years ago, before Dirt Legal started offering its super-easy services.  I had to go to the DMV, which I don’t love doing!  These days, Dirt Legal’s registration services make it totally stress-free to register or title any vehicle, without going anywhere near the DMV.  Check out what we offer.

Back when I had my pontoon boat situation, the officer probably had to manually enter my license plate information into the computer in his car.  Recently we’ve entered a new world of automated license plate scanning technology.  License plate scanners, technically called Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) devices, can capture and record huge amounts of license plate information without a human user having to do anything but set up the equipment.  We’re talking high-capacity too: the Axon ALPR system touts a three-lane, 50 foot radius search area that can capture license plate information in real time for vehicles going up to 140 mph.  (We don’t recommend that you ever drive that fast on a public road, btw!)

It didn’t take long for this kind of easy-to-use ALPR tech to migrate out of law enforcement into other hands. 

Keep your eyes out as you drive around, and you just might see more ALPR technology than you were expecting.  ALPR scanners often take the form of higher tech hardware either attached to or just sitting on a stationary police cruiser.  Check out light poles and traffic signals.  What you think is a red light camera might actually be a license plate scanner!

Stopping Crime with ALPR

Law enforcement uses ALPR tech for all kinds of relatively legitimate reasons; the primary use is getting the license plate number information from a vehicle, along with tracking the date, time, and location.  People with outstanding arrest warrants get caught this way, and simple license plate data is sometimes enough to stop non-vehicle crime.  For example, the city of Fort Worth, Texas used cameras and ALPR tech to track down people who were illegally setting off fireworks during a dangerous drought.  The Illinois state police have installed ALPR tech at the nexus of several interstate highways for the specific reason of deterring criminals from using interstate highways to flee across the Illinois-Missouri border and other state lines.  As of the writing of this article, the Memorial Villages, Texas police department had recovered over a million dollars worth of stolen goods due to its use of license plate scanning technology!

Law Enforcement Selling License Plate Data

The sale of data from law enforcement license plate scanning presents potential concerns.  Here’s a detailed list of the laws that various states have in place when it comes to the retention and privacy of scanned license plate information.  

1. If states have to pass laws about this stuff, that means that there are potential dangers in all this collected data.  Look for your state and see what the ground rules are.

2. Not every state has a law on the books about privacy of scanned license plate data.  It seems more concerning for there to be no law than a law with limited protections!

(Disclaimer: we’re not lawyers.  Just car, truck, and motorcycle lovers who know that vehicle law is a big part of the experience of driving.)

 Businesses Using ALPR

As license plate scanning technology becomes cheaper and easier to obtain, more and more commercial uses are emerging for the tech.  Businesses that operate drive-through lanes (think food service) are using the tech to connect customers’ orders with the vehicle that placed the order.  Starbucks and others are already testing this technology in international locations.  According to this article, the blog Motherboard gained access to emails stating that ALPR tech has been installed outside of some Lowe’s stores.  This blogger is having a hard time understanding how Lowe’s is going to use my license plate info to make sure I’m receiving the correct food order!

Do a little googling for terms like “ALPR business use” and see all kinds of articles written by those trying to sell license plate tech and convince business owners of all the ways that collecting the personal information of shoppers can help the business’ bottom line.

Neighborhood Groups Using ALPR

According to this article, neighborhood groups and homeowners associations in Georgia, Texas, Florida, Missouri, and Kentucky have all installed ALPR license plate scanning technology without the direct involvement of law enforcement or local government.

Once a homeowners association has installed an ALPR system, the technology can be connected to local law enforcement to create things like “hot lists” - collections of license plate numbers that set off an alarm when automatically detected.  Concerns raised about the privacy, discrimination, and personal liberty implications of this kind of surveillance have led to the use of ALPR being discontinued in communities in Texas and Florida.

The privacy concerns over the private use of ALPR tech only increase when license plate scanner information is combined with security camera footage.  Imagine a situation where a computer is programmed to record from a security camera once a predetermined plate comes up on a scanner. With the help of cameras, a non-law enforcement user could then have access to pictures of drivers and passengers, observable info about driving habits, even bumper stickers.  There is even talk on the family law internet of this kind of information being used in divorce proceedings. Yikes!

Plate Scanning Likely To Increase

Flock and Motorola Solutions, two of the bigger makers of next generation affordable ALPR tech, are both trying to expand and build relationships.  This article by The Intercept details how Flock tries to connect communities who purchase license plate scanning tech with their local law enforcement agencies.  Flock has even offered to do communications for police departments like creating social media content and materials for the press.

As ALPR companies increase staff, build relationships with communities and law enforcement, and attract increased investment, it’s reasonable to assume that there will only be more license plate scanning technology on the roads in the years to come, unless something changes in the regulatory environment, like Federal laws that limit the use of the technology.

How Much Can We Protect Our Privacy?

Having personal and identifiable information collected without warning feels like an invasion of privacy to some, but as this Vice article details, “the Supreme Court has held pretty clearly that because vehicles on public roads could be seen by any member of the public, there’s just no expectation of privacy in the context of license plates.” Until the Court changes its mindset about this issue, protection from license plate scanning isn’t going to come from legal avenues.  The American Civil Liberties Union is trying to take action on this issue via its “You Are Being Tracked” website.

Disclaimer: At Dirt Legal, we don’t take sides on topics like these. We just love learning about ways to help drivers. Read our articles, do your own research, and come to your own conclusions. We love it when fellow car, truck, and motorcycle enthusiasts contact us too!

Ok, So What CAN I Do?

In terms of keeping your license plates from being scanned, there aren’t too many ways to block the scanner without breaking the law.  Most states have a version of this law from Pennsylvania that makes it illegal to obstruct the view-ability of your license plates in any way.

Veil has created a product called Stealth Coating, which absorbs infrared light, with the goal of blocking the newer license plate scanning technology that uses infrared imaging.  In the above-linked article, the folks at Veil share some wisdom about stopping the older ALPD visual imaging technology: getting a specialty plate with a busy background, or a plate with as little contrast as possible between the lettering and the background.  The relatively limited information this blogger could find indicates that Veil is legal.  Internet searching on this topic will also lead you to products like this infrared filtering cover. As always, buyer beware!

Your Plates Will Get Scanned: Staying Out Of Trouble

The bottom line is that staying street legal could be your best bet for avoiding legal headaches when (not if) your license plates get scanned.  Think back to my pontoon boat-related traffic ticket: if I hadn’t had expired registration, then the only outcome would have been that the police officer came away impressed with my considerable prowess for car topping.

Minimize your chances of trouble by having:

• Current driver’s license

• Current registration

• Current Insurance

• Title in your name

And pay any tickets that you get.  Take for example Philadelphia, PA, where as the city Parking Authority (and a famous tv show) will tell you, any vehicle with three or more delinquent parking, red-light camera, or speed camera tickets is subject to towing and to the dreaded boot!

Dirt Legal Can Help

We got into business to help folks avoid traffic tickets, fines, and headaches!  Dirt Legal’s whole reason for being is to handle the annoying parts of owning a car, truck, boat, motorcycle, snowmobile - anything with an engine!  If you don’t have a title, registration, or some other important legal document for that ride you love, check out our services and let us keep you out of the DMV and the police station!