Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology

Legally, the police have basically an unlimited right to stop a car to ascertain compliance with the Highway Traffic Act, without any grounds whatsoever to think there is a violation.
This is just a tool to make the process more efficient. And frankly, it might reduce the number of speculative stops, since it appears they'll have lots on their hands with known problem hits.
Although the leap from licence plate, which is a factor of car ownership, to suspended licence is interesting. I guess if you own a car/motorcycle and your licence is suspended, anyone who borrows your vehicle should expect to be stopped and checked out.
 
Wingboy said:
Think I'll take the dealer installed plate frames off. Don't need an obstruct plate ticket.
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They don't seem to care about the covers you can barely see through. I think you'll be ok.
 
Soulcatcher668 said:
They don't seem to care about the covers you can barely see through. I think you'll be ok.
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they can, but it is certainly low priority. got busted for that twice in my youth, from covers i bought at the Service Ontario no less.
 
Saw one of these a few years back while they were trialing them. Was in a mall carpark in Markham with a friend in my work vehicle that was registered in quebec so no front plate and reversed up against a wall. He had an array of cameras on the roof facing all directions. We sat and had a chat with the officer, apparently he would just drive through the carparks etc and it would ping expired plates, suspended licenses etc. Was pretty interesting tech.

He then drove around the corner and waited for me to pull out :LOL: Saw him in my rearview after I turned out of the carpark.
 
TK4 said:
Legally, the police have basically an unlimited right to stop a car to ascertain compliance with the Highway Traffic Act, without any grounds whatsoever to think there is a violation.
This is just a tool to make the process more efficient. And frankly, it might reduce the number of speculative stops, since it appears they'll have lots on their hands with known problem hits.
Although the leap from licence plate, which is a factor of car ownership, to suspended licence is interesting. I guess if you own a car/motorcycle and your licence is suspended, anyone who borrows your vehicle should expect to be stopped and checked out.
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Yeah, my libertarian side tells me I should hate this tech but I can’t really find an argument against it. It’s just a tool that optimizes what used to be a manual process.
 
Soulcatcher668 said:
They don't seem to care about the covers you can barely see through. I think you'll be ok.
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Maybe not until they stop you for something else and tack it on top to lower your plea bargaining power in court. Ask me how I know. And I was using the completely clear ones that I bought from the MTO back when they sold them.
 
Relax said:
Maybe not until they stop you for something else and tack it on top to lower your plea bargaining power in court. Ask me how I know. And I was using the completely clear ones that I bought from the MTO back when they sold them.
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And you didn't go back to the MTO and took pics of them selling them? That would have been an easy ticket to get off from.
 
Pegassus said:
And you didn't go back to the MTO and took pics of them selling them? That would have been an easy ticket to get off from.
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uhhhh how do you figure? Just because something is available/for sale doesn't make it legal to use it. Buying it is legal, owning it is legal...
 
Evoex said:
uhhhh how do you figure? Just because something is available/for sale doesn't make it legal to use it. Buying it is legal, owning it is legal...
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I think you could make a fair argument for the province implicitly endorsing them, by selling them (either directly from an MTO office, or via third party from when they became Service Ontario). I agree it wouldn't work as an argument if you bought them from Canadian Tire
 
TwistedKestrel said:
I think you could make a fair argument for the province implicitly endorsing them, by selling them (either directly from an MTO office, or via third party from when they became Service Ontario). I agree it wouldn't work as an argument if you bought them from Canadian Tire
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Plenty of items are legal to buy, possess but not legal to use. The suggestion that a privately/public owned service ontario selling it to you isn't 'appropriate' would more then likely get thrown out.

Ignorance of the law is not an excuse?
 
TwistedKestrel said:
I think you could make a fair argument for the province implicitly endorsing them, by selling them (either directly from an MTO office, or via third party from when they became Service Ontario). I agree it wouldn't work as an argument if you bought them from Canadian Tire
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I've seen someone use that argument in the past and still get convicted. Then again, it was a traffic court JP, not real judge, but then you'd have to go through the whole appeal process. I'm pretty sure they stopped selling them because enough people were getting convicted. Luckily all charges were withdrawn when the cop didn't show twice in a row - 2 counts for front and rear plus an improper turn (wife was waiting turn left behind a bunch of cars but was in the median because the left turn lane wasn't long enough).
 
I have mixed feelings on this. I'm not a big fan of government surveillance, but I'm all for reducing the cost of policing thru the use of technology.

On Friday my son was pulled over near the Kap by an OPP who was using ALPS. The cop told him the system flagged his truck for driving dirty. He changed insurers a few days earlier and the new info hadn't hit the MTO. After a quick peek at his ins card, the cop went on his way.
 
Mad Mike said:
I have mixed feelings on this. I'm not a big fan of government surveillance, but I'm all for reducing the cost of policing thru the use of technology.

On Friday my son was pulled over near the Kap by an OPP who was using ALPS. The cop told him the system flagged his truck for driving dirty. He changed insurers a few days earlier and the new info hadn't hit the MTO. After a quick peek at his ins card, the cop went on his way.
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Extremely annoyed to hear this. Like they integrated this information to use it in the worst way possible
 
Evoex said:
uhhhh how do you figure? Just because something is available/for sale doesn't make it legal to use it. Buying it is legal, owning it is legal...
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It damn does matter if the same government that's selling to you is punishing you for it. The MTO is not a private business.
 
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