this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2025
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Fuck Cars

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[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 18 points 3 days ago (1 children)

My first thought was "that might not be a bad idea the way things are going, just so the feds don't know where I am going at all times." My second thought is that I'm genuinely a little bit surprised that Flock cameras don't auto-flag this stuff and send a notification for the person to be pulled over.

If you defaced your plate into another plate that was also in the DB, then maybe you'd be fine, at least for a while.

[–] AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social 11 points 3 days ago

Flock's cameras actually do detect that kind of thing. Quoting from this article:

"Instantly searchable data, including plate numbers or missing/covered plates, as well as vehicle make, model, color, alterations, and other unique identifying information."

The problem is that randomly deploying cops to given areas to track down cars that are already long gone because their plates are obscured isn't terribly effective or worthwhile. It's more often used as part of a wider investigation, where someone stopped later could also be identified for having previously covered their plates, and fined accordingly on top of the fine for, say, speeding.