Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Chicago Street Lights May Scan for Car Insurance

**All I got to say is Sorry to all my Chicago friends... Damn, that would be messed up!**

Sidenote: Clevelanders & others with cameras dedicated to speed and red light tickets... Don't think this can't happen to you! LoL.

Ticketing red light runners is standard practice in many big cities, but Chicago is considering doing one better and scanning every car going by for up to date insurance.

It wouldn't matter if you ran the light or were driving conscientiously. The proposed system would exploit both existing stoplight cameras and general security cameras to scan your plate and hand it over to the InsureNet database. If InsureNet discovered that you were lacking insurance, you'd receive a $300-$500 ticket in the mail.

The system is anticipated to raise yearly earnings "well in excess" of $100 million (possibly even double that figure or more), with InsureNet taking a modest 30% for their services. Of course, all of this cash would be contingent on uninsured drivers actually paying their fines.