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That time a tailgate party changed how I see government tracking
I was at a tailgate for a Chiefs game in Kansas City back in October, standing around a cooler with some guys I barely knew. One of them was a retired trucker who started talking about how every toll pass and weigh station reader logs your plate automatically. He said he used to cover his plate with mud on purpose when going through certain states. I laughed it off until I looked up how many of those readers are connected to law enforcement databases without warrants. Then I checked my own E-ZPass history and realized it shows every single exit and time I've taken for the last 3 years. That made me wonder how much data the government actually collects from regular traffic cameras, not just toll booths. Has anyone else looked into whether those cameras are saving footage or just scanning plates in real time?
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matthewp522d ago
Remembered reading a piece in the Kansas City Star a few years back about how the highway patrol can access private toll data just by asking, no warrant needed. The article said toll authorities hand over records thousands of times a year for everything from missing persons to minor traffic violations. Seems like those regular traffic cameras are mostly just scanning plates in real time for stolen cars or AMBER alerts, but the storage question is a good one. I heard some cities delete the footage after a few days unless there's a crime reported, but plate logs tend to stick around much longer.
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