Waller County, Tex., officials are considering the installation of cameras that would help officers scan vehicles for valid vehicle insurance, paving the way for the state government to police drivers along U.S. 290 and I-10 daily.
Waller County Judge Trey Duhon and County Commissioners recently convened to hear a presentation from the Oklahoma-based IX Group, a company that provides high-definition license plate scanners that would assist law enforcement officers to detect motorists who do not hold insurance.
Duhon said that the move would help ensure a safer driving experience for every vehicle on the road.
"I think depending on which study you look at anywhere from 10-17% of drivers that are on the road are uninsured and that obviously presents a risk to our citizens," said Duhon.
The local government is planning to install the devices on patrol cars and mount stationary cameras on U.S. 290 and I-10.
"A private vendor would basically provide all the equipment and the infrastructure and basically administer the program at no cost to the county," Duhon said.
The technology has been touted by its creators to be capable of scanning license plates within 1.2 seconds and run them through an algorithm to determine if they hold insurance or not. Lacking a policy would lead to an officer checking if there's cause for a violation. The proposed program incorporates an option for apprehended drivers to get insurance and thus pay smaller penalties.
However, despite positive reception to the idea so far, some drivers feel that in-person police intervention would be preferable to an all-seeing eye.
"I feel like it's kind of an invasion of privacy, secretly, you're doing it and nobody knows you're doing it you know and then you get a bill in the mail I don't think I'd like that ," said Lacus Mason of Hempstead.
"We're all right to be free and that's you're not being free if you got somebody tagging your car this or that like I said it's not fair you know," said Mike Wagner of Tomball.
