Readability issue with black license plate

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#3244703 5-Jun-2024 13:01

Also have issues reading these plates.

I get they are intended to appear black on white when a bright light (from a camera flash) hits them, but the issue is at night with softer light (i.e. dipped headlights from a following car), they seem to spend a lot of time roughly half way in-between states.

I'm fine to have a black plate option, but lets get rid of the color change bit. Optimize for human reading. It is hardly like black background plates are a new thing for camera's to recognize:

Motor Vehicle Old Style Black Number Plates. – Barnstormers NZ

Silvrav

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#3244709 5-Jun-2024 13:18

We have a few properties that uses ANPR cameras and we haven't had any issues with them reading plates.

Groucho

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#3244717 5-Jun-2024 13:35

I thought NZ went away from the original black background plates specifically because they were hard to read at night. All the cameras and other automated readers being able to read them are no use when you're the victim of a hit and run and you literally can't read the numberplate of the offending vehicle as it drives away.

Similar reason they also banned using the letter Q because over a phone call it sounded too similar to other characters like 2, U etc... Yet Q seems to have made a comeback as well.

muppet

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#3244862 5-Jun-2024 15:59

Love my new black plates. I've run over 3 grannies and no one's been able to catch me yet.

mattwnz

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#3244895 5-Jun-2024 18:09

Why are they even allowing black plates? I am amazed that people with plates that have the problem aren't required to have them recalled and redone. The old black plates of the 80s and prior didn't have this problem either, and I think I still have one of the old black plates in the garage. I recall one of the reasons from switching to white plates was that they would be easier to read, as when the black ones got dirty, they weren't easy to read.. But people quickly forget

MarkM536

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#3244962 5-Jun-2024 20:54

Black plates make it far tougher for cameras at an angle.

Worse is still plates which have less reflective coating or covered in dirt.

All photos from the same camera and distances within ~2m of each plate.

While at the shopping mall today I noticed a black plate with this exact issue. To the naked eye it looked completely white until I stood straight-on towards it.

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Oblivian

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#3245021 5-Jun-2024 22:06

I've heard of people that opted for them due the fact you can't read them at night unless they're angled away from the source. Namingly of a certain subset.

A terribly cropped example at a set of light's recently.

ezbee

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#3245036 5-Jun-2024 22:17

Why allow black plates ?

I would not be surprised if the Agent for personalized 'Kiwi Plates' plates has been lobbying for this.
'Money makes the world go around' as the song said.

People will pay to have their plates reissued as a black plate, seen as stylish boosting sales.
Word gets around, and people seeing from their own experience,
that they are less easy to discern, boosting sales.

Even if its a 'little' edge over Police, Security Cameras and Dashcams (Dashcams especially?).
General public may also struggle.
Unless you are in 'good' position and lighting.

$$$

mrskills

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#3245060 6-Jun-2024 01:44

Handsomedan:

My son recently (April) got some for his car, for aesthetic reasons. Black car, black plates and all that.

I followed him to a destination recently at night and couldn't read his plates at all. they relly do look like they've been altered illegally to create an optical illusion or make it difficult to read.
It's all very James Bond.

Terrible for the casual observer, but likely not an issue for a camera?

What is the colour of the foregrounds (the number and characters)?

Handsomedan

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#3245086 6-Jun-2024 09:12

mrskills:

Handsomedan:

My son recently (April) got some for his car, for aesthetic reasons. Black car, black plates and all that.

I followed him to a destination recently at night and couldn't read his plates at all. they relly do look like they've been altered illegally to create an optical illusion or make it difficult to read.
It's all very James Bond.

Terrible for the casual observer, but likely not an issue for a camera?

What is the colour of the foregrounds (the number and characters)?

Silver/Grey

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#3245096 6-Jun-2024 09:54

ezbee:

Why allow black plates ?

I would not be surprised if the Agent for personalized 'Kiwi Plates' plates has been lobbying for this.
'Money makes the world go around' as the song said.

People will pay to have their plates reissued as a black plate, seen as stylish boosting sales.
Word gets around, and people seeing from their own experience,
that they are less easy to discern, boosting sales.

Even if its a 'little' edge over Police, Security Cameras and Dashcams (Dashcams especially?).
General public may also struggle.
Unless you are in 'good' position and lighting.

$$$

$$$ is the whole point of the Personalised plates / vanity plate system (incl the different styles: Black starnard, black slim, Japan style, red text, hastag, euro style etc).

The idea is that people who want a non-standard plate, and are willing to pay $$ for it, can do so. It's a bit of fun. Some people like to personalize the characters, and some like a different style (i.e. black plate on black car), Japan style plate on JDM car etc.

The intent is that it is pretty harmless, and the identification function of a number plate is not compromised by the customization, but sadly the color flipping silver on black plates seem harder to read.

The government runs a tender where the highest bidder gets exclusive rights to run the personalized plate system for a period of years. This money is extra government revenue, which is great (way better to make revenue by selling thr rights to sell a vanity product than taxing everybody).

There is no limit on how much the winning tenderer can charge for vanity / non standard plates, as standard plates remain available at a low cost for those who don't want to pay whatever they ask.

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BlakJak

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#3246193 8-Jun-2024 14:32

Noticed this a few months ago when I was following a vehicle at dusk and I couldn't read his plates from right behind him - until I turned off my headlights.

Sadly this will be a long-game item as even if they change manufacturing techniques or final finishes, replacing everything out there already will be a challenge (if they even bother).

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#3246217 8-Jun-2024 15:38

well it's probably better than the original silver black plate, you can't even read those ones in broad daylight

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#3246219 8-Jun-2024 15:40

djtOtago:

Have they been changed?
Can anyone link to an article saying they have changed the design.

i think they have changed, the original ones are difficult to read in broad daylight, these ones are very sharp to read in broad daylight

jonathan18

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#3246247 8-Jun-2024 17:20

We’ve got silver/black plates on both our cars and based on my observations is it’s the reflectivity of the ‘black’ background that causes the (in)visibility issue - the background isn’t a true black but has a distinctly reflective ‘texture’ that looks silver under headlights (and on some angles with direct sunlight). Ironically, if they’d just left the background black I imagine they’d have been fine!

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