South Carolina’s WSPA TV is reporting that the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles is considering doing away with stamped metal plates and replacing them with new, electronic tags that would be linked to a central computer database. According to WSPA’s website, the new plates use “electronic paper” technology that can hold an image without power for up to 10 years. A clear coating on the plates could also generate small amounts of electricity, which would be required to change the image, from sunlight or even vibrations generated when a car is in motion.
The new plates would be linked to a central network and the image could be changed at the push of a button to alert law enforcement when the DMV receives notice that a car is stolen, uninsured, has expired tags or an when an operator’s license has been revoked. The DMV is quick to add that, while they would be able to receive signals, the electronic plates will not mount transmitters and cannot, therefore, be used to track a vehicle.
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