Smart Plates California (e-license)
Did you ever wonder how it would be to have electronic license plates? Well California did and now they are on the verge of that outcome. Many people know that California is one of the worst states without money right now. So to fix this problem California legislature had the idea for the smart plates to be used to provide more jobs and bring in revenue for the state with it in 19 billion dollars in debt.
California Senator Curren Price stated the way the smart plates (also known as e-license plates) would be similar to the plates we have now. The plate numbers are always visible when the vehicle is in motion however if the vehicle is not in motion for a few seconds it will display public service announcements such as road closings, weather alerts, amber alerts, public advertisements, etc. These plates could indeed help for those sorts of things when stopped at a stop sign or red light. The plates could aid small businesses and other industries by using ads on the smart plates. Unfortunately the California Senator has no idea how many jobs and how much revenue the e-license plates will make.
The California Senate passed the bill this May and now has to face Assembly Transportation Committee. The spokesperson for the ATC chairwomen, Will Shuck stated that the bill is being considered by the Assembly Transportation Committee but only as a “study bill” meaning that they are not sure e-license plates should be used. The reason for this fear is because many people think it will be a distraction on the road even though certain messages are only displayed when the vehicle is not in motion. Senator Price responded to this message by telling the public that the plates will be no distraction they will look like our normal plates and display emergency messages, the smart plates will display these messages for public awareness.
The e-license plate technology is soon to be here whether California is the first state to have it or not it is a future product, but very few companies are working on the plates. One company known as “Smart Plate Corp.” is a well known company in media messaging commented on the new technology. Spokesperson Mark Bianchi stated that people misunderstand the idea of these smart plates. “We are not trying to make vehicle billboards.” He also later stated that the plates would be no different than customized plates that all states sell for extra revenue.
California Senator Price commented on the research phase that needs to be completed for the Assembly Transportation Committee that it will cost the tax payers of California nothing but may take a little more than a year for the study to be complete. Also as of right now California is the only state to attempt this new technology but Senator Price hopes they won’t be the last state to try it. Senator Price also went on to say that the smart plate bill should be the first of many bills to help the state.