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California pondering electronic license plate advertisements

It's no secret to anyone that California has had some serious financial problems for over the last year. Innovation has always been seen as one of the ways of emerging from a money pit, and the Golden State has a surely unique idea this time: electronic license plate advertisements.
Written by Rachel King, Contributor

It's no secret to anyone that California has had some serious financial problems for a long time now. Innovation has always been seen as one of the ways of emerging from a money pit, and the Golden State has a surely unique idea this time: electronic license plate advertisements.

State Senator Curren D. Price Jr. (D-Los Angeles) has proposed a bill that would authorize California's DMV to research digital license plate technology and see if this project has any potential. How it would probably work is that a standard license plate would be displayed when the car is in motion, and then switch to a digital ad when stopped for more than four seconds. Yet the license plate number would be visible somewhere on the screen at all times.

It's an intriguing idea, but there are certainly many, many questions unanswered about this concept. It's not clear if digital license plates would be issued to all drivers in the state or just those who opt for it. Also, maybe looking at advertisements on cars would give drivers something else to stare at while stuck in LA traffic, but what if at an intersection the light turns green and you're not paying attention? Still, the project is only in its early stages, so maybe there is something here.

How do you feel about digital ads on license plates? Is it the big idea or a disaster waiting to happen?

Disclaimer: I am from California, and I do love tofu. But this isn't my license plate.

[Image via Mind Numbing Trivia]

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