Colorado grandma keeps getting pulled over due to database error

(guessingheadlights.com)

41 points | by chasil 5 hours ago ago

11 comments

  • nabbed an hour ago

    My US-based car has an "O"-like character in my license plate number, and honestly I could not figure out whether it was the letter O or a zero (even after searching the state's DMV site for information on how to distinguish one from the other). The character is very square, so maybe that means it's the letter O.

    If the headline is more correct ("Because Police Cameras Cannot Tell the Difference Between a Zero and the Letter O") than the article content (which contradicts that claim), then I am alarmed. Otherwise, I am less alarmed.

  • ticulatedspline 4 hours ago

    source didn't read their own flippn article

    Title

    >Colorado Grandma Keeps Getting Pulled Over Because Police Cameras Cannot Tell the Difference Between a Zero and the Letter O

    Article:

    > The error exists in the database. The camera reads her plate correctly, matches it to the incorrect entry, and flags her as a suspect every single time.

  • turtleyacht an hour ago

    It's pretty hard to correct "that person does not live here" at the government level. Systems downstream pull it down and trust it completely.

    The bureaucratic suggestion was to submit a form with wrong values on purpose, so it would be flagged for manual workaround. Could not believe they would ask for someone to lie on a form.

  • freediddy an hour ago

    The story isn't Flock cameras, it's because the police entered the license plates incorrectly.

  • crooked-v an hour ago

    Flock delenda est, but why are any states even using both 0 and O in license plates in the first place?

    • kQq9oHeAz6wLLS an hour ago

      That's what I was thinking. You can see in one photo on the article that the O is squared off, and the zero is rounded, but it still seems ripe for confusion.

      • mordechai9000 an hour ago

        I believe, in my state, similar looking characters are considered identical for vanity plates. I assumed this applied to state issued plate IDs as well, but maybe not. It's hard enough trying to read a license plate on the road without throwing in confusion over B vs 8 and O vs 0.

      • spuz an hour ago

        Yeah this is a problem even without technology. I believe the UK does not use the letter O in standard registration numbers so it cannot be confused with 0.

      • an hour ago
        [deleted]
  • jameskilton an hour ago

    Flock is pure cruelty. All justice, no mercy. It needs to go away.

    • kkotak an hour ago

      Yep. Imagine a young dark skinned man wearing a hoodie driving that car. Dramatically increase chances of an arrest or worse.