Governor signs digital license plate bill into law
What was already apparent in 2018 with a pilot program by the company Reviver, which specializes in digital number plates, and was launched at the beginning of the year with a legislative proposal, is now reality: on September 29, California Governor Gavin Newson signed the new law, which makes the obligation to Attaching metal number plates to cars is no longer necessary.
In doing so, the state of California, following the example of Arizona and Michigan, is digitizing the last remaining thing on its cars “that was still antiquated,” according to Democratic Congresswoman Lori Wilson, according to NZZ. Accordingly, the license plates can now also be on electronic paper that works with so-called e-ink technology – the same technology that is also found in conventional e-readers such as the Kindle. The vehicle registration can then be easily changed every year via the app.
The functions of the digital license plate
Reviver’s so-called RPlates are already being sold in Arizona and Michigan, among other places, and are also to be used in California. The technology offers many individual customization options. The lettering can be displayed either in black on white or white on black, as required. In addition, individual lettering can be displayed, which is known in the USA as “vanity plates”, among other things, reports TECHBOOK. The option of using the letters “stolen” and “amber” on the license plate to indicate whether the car has been stolen or is being kidnapped is particularly useful. In addition, the integrated radio technology can help to locate a stolen car. All of these things can be adjusted using the appropriate Reviver app. The manufacturer responds to concerns about the robustness of the digital number plates and in particular the display by assuring that the RPlates can withstand temperatures between -45°C and +85°C and are dust and splash-proof according to the IP66 standard.
The RPlates are more expensive, but save you the annual trip to the office
The advantages are obvious and are not limited to features such as the ability to customize the license plate via the app or tracking in the event of theft: With the RPlates, there is no need to attach the license plate stickers, which are issued annually in the USA by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) must be applied for and attached to the number plate. This saves you the trip to the office. There are additional advantages for fleet operators, who can link the license plates to the vehicle interior and thus determine the location of the vehicle, view fuel consumption and limit the vehicle to a specific region.
The disadvantage, however, is the price: an RPlate costs around 20 US dollars per month, the version for commercial vehicles even 25 US dollars. A classic license plate is significantly cheaper with a low one-time payment. In addition, privacy advocates are likely to prick up their ears. Because the license plate is equipped with GPS, which has raised concerns since the revelations by Edward Snowden at the latest, whether the data is secretly passed on to large tech companies or institutions.
Reviver assures that no data will be passed on to third parties
Reviver denies such allegations in its privacy policy and states that the data will not be shared with law enforcement agencies, regulatory authorities or other third parties. According to the NZZ, location data collection can also be switched off, and the new law prohibits employers from tracking their employees using the digital number plate.
In view of the fact that the introduction of number plates with an integrated chip for automated traffic control was already being discussed in Germany in 2020 and a decision was made against it for data protection reasons (the ADAC, for example, quickly warns of a “transparent driver” when it comes to data protection issues), the introduction of RPlates impossible in this country.
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