Red light camera tickets and license plate cloning
In a post that I wrote back in May, 2008, I wrote the following
One thing that does bother me with photo enforcement is if someone borrowed my car tag and put it on another car which was just like mine. Or take a picture of my car tag, print a good quality digital reproduction and put it on a similar vehicle. I can’t claim my car was reported stolen since they just borrowed my tag and returned it and I was not aware of it . I can’t claim someone else was driving and it looks like I have no recourse. I can just see the discussion now. Is this your tag number? Yes! Do you drive a green 1951 Ford? Yes! Did anyone else drive your car on that day? No, it was parked in my driveway all night! Was your car stolen and did you file a police report? No, when I went to sleep, it was in my driveway and it was there the next morning when I went to work! In this case it you decide to take it to court and lose, then you get the points and higher insurance rates.
The Newspaper.com article below shows how the current red light camera enforcement program can be abused. Why not get a photo of the driver also if a city is going to issue red light camera tickets? Cities may claim it’s about safety, but I doubt many cities would continue to be in the red light camera ticket business if the revenue went to somewhere else like schools.
Maryland Students Use Speed Cameras for Revenge
Students in Montgomery County, Maryland use fake license plates to send speed camera tickets to enemies.
High school students in Maryland are using speed cameras as a tool to fine innocent drivers in a game, according to the Montgomery County Sentinel newspaper. Because photo enforcement devices will automatically mail out a ticket to any registered vehicle owner based solely on a photograph of a license plate, any driver could receive a ticket if someone else creates a duplicate of his license plate and drives quickly past a speed camera. The private companies that mail out the tickets often do not bother to verify whether vehicle registration information for the accused vehicle matches the photographed vehicle.
In the UK, this is known as number plate cloning, where thieves will find the license information of a vehicle similar in appearance to the one they wish to drive. They will use that information to purchase a real license plate from a private vendor using the other vehicle’s numbers. This allows the “cloned” vehicle to avoid all automated punishment systems. According to the Sentinel, two Rockville, Maryland high schools call their version of cloning the “speed camera pimping game.”
A speed camera is located out in front of Wootton High School, providing a convenient location for generating the false tickets. Instead of purchasing license plates, students have ready access to laser printers that can create duplicate license plates using glossy paper using readily available fonts. For example, the state name of “Maryland” appears on plates in a font similar to Garamond Number 5 Swash Italic. Once the camera flashes, the driver can quickly pull over and remove the fake paper plate. The victim will receive a $40 ticket in the mail weeks later. According to the Sentinel, students at Richard Montgomery High School have also participated, although Montgomery County officials deny having seen any evidence of faked speed camera tickets.
Local teens claim pranks on countys Speed Cams (Montgomery County Sentinel (MD), 12/11/2008)
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