California could get first digital ads on licence plates
Vehicle licence plates in California could become digital advertising media if a bill currently before the state’s legislature is passed.
The proposed legislation would allow California’s Department of Motor Vehicles to work with private-sector firms on developing the technology required to support a licence-plate network, and then recommend the next steps by the beginning of 2013.
It is expected that the Department of Motor Vehicles, which issues licence plates, would sell advertising time on them and also make them available for emergency messaging. There are about 32m vehicles registered in California.
Advertising would only be visible when a vehicle was stopped in traffic for more than four seconds, and the licence-plate number would never be obscured, according to reports.
The bill has already passed California’s senate and is now before the lower house.
If passed, it would make California the first state to use licence plates as a digital advertising medium, although the creator of the proposed legislation, senator Curren Price, says others are considering similar plans.
“We’re just trying to find creative ways of generating additional revenues,” he was reported as saying, referring to California’s deep deficit. “It’s an exciting marriage of technology with need, and an opportunity to keep California in the forefront.”
One San Francisco firm, Smart Plate, is reportedly already working on the technology, although it would not necessarily be selected to work with the Department of Motor Vehicles – and indeed appears to have a different view on the role of digital licence plates.
“The idea is not to turn a motorist’s vehicle into a mobile billboard, but rather to create a platform for motorists to show their support for existing good-working organisations,” Smart Plate’s CEO M. Conrad Jordan was quoted as saying.
Share this article with others
Post to del.icio.us
Printed from http://www.screens.tv/article/111059/California_could_get_first_digital_ads_on_licence_plates.html
Comment on this article
Skip to comments
We encourage users to analyse, comment on and even challenge Screens.tv's articles, including the one above - 'California could get first digital ads on licence plates'
User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site.
Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site.