[SirAllCaps]

> I'm surprised there aren't trackers on all cars already, like a 21st century license plate.

Are you referring to a state or government tracker on every vehicle? If so, it seems like you're implying that's a good idea. If that's the case, I hope there's some joke in here I'm missing.

[nixgeek]

License plate readers (LPR) are common in cities and on motorways in UK; there are “Average Speed” zones where the LPR is accomplished by cameras mounted on overhead gantries spanning miles. Speeding tickets can be issued automatically if you break the speed limit between gantries. It’s always been weird to me the US doesn’t do this and often requires a trooper to pull you over and give you a written ticket. Note that not all motorways have this in UK, but those which do, you don’t see anywhere near as much excessive speed.

LPR is also used in UK by the Driver and Vehicle License Agency (DVLA) to oversee taxation of vehicles. No more “tabs” or license discs to display in your front window, it’s all LPR these days.

LPR databases are queryable by the security services and law enforcement — there are enough cameras in cities your location can be pinned down to “within a few streets”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_number-plate_recogni...

This isn’t a tracker on every vehicle but it’s pretty equivalent for drivers who don’t live in the middle of nowhere where LPR may only be deployed in major towns.

[CSMastermind]

It sounds frankly dystopian, and I hope that this never comes to my country.

The government has no business tracking the movements of its citizens outside of an active criminal investigation and only then within well defined paramaters.

[mulmen]

> It’s always been weird to me the US doesn’t do this and often requires a trooper to pull you over and give you a written ticket.

Very different cultures. The US is still a culture of personal accountability and freedom. If you aren't hurting anyone you can do as you please. The UK skews toward rules for the sake of rules. Sadly the US is also moving in that direction, but mercifully still trails the UK.