Digital License Plates in CA

[Pinot.Noir]

If they can make the plates turn a special color while in the carpool lane, and avoid having to put stupid stickers on my car, I may be all in!

California debuts ‘digital’ license plates. Here’s what they’ll cost you.

 

[bkp_duke]

$699 + $7/mo

No thank you. Pay enough taxes to this crazy stupid state already.

 

[BIGchikin]

This is cool! Once the cost comes down and the regulators allow it, it'll become popular, as does any piece of tech that allows people to personalize.

 

[mkspeedr]

Do speeding tickets come in the mail automatically?

 

[Pinot.Noir]

Do speeding tickets come in the mail automatically

Actually they will do a direct withdrawal from your bank.

 

[Bebop]

That looks really cool. I'd be interested if price was way lower.

 

[mkspeedr]

Actually they will do a direct withdrawal from your bank.

Scary - I know first hand California can do that right or wrong. Then you need to prove they are wrong to get the money back.

I fear the motorcycle version.

 

[Vic_F]

May be the mechanism for per mile tax since CA never met a tax they did not like.

 

[logan]

Interested for $200-$300 if you can customize the plate colors.

 

[Shiro]

May be the mechanism for per mile tax since CA never met a tax they did not like.

Ding ding ding! They are absolutely trying to to figure out the when/how of implementing this.

 

[jeffro01]

Ding ding ding! They are absolutely trying to to figure out the when/how of implementing this.

As they should be... A per mileage tax is the only real fair "use" tax... The gas tax hasn't remotely kept up with the funding needs and inflation... Combine that with the fact that we are buying less gas, the funding squeeze for our infrastructure is real and only getting worse by the day. EVs shouldn't get a free pass on this as they use the road too and also contribute to the wear and tear as well. Charging a flat fee isn't remotely fair as some people drive very little and some people drive 10s of thousands of miles a year.

Eventually the gas tax, as we know it today, will be dropped or renamed (likely renamed as making traditional oil based fuel cheaper isn't really good environmental policy), and EVERYONE will pay a per mileage tax based on how much they actual use. If anything the gas tax should be renamed to a "carbon tax" and priced appropriately for the environmental damage caused by burning fossil fuels. Unfortunately that would make gas $10+ per gallon if we calculated the "true" cost... Certainly would make people think twice before they bought that gas guzzler over an EV...

All of that being said, right now there are very legitimate privacy concerns as it pertains to a per milage tax and whenever that's worked out, only then will this idea move forward. Make no mistake though, a per-mile tax is coming eventually...

Jeff

 

[Shiro]

The funding hasn't kept up because instead of fixing the roads, those funds get raided for pretty much everything else, including the silly not-high-speed-rail ridiculousness.

I remain quite cynical about any privacy issues being addressed. Whoever does the calculations will no doubt be a private company and 10 years down the line, we'll find out how they've been selling our not-really-anonymized data to business affiliates, and law enforcement agencies will "need" access to stored location telemetry to catch bad guys and terrorists.

 

[jeffro01]

The funding hasn't kept up because instead of fixing the roads, those funds get raided for pretty much everything else, including the silly not-high-speed-rail ridiculousness.

I remain quite cynical about any privacy issues being addressed. Whoever does the calculations will no doubt be a private company and 10 years down the line, we'll find out how they've been selling our not-really-anonymized data to business affiliates, and law enforcement agencies will "need" access to stored location telemetry to catch bad guys and terrorists.

What's funny about my post? Like it or not, a per-mile tax is coming and it should as it's the right thing to do and literally the only fair way to do it... If you want to have a debate about government robing Peter to pay Paul then okay fine, but you're going to need more than a ignorant quip about high-speed-rail...

Like I said the privacy concerns are valid but in an age where you carry your cell phone with you wherever you go that's 100% fully trackable and traceable, being concerned about your car being tracked is just silly... You've already consented to being tracked at all times whether you realize it or not...

Jeff