This may be the most revolutionary idea in the hundred-year history of automobile license plates:
Electronic plates that flash either an advertisement or a vanity message when your car is stopped for more than four seconds.
The idea behind Senate Bill 1453, plainly, is to generate revenue for a state that is almost $20 billion behind.
State Sen. Curren D. Price Jr. (D-Culver City) is author of the high-tech bill that flew out of the Senate on a 25 to 0 vote, and has two more steps before reaching the desk of Gov. Schwarzenegger.
Might this be a justifiable distraction for other drivers? Or is it too perilous?
“At least this is a plan worth further investigation,” the senator told the newspaper this afternoon.
Decidedly an idea in its embryonic stages, Sen. Price says that in emergency situations, the license plates could be utilized to broadcast traffic information and Amber Alerts.
Can you imagine drawing up to a signal light in Downtown at rush hour, hundreds of cars for as far as you can see, and all of their license plates — like the wildly popular electronic billboards — are flashing “Buy a Cheeseburger from Wendy’s for Only $10” or “I Love My Mutt as Much as He Loves Me”?
Returning to a phrase he has used frequently since taking office a year ago, the senator said this would forge “a private-public partnership that marries the latest in technology with California’s need to generate revenue.”
Too many kinks remain to be resolved for this novel notion to show up in the next few months. But it may have sufficient momentum to win approval.
The Dept. of Motor Vehicles will have a say in determining whether the sophisticated technology to service tens of millions of drivers is recommended.
California, unsurprisingly, would be the first stay to attempt this supposedly profitable notion.
Undeniably intriguing, it isn’t quite clear how controlled the plates would be.
For example, a gay man may not want to drive around with “Yeah for Prop. 8” on his tags. Or a religious person may not care to advertise “Bertha’s Gentlemen’s Club” on his family car.
What is a driver to do? How much control, if any, will he have over what advertisement turns up on his license?
“Good question,” Sen. Price said. “That has not been figured out yet.”
