PlateWire: Citizen Driver Reputation

I dreamed up this very idea years ago and am glad someone has finally determined the world is ready to participate: a site where you can report bad drivers via their license plate numbers. They even have a toll-free number (866-689-2155) you can use to report directly to the web.

Presumably the future holds enhancements and spinoffs allowing you to attach photos & video shot from your cellphone, audio narration, non-automotive misdemeanors, reputational elements, and who knows what other means of improving the quality and credibility of the data in these systems. Video speaks well enough for itself, like the photo below, which LAVoice (the source of this story) has made locally famous, but imagine if your reports were weighted by the quality of your driver record and credit scores as verified by open-API systems?

As I was just saying to a friend the other day, who knew that surveillance culture would come not from Big Brother, but from our friends and neighbors?

posted on Tuesday, August 1st, 2006 at 5:39 pm Category: startup, social. Comment or trackback.