10th May 2008

Re:  Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR)

 

The Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team of Canada has a new gadget to assist them in apprehending criminals and the unlicensed and/or uninsured motorists.  I have attached a video clip

that gives full details of the system called Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) and its operation.

 

The ACLU may want to start considering 4th and 5th Amendment arguments against such a thing being used here, though the one benefit would be in fighting crime and recovering stolen property.  In states where there is no provision to have an uninsured motorist fund to provide lawful coverage at a nominal fee to persons who cannot afford or who do not wish to utilize insurance companies because of high premium fees, there should really be a privacy issue on the use of this system to enforce a business transaction. 

 

The high costs of insurance premiums could be held down if Michigan was to return to a public, citizen used Uninsured Motorist Fund, where citizens would pay an annual fee of $50 to drive uninsured for a year.  The fund would then be used to pay any insurance claims against that driver who would then be required to pay the amount of the claim back into the fund.  Failure to repay the fund would result in a suspended license and the loss of driving privileges until the payments are made and/or the fund is reimbursed.

 

That was the way that the Michigan Uninsured Motorized Fund operated before so-called "Your Fault Insurance" (No Fault Insurance).  Under so-called No Fault Insurance, costs were supposed to not increase, but they did while benefits decreased.  Michigan is one of the most profitable states for the insurance companies while its premium rates are the highest!  Without the old Uninsured Motorist Fund, just saying no to high priced premiums could send you to jail!

 

Sincerely yours,

Dean S. Hazel
American Federation of Whiggs