Report: Florida to redesign license plates because traffic cameras have hard time rea - Motorgen - Automotive Events, Meets, Cruises and Forums

RSS Reader · 10-12-2012, 12:50 PM

A lot of companies are making (or at least trying to make) money these days selling devices that improve drivers' odds of beating traffic cameras. As it turns out, though, having a Florida license plate on the back of your car could be the best defense against paying traffic fines like red light camera tickets and toll violations. According to new reports, some Florida plates are proving hard for traffic law enforcement cameras to read. With as many specialty license plates as the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles offers, it's even more surprising that the state's standard white plate with raised green letters and numbers is actually the culprit.

As the story goes, there's something about the coloring of the license plates and the similarity of some of the characters thereon - or probably a combination of the two - that have made about 2.8 million automated traffic violations go unpaid since the offenders' plates were difficult to capture in the automated photographs.

The remedy for the situation is apparently a redesigned license plate that does away with the raised lettering and prominent display of oranges. The plates in question are to be replaced by a flat plate with white background and black, block lettering for optimal contrast. Some of the proposed plate designs are pictured above. According to the Associated Press report on ABC Action News, there are about 18 million vehicles registered in the state with most of them licensed with the standard plate.

It sounds like the State of Florida could make a decision on a new plate design soon, but rollout will likely not occur for another couple years. The switch to new license plates could cost the state an estimated $31 million, but this cost would theoretically be offset by the additional revenues brought in from increases in traffic and toll violation citations.Florida to redesign license plates because traffic cameras have hard time reading them? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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