Bill sets plate reader limits
A bill under consideration by the Oklahoma Legislature would clarify how some license plate information is kept and disseminated. The measure involves regulation of automated license plate readers that have been in use for years by the Corporation Commission that snap photos of vehicles entering Oklahoma. House Bill 1972 also requires that individual data it collects be exempt from the Open Records Act but can be used by other agencies for law enforcement and regulatory activities. “It's to allow them the ability to use the license plate readers and to allow them access to the (Department of Public Safety) information database,” said state Rep. Ross Ford. As a commercial vehicle nears a weigh station, the readers will pick up the license plate and verify licensing details, he added. If the information isn't available, the driver then will be directed to stop at the weigh station. Matt Skinner, spokesman for the Corporation Commission, said the system saves a tremendous amount of time for truckers as they pass through ports of entry, and past weigh stations. “The real beauty of it is it speeds things up for trucks enormously. It used to be
back in the day, you'd see long lines of truckers backed up at those tiny weigh stations, so much that it was dangerous,” Skinner said. “Now, many trucks don't even need to stop.” While the readers photograph every license plate, the state only keeps images of ones showing plates attached to heavier commercial vehicles along with semi trucks and trailers. The system does not keep other information, like the details of license plates from non-commercial travelers. “The computer automatically deletes everything that doesn't fall into the weight category of what it's looking for,” Skinner said. House Bill 1972 would allow aggregate data to be published and released, as long as it does not reveal the activities or identify specific vehicles or carriers. The bill passed out of the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday and can now be heard by the full House of Representatives.