Number Plates News

Trinidad Chooses Hi-tech Plate Option

19 July 2010

Trinidad aims to put in place an innovative, hi-tech, number plate system by the end of the year. Works and Transport Minister, Jack Warner, explains that the new plates will incorporate a micro-chip which will contain comprehensive information about the vehicle's owner.

Rather than employ costly and unsightly Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) equipment, the micro-chip simply triggers unobtrusive roadside Radio Frequency Identification (RFI) reading devices, which can operate over a distance of up to 30 feet. One example given is that, when linked to a traffic light sequence, the technology can instantly identify a car ignoring a 'stop' signal and generate an appropriate traffic offence notice and penalty.

Since this sort of idea has been around for many years, one might be tempted to question the pursuance of the purely optical systems proliferating in the UK and most European countries. Could it be that the ANPR camera has a more sinister purpose than simply to record your number plate? After all, the footage also captures a high-quality the image of the occupants.

Intriguingly, Mr Warner claims that Trinidadians will be free to"customise" their new plates. Presumably this means that, since electronic surveillance does not rely on a standard character font, the universally popular practice of 'mis-spacing' and decoration is no longer an issue - Perhaps another reason why the concept is unlikely to appeal to UK enforcement agencies.