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Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

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Re: Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

#71
post #3

Saw a few of these this weekend, I'm curious to see if the 407 (Ontario's toll road)cameras can read them at night. I imagine this gets changed quite quickly if they can only read the old plates.

> Saw a few of these this weekend, I'm curious to see if the 407 (Ontario's toll road)cameras can read them at night. I imagine this gets changed quite quickly if they can only read the old plates.

It would be nice if some of the US states without tolls could do this on purpose, because many of the ones with them use them primarily to extract revenue from out of state drivers disproportionate to the cost of their use of the roads.

This would also improve the privacy of their citizens, since it would presumably also interfere with ALPR in general and keep their vehicles' location history from ending up in adversarial third party databases.

Anti-ALPR license plates are a feature, not a bug.

Re: Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

#73
post #44

Recall that this is the same provincial government that used public money to put stickers on gas pumps in what amounts to a protest on federal carbon taxes. Taxpayer money spent on a brazenly partisan political campaign.

I try not to recall that so thanks for reminding me.

Re: Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

#74

Side note: why did Ontario voters go from one Ford to another? Did they think, I loved the previous Ford except for the drugs and debauchery? Why does name count for so much in elections? Sigh

They tried the drug using brother, that didn't work out too great. So they decided to go with the drug dealing brother[0] instead.

[0] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/globe-investiga...

Re: Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

#75
post #46

I’m curious just what process was in place to let this happen. Yes, I know it’s government, but I’m really curious what organizational process is in place to allow such an obvious thing to slip through.

The current conservative government has no organizational process. Dougie makes a decision and then it's implemented at breakneck speed, ignoring all precedent, organizational structure, and institutional learning.

He drew the new "Ontario Line" subway with a marker, replacing decades of planning for the Relief Line Toronto needs desperately. The subway is dangerously overcrowded at peak times and these changes will likely set the opening date back years.

He ordered gas stations to display a sticker showing the cost of the federal carbon tax simply because he doesn't like it with no planning. That was after scrapping the existing cap and trade program with a single pen stroke (costing the province hundreds of millions in broken contracts). Leaving the existing program alone would have meant no federal carbon tax.

He invented an environmental issues with bats to halt construction on a partially complete windfarm. Even local bat experts have no idea what he's talking about.

He passed a law saying public servants can't get a raise more than 1% prior to negotiating with the various teacher unions so he could negotiate in bad faith. After claiming there was no money for teachers he started paying parents a per diem for childcare during the rotating strikes.

During an active election he changed the number of councillors in Toronto city hall and threatened to use the notwithstanding clause to enforce it.

Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. All of these policies were announced with no public discussion, input period, or time to contact MPPs. Simply dreamt up by Dougie on the weekend and implemented Monday morning.

Premiers of provinces have a ton of power and not much beyond parliamentary norms hold them in check. Doug has exploited this to an extreme extent.

Re: Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

#76

"A Place to Grow" drew ire because it comes from a weird "provincialist" 60's anthem commissioned by the same Progressive Conservative government. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU1wUfqhsM8

It's continually amazing to me how far they will go to politicize something.

And now the old plates are "the Liberal's fault". They were also introduced by the PCs some time back. Cue eyeroll.

That said, I'll take "A Place to Grow" over "Open for Business" as we once feared.

All this to do some political posturing but we can't afford to let studies and trials keep running that were already under way. If I let my eyes keep rolling this hard I might lose my balance.

Re: Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

#77
post #67

Things I can’t understand: - Why North America doesn’t adopt European-style plates instead of the tiny, squished ones they have - Why license plates are allowed to act as regional advertisements for local states and provinces rather than identifiers - Why Canadians keep the Ford family in power

> Why Canadians keep the Ford family in power

The Greater Toronto Area is very progressive, but once you travel out of that area, it very much resembles the US' flyover states - in appearance and politics. Ford spends all of his time campaigning in dinky little towns that hate Toronto.

Re: Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

#78
post #67

Things I can’t understand: - Why North America doesn’t adopt European-style plates instead of the tiny, squished ones they have - Why license plates are allowed to act as regional advertisements for local states and provinces rather than identifiers - Why Canadians keep the Ford family in power

European license plates may be squished but they're also much wider which require cars to have different bumpers/hatches/tailgates. Other countries on other continents (not just Europe) use plates similar in size to North American plates.

As for different designs per state/province, it's all about identity and how the states identify as. The size is pretty much standard though.

Re: Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

#79
post #44

Recall that this is the same provincial government that used public money to put stickers on gas pumps in what amounts to a protest on federal carbon taxes. Taxpayer money spent on a brazenly partisan political campaign.

Doug Ford is Canada’s Trump. He is a similar embarrassment to an otherwise great region of the world.

Re: Ontario's new license plates have a problem: you can't read them

#80

Wow that is an awful design for visibility. As a New York resident I noticed when the plates changed in 2010 I personally found them harder to read [0]. The white background with dark letters/numbers used from 2001-2010 seemed like the better option... I wonder what law enforcement thought of the change. Seems they are about to change again to something with better contrast starting April 2020 [1]. Also an interestin…

There are also a lot of people putting a coating over the numbers to make them not reflective and unable to be read by red light cameras and other automated means.
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