Now About Those License Plate Barcodes...

Among the few news stories in the past about the proposed new highway traffic camera system were two in The Oklahoman last November and December.

The November story read in part:

State officials are looking at beefing up the state’s electronic insurance verification system by setting up cameras across the state to randomly record vehicle tags.

Cameras set up at about 200 locations along selected highways would focus in on a tag’s bar code — found at the bottom of each tag — and record it. Bar code scanners would match the tag numbers with a national database containing real-time vehicle insurance information. Vehicle owners without valid insurance would be mailed a ticket.

And that one was followed by this one, in December 2009:

Plans to use cameras to record and ticket motorists driving without insurance likely would involve using actual vehicle tag numbers and not the tags' bar codes, Oklahoma¹s public safety commissioner said on Monday.

The Department of Public Safety is seeking requests for information from companies about using cameras in about 200 locations to capture information from passing motorists. The letters mention using bar code scanners, cameras or various other technologies.

"I don't know of technology that can actually read a bar code from that far away," Public Safety Commissioner Kevin Ward said. "I am aware of technology that can actually read the car (tag's) characters. It would be able to decipher those and make a check through the system."

Another possible deterrent is that some vehicle tag frames obscure part or all of the bar code, officials said. New tags issued this year contain bar codes for the first time.

One company said it could set up cameras that would capture the tag numbers; the tag numbers would be matched with a national database containing real-time vehicle insurance verification for vehicle owners. Vehicle owners without valid insurance would be mailed a ticket.

The proposed automated enforcement would expand Oklahoma¹s existing system, which went online in July. The system now checks only Oklahoma-tagged vehicles; checks are made only when a vehicle owner has an encounter with a law enforcement officer, such as a traffic stop or being involved in an accident. Representatives from one company told legislators in the last session an expanded system could generate about $300 million annually. The state wouldn't pay for the system; the company would be reimbursed from funds received from fines or administrative penalties.

The Public Safety Department estimates nearly one in four Oklahoma motorists is driving without vehicle insurance. Interested companies have until Dec. 23 to submit information about their systems.

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