Vehicle location data

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Vehicle location data is the big data collection of vehicle locations, including automatic vehicle location data. This usually includes times and often photographs as well. [1] [2] Common methods of data collection include automatic number plate recognition of vehicle registration plates from images collected by cameras mounted on vehicles or fixtures along roads, [1] [2] [3] [4] as well as radio-frequency identification (RFID) from dedicated short-range communications transponders [5] [6] (such as those used for electronic toll collection and parking lots). Databases of this information may be maintained by government or private entities. Private companies use vehicle location data for vehicle repossession and consumer profiling. [1] Government databases have been subjected to legal orders for location data. [6] [7] Access may be restricted to use in criminal cases, but may also be available for civil cases, such as divorce. [7]

Contents

Automatic number plate recognition

Vehicle registration plates may be automatically scanned with equipment, mountable on vehicles, that identifies an image characteristic of a registration plates, takes a photograph, and reads and records the registration number. [1] Such scanning may be done by government [1] [2] or private industry. [1] [3] [4] Private industry collects this information for profit through, directly or indirectly, activities such as consumer profiling and repossession. [1] [4] Companies have collected over 1 billion scans of registration plates in the United States, [4] stored in multiple national databases.

Transponders

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) read from dedicated short-range communication transponders voluntarily obtained by citizens for electronic toll collection enable recording of time and location data at toll crossings. [7] Scanning equipment has also been installed at additional, non-toll locations, [8] [5] enabling further data collection. Transponders have also been hacked, allowing reading and tracking by unauthorized parties. [9] [10]

Privacy concerns

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a report on license plate tracking, finding that the vast majority of scans collected are the vehicles of innocent persons. [11] [3] [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transponder</span> Device that emits an identifying signal in response to a received signal

In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of transmitter and responder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toll road</span> Roadway for which a fee (or toll) is assessed for passage

A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When triggered by an electromagnetic interrogation pulse from a nearby RFID reader device, the tag transmits digital data, usually an identifying inventory number, back to the reader. This number can be used to track inventory goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic toll collection</span> Wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles

Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing toll booths, where vehicles must stop and the driver manually pays the toll with cash or a card. In most systems, vehicles using the system are equipped with an automated radio transponder device. When the vehicle passes a roadside toll reader device, a radio signal from the reader triggers the transponder, which transmits back an identifying number which registers the vehicle's use of the road, and an electronic payment system charges the user the toll.

E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agencies in several states, which use the same technology and allow travelers to use the same transponder on toll roads throughout the network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Hudson Bridge</span> Bridge in New York City

The Henry Hudson Bridge is a double-deck steel arch toll bridge in New York City across the Spuyten Duyvil Creek. It connects Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx with Inwood in Manhattan to the south, via the Henry Hudson Parkway. On the Manhattan side, the parkway goes into Inwood Hill Park. Commercial vehicles are not permitted on this bridge or on the parkway in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FasTrak</span> Electronic toll collection system in California

FasTrak is the electronic toll collection (ETC) system used in the state of California in the United States. The system is used statewide on all of the toll roads, toll bridges, and high-occupancy toll lanes along the California Freeway and Expressway System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SunPass</span> Electronic toll collection system in Florida, United States

SunPass is an electronic toll collection system within the state of Florida, United States. It was created in 1999 by the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT's) Office of Toll Operations, operating now as a division of Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). The system utilizes windshield-mounted RFID transponders manufactured by TransCore and lane equipment designed by companies including TransCore, SAIC, and Raytheon.

Floating car data (FCD) in traffic engineering and management is typically timestamped geo-localization and speed data directly collected by moving vehicles, in contrast to traditional traffic data collected at a fixed location by a stationary device or observer. In a physical interpretation context, FCD provides a Lagrangian description of the vehicle movements whereas stationary devices provide an Eulerian description. The participating vehicle acts itself consequently as a moving sensor using an onboard GPS receiver or cellular phone. The most common and widespread use of FCD is to determine the traffic speed on the road network. Based on these data, traffic congestion can be identified, travel times can be calculated, and traffic reports can be rapidly generated. In contrast to stationary devices such as traffic cameras, number plate recognition systems, and induction loops embedded in the roadway, no additional hardware on the road network is necessary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EZ TAG</span> Electronic toll collection system in Houston, Texas, United States

EZ TAG is an electronic toll collection system in Houston, Texas, United States, that allows motorists to pay tolls without stopping at toll booths. Motorists with the tags are allowed to use lanes reserved exclusively for them on all Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) roads. As of late 2003, the EZ TAG can also be used on all lanes of tolled roadways in Texas that accommodate electronic toll collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I-Pass</span>

I-Pass is the electronic toll collection system utilized by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) on its toll highways that launched on November 18, 1993, with the opening of Interstate 355. It uses the same transponder as the E-ZPass system used in the Northeastern US, the Chicago Skyway, and the Indiana Toll Road, along with the Indiana State Road 912 Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automatic number-plate recognition</span> Optical character recognition technology

Automatic number-plate recognition is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing closed-circuit television, road-rule enforcement cameras, or cameras specifically designed for the task. ANPR is used by police forces around the world for law enforcement purposes, including checking if a vehicle is registered or licensed. It is also used for electronic toll collection on pay-per-use roads and as a method of cataloguing the movements of traffic, for example by highways agencies.

E-ZPass Minnesota, formerly MnPass, is the brand name associated with a series of high occupancy toll lanes and electronic toll collection (ETC) system in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area of Minnesota. The lanes and the ETC system are owned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and fully compatible with the multi-state E-ZPass network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open road tolling</span> Boothless toll collecting

Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow down to pay the toll. In some installations, ORT may also reduce congestion at the plazas by allowing more vehicles per hour/per lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highway 6 (Israel)</span> Highway in Israel

Highway 6, also known as the Trans-Israel Highway or Cross-Israel Highway, is a major electronic toll highway in Israel. Highway 6 is the first Israeli Build-Operate-Transfer road constructed, carried out mainly by the private sector in return for a concession to collect tolls on the highway for a given number of years. It is also one of the largest infrastructure projects undertaken in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good to Go (toll collection system)</span> Electronic toll collection system in Washington state

Good to Go, stylized as GoodToGo!, is the electronic toll collection program managed by the Washington State Department of Transportation on all current toll and future projects in the U.S. state of Washington. Regular Good to Go customers may set up an account from which tolls are automically deducted. Vehicles that are not linked to an account are photographed and a toll bill is sent to the registered owner by U.S. mail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Video tolling</span> Form of electronic toll collection

Video tolling is a form of electronic toll collection that uses video or still images of a vehicle's license plate to identify a vehicle liable to pay a road toll. The system dispenses with collection of road tolls using road-side cash or payment card methods, and may be used in conjunction with "all electronic" open road tolling, to permit drivers without an RFID device to use the toll road.

e-TAG Electronic toll collection system in Australia

e-TAG is a free-flow tolling electronic toll collection system used on all tollways throughout Australia. It was originally developed by Transurban for use on their CityLink tollway in the late 1990s, with the system since adopted by all toll roads, bridges and tunnels in Australia. The technology had different names depending on the issuer, such as Breeze, Linkt, and E-toll. However, these are all interchangeable across Australia and no surcharges apply for use on other operators' toll roads.

PrePass is an intelligent transportation system (ITS) that electronically verifies the safety, credentials, and weight of commercial vehicles as they approach participating state highway weigh stations. Because they comply electronically, commercial carriers enrolled in PrePass are authorized to bypass these facilities rather than pull in for manual inspection.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Julia Angwin; Valentino-DeVries, Jennifer (29 September 2012). "New Tracking Frontier: Your License Plates". online.wsj.com. Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Winston, Ali (26 June 2013). "License-plate readers let police collect millions of records on drivers". cironline.org. Center for Investigative Reporting . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Pilkington, Ed (17 July 2013). "Millions of US license plates tracked and stored, new ACLU report finds". guardian.co.uk. London: The Guardian . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Aegerter, Gil (19 July 2013). "License plate data not just for cops: Private companies are tracking your car". investigations.nbcnews.com. NBC News . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  5. 1 2 Lutz, Jaime (8 May 2013). "Big Brother has it 'E-Z': City now tracking cars through local streets thanks to E-ZPass". www.brooklynpaper.com. The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  6. 1 2 Tynan, Dan (2010-06-27). "Location-Tracking Services: Why You Should Think Twice". www.pcworld.com. PC World . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 Newmarker, Chris (10 August 2007). "Adultery has a new monitor: E-ZPass". usatoday.com. USA Today . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  8. ↑ Hill, Kashmir (12 September 2013). "E-ZPasses Get Read All Over New York (Not Just At Toll Booths)". Forbes . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  9. ↑ Mills, Elinor (6 August 2008). "Security expert explains how data can be stolen off electronic toll devices and how people can be tracked in real time". news.cnet.com. CNET Networks . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  10. ↑ Lawson, Nate (7 August 2008). "FasTrak talk summary and slides". rdist.root.org. Root Labs. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  11. ↑ "You Are Being Tracked: How License Plate Readers Are Being Used to Record Americans' Movements". www.aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  12. ↑ Sullivan, Bob (17 July 2013). "ACLU: Digital dragnet ensnares millions of innocent drivers". NBC News . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
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