It’s no surprise that the future of license plates may become digitalized–meaning we’re going to have electronic licenses plates for our vehicles. But why, you might ask? Digitalizing items such as license plates make it easy to track and monitor our vehicles using wireless signals. Authoritative figures such as the police could greatly benefit from this change for many reasons. Let’s talk in more detail about these reasons and the other benefits of digitalizing license plates.
What are Digital License Plates?
Digital licenses plates are exactly what you think. They look just like modern license plates, but instead of being a piece of aluminum, it’s a screen! It is essentially an electronic device that replaces your existing license plate. From a car owner’s perspective, there are several safety reasons why you’d want to upgrade to a digital plate.
For starters, if a thief ever steals your vehicle, you can easily track your car’s location and send the coordinates to local authorities. If your vehicle just got stolen, you could even display a message such as “Stolen Vehicle.” You won’t be able to display any message you’d like on these plates as they must be approved beforehand. Other drivers behind your car will quickly notice the message and contact local authorities.
This also makes it incredibly easy for the police to identify your car. Our vehicles are vital assets in our lives, and they can come with hefty price tags. So, in regards to safety and reassurance, digital license plates can give us peace of mind knowing our vehicles can be tracked down in case of a robbery.
Even though the future may be digital, physical license plates are currently still the most popular method of identifying vehicles. Auto dealers can use License Plate Envelopes from MBR Marketing to mail license plates to their customers who have recently purchased a vehicle or to protect license plates while they are being moved around a dealership. You can purchase auto dealer supplies including premium License Plate Envelopes from MBR Marketing at https://mbrmarketing.com/dealer-supplies/license-plate-accessories/license-plate-envelopes-and-protectors.
Other Benefits of Digital License Plates
In addition to helping track down our vehicles, digital license plates offer several other benefits. For example, you can display amber alerts. So, if someone has taken your car and committed a crime, you can inform the police to send out an amber alert. You can then display the amber alert on the digital license plate, which will make it easy for other drivers to identify the car and driver that match the description. You could even rotate between displaying the amber alert and a message that states that the driver in the vehicle is the suspect of the crime.
For a less serious case, you could track your vehicle to keep tabs on where your kids are. Of course, this could feel like an invasion of privacy, so you may want to have a discussion with everyone who drives the vehicle. Kids could also benefit from tracking the vehicle. For example, they could see how far their parents are from picking them up from soccer practice or school. They can use that time to hang out with friends, get some extra minutes to practice or study, and then be ready for when it’s time to go.
You can even use the digital license plate as a tiny billboard when your car is parked. This is a great advertising opportunity for whatever business you’re in. Maybe you have something to sell, or a company is willing to pay you some money to advertise their goods and services. There’s still a lot of regulation that needs to be thought out first, so advertising using digital license plates is still in the grey. Of course, you must remember that you can only turn the display into a billboard when your car is parked and not while on the road. Anything that’s displayed must also be approved by the state you’re in.
Digital license plates make it easy for you to manage prepaid services.
You could fast-track how you pay tolls with whatever RFID-based device you use. It works as the perfect double for your E-Z Pass or FasTrak. You can pay your tolls immediately, so you don’t have to worry about them later. You could use the plate as a parking permit, so you don’t need a physical copy on hand. The fees, including other transportation-related fees and services, can all be digitally prepaid and updated automatically.
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits of upgrading to a digital license plate. However, whenever there are benefits, there are often disadvantages, too. Like anything digital, you’re prone to dealing with criminals or jokesters who will seek to take advantage of your assets. Suppose someone is able to hack into your digital license plate’s hub or database. In that case, they could potentially uncover the information they shouldn’t have access to.
They could also display an unwanted message on the plate that could get you pulled over. As a severe case, criminals could track your vehicle’s location to find out where you live. This is why security is vital when it comes to something such as digitalizing license plates. We need to be certain that our information will be protected and that criminals won’t get their hands on anything they shouldn’t.
How Much do Digital License Plates Cost?
These plates will cost much more than conventional plates, but for good reasons such as those mentioned above. Depending on the company and digital plate you purchase, they can range from $499 to over $1,000. Different plates offer different features, with some being far more advanced than others. You may even need to pay subscription fees and additional fees such as LTE connection. Although this may seem expensive, you need to keep in mind that you’re really purchasing a digital service.
You don’t see many digital plates right now because many states haven’t approved them. There’s still a lot of uncertainty around the topic. Once we can eliminate all the uncertainty, you will undoubtedly see license plates become digitalized on a global scale.
