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Main Page New Plate Proposal
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Posted by: spd722

"License plate proposal aims at child safety

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent | November 27, 2005

Gary P. Richard of Gloucester said the story ''churned" his stomach.

He saw the news in June 2000, when 16-year-old Molly Bish was abducted from Comins Pond in Warren, where she worked as a lifeguard. Her remains were found three years later, 5 miles from her home.

Then, in 2002, Elizabeth Smart, a Salt Lake City teenager, was abducted from her bedroom as her parents slept in the next room. She was held hostage for nine months.

''This all had a profound effect on me," said Richard, 52, sitting at his home on Bass Rocks Road in Gloucester. ''When the Liz Smart story hit, the other shoe dropped. I said to myself, I had to do something about this."

So Richard, a businessman and inventor in the semiconductor industry, created the EZ-ID License Plate Program, a system that would replace the current six-character plates found on most Massachusetts cars with luminescent plates that use one symbol and no more than three numbers or letters.

Molly's Law, which is now before the Legislature, would roll out Richard's system over five years, replacing existing plates as they come due for registration. The bill was written by state Senator Bruce Tarr, Republican of Gloucester, and is being pushed on the House side by Representative Anthony J. Verga, Democrat of Gloucester. It could be acted on when the Legislature reconvenes in January, Tarr said.

''The bad guys don't take the bus, they use private vehicles," Richard said. ''I wanted to do something to make the vehicle more identifiable and this could be a deterrent. If not, it can help in recovery. If we don't get the guy on the highway, we're knocking on his door."

The program is supported by the Bish and Smart families, said Richard, who is father to two adult sons. Both families have stayed in his home, he said, and believe the plan should be implemented nationwide.

The Massachusetts license plate system uses letters and numbers, with a possible 1.8 billion combinations. If Molly's Law passes, each plate would have a symbol, like a star, triangle, or diamond, he said, and the three letters or numbers would be bigger and far easier to read and remember. Even in the rearview mirror, the symbol would be recognizable. The possible combinations would more than cover the nearly five million registered cars in Massachusetts, Richard said.

Identifying just the car color with the plate symbol and just one character would give authorities a one in 123 chance of identifying the vehicle under the EZ-ID system, Richard said. Getting the car color and one character in a six-character plate reduces those odds to one in more than five million, he said.

Molly's Law carries a provision to make the new plates photo-luminescent. The numbers and symbol would glow in the dark, making it easier to read even if the car's lights are shut off. Richard is founder of Sun-Up Productions in Danvers, which creates luminescent products

The plates could glow up to 54 hours in complete darkness, he said. The added benefit of glowing plates would be in helping authorities find cars used in other crimes or hit-and-run accidents.
There would be about 15 stock symbols and a possible 15 others that can be bought under a vanity system that could generate at least $20 million a year for the state. If more vanity symbols are offered, revenue would increase, Richard said. The money could be earmarked for child-safety and awareness programs, Richard said. Existing low-number, vanity, and other specialty plates, such as those bearing the symbols of the right whale and Boston Red Sox, would not be replaced since they are already easily recognizable.

The cost of retooling machinery in state prisons where plates are made would be about $140,000, he said. It would be necessary to rework various computer systems in the state and nationwide to accommodate the new license plate program, he said. The new plates would cost an extra 50 cents to $1, Richard said, noting that any additional cost would be offset by the millions expected to be generated by motorists buying special symbol vanity plates.

The day before her daughter went missing, Magi Bish said, she had dropped Molly off at work early in the morning and spotted a suspicious man nearby standing near a white car, smoking a cigarette. She felt uneasy and stuck around until he left, not wanting to leave Molly alone in the area with him.

The next day, Molly disappeared. Since then, not a day has gone by, it seems, that Magi Bish hasn't seen a white car and wondered.

''Without intending to, I'd be heading to the dentist or some place and would see a white car and turn around and follow it, frightened that this could be the person in the area," she said. ''And trying to remember a license plate can be hard. You could be in a traumatic state, or you might not have a pen and paper."

Time is of the essence in child abductions, Richard said. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 74 percent of abducted children who are murdered are killed within three hours of their abduction.

''Absolutely no one has said this is a bad idea," Tarr said. ''The concerns are more logistical, it's a huge undertaking to change every plate in Massachusetts [except existing low-number and vanity plates]. I think the biggest problem is inertia, the force it takes to overcome a system that has existed for a very long time."

But, he said, it is a new way that ''can have a dramatic impact on public safety. The Bishes can give a concrete example of how this would have made a difference and possibly saved a life."

The State Police and the Registry of Motor Vehicles declined to comment on pending legislation.

''This is a great thing," said Dan Moniz, a volunteer who represents the state at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. ''Couple this with the Amber Alert and there's a very good chance we'll get the person who abducted a child."

Amber Alert is a system that immediately notifies the public of missing children through a variety of broadcasts and highway signs.

Robert Barry, a Weymouth police officer and president of the Massachusetts Safety Officers League, said Richard's system ''will save children's lives."

''There are not a lot of things we as officers see that can actually help children," Barry said. ''This is a new tool that is powerful. Just the fact that it makes a predator's car more identifiable can be a deterrent"

Posted by: TheKid

I think that is a great idea. But this is Mass and all, and I just hope it doesn't get lost on someone's desk because something useful like that cost to much money, and we'd rather pump more money into projects like the Big Dig...

Posted by: 94c

I can add a new Ma. Plate to the never ending registration list. Today I observed a commercial plate with two letters then four numbers AB-1234

Lets see, whale plates, olympics, spay and neuter, redsox, bruins, cape and islands, united we stand,
123abc, 12ab34, 1234ab, ab1234, and so on and so forth. Even California with their atronomical number of vehicles, has some sort of system when it comes to the tags.

Posted by: frank

While it's a good idea - I would be more impressed if the state would force motorists with illegible plates to switch over to the new red-lettered plates...some of them have been on the car and exposed to salt, etc. for so long that they are completely illegible at night, even when light shines on them...

Posted by: RPD931

I've seen the written proposal/presentation on this and its an awesome idea! But, the registry should force everyone to switch over. TOO many different plates out there.

Posted by: 94c

Quote:

Originally Posted by frank

While it's a good idea - I would be more impressed if the state would force motorists with illegible plates to switch over to the new red-lettered plates...some of them have been on the car and exposed to salt, etc. for so long that they are completely illegible at night, even when light shines on them...

under 90-6 it is the owner's responsibility to get new plates under these circumstances.

Posted by: Wolfman

Quote:

If Molly's Law passes, each plate would have a symbol, like a star, triangle, or diamond, he said, and the three letters or numbers would be bigger and far easier to read and remember.

As long as the triangles aren't rainbow-colored...

Posted by: sempergumby

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPD931

I've seen the written proposal/presentation on this and its an awesome idea! But, the registry should force everyone to switch over. TOO many different plates out there.

Now that would make our jobs a little easier, and it would make sense......soooo that means the Communist Peoples Republic of the Commonwealth will not do it...........

Posted by: JoninNH

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfman

As long as the triangles aren't rainbow-colored...

Why'd they have to ruin the rainbow for the rest of us??????????

Posted by: MSP75

How would you run the reg. on the computer? As far as I know the keyboards do not contain triangles.

Posted by: rg1283

Very good point. I also hate those green plates that you cannot see at all. There should be a law saying the police officer can write a citation for this. Here is a link to the inventor's website

http://www.ez-idprogram.com/examples.html

It might pass. However with election time coming (isn't it always) it might not be a good idea to force people to change. Plus all those nice Right Whale and Bruins Plates will go away. Just get rid of those stink'n Green Plates!

Posted by: Crvtte65

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSP75

How would you run the reg. on the computer? As far as I know the keyboards do not contain triangles.

WOW... excellent. I'm sure they would have a numeric number for us to run, triangle is what... 1,112 or 1,567?? get out the manual...

Posted by: frank

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSP75

How would you run the reg. on the computer? As far as I know the keyboards do not contain triangles.

Yeah, then New Hampshire would have even more problems with toll evaders...heck, they can't even figure out their own plates in their system...add in ours, with triangles and squares and pentagons, and you have a downright disaster.

Posted by: popo

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSP75 How would you run the reg. on the computer? As far as I know the keyboards do not contain triangles.

Oh, there will be a new pad with symbols that they sell at Toys'R'Us, you just hit the symbol first and then enter the plate on the laptop.

PRICE - $3000 through a federally subsidized grant

Posted by: no$.10

Actually, I have another new plate proposal....

Illegal and Driving
123ABC
Massachusetts

It comes with a background of any country's flag you want. Except our own. Whaddya think?

Posted by: MSP75

Quote:

Originally Posted by popo

Oh, there will be a new pad with symbols that they sell at Toys'R'Us, you just hit the symbol first and then enter the plate on the laptop.

PRICE - $3000 through a federally subsidized grant

I bet you could get the Justice Dept to fund a grant for that. They'll fund anything if you write it up the right way.

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