To Blur or not to blur?
Thread Starter
6th Gear Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,469
From: AR
To Blur or not to blur?
Ok,,, so I am checking out a "brand X" car on YouTube, my brother-in-law walks by and checks it out.
He notes that the license plate is not blurred out, andmakes a statement to the effect of: "why didn't that dumb *** blur his plate"..
Well I had not previously noticed that the plate was not blurred out, but in thinking about it, I have wondered why so many folks domake their plates illegible on the Internet?
I meanthey probablydrive around with the plate plainly visible all of the time, perhaps in the view of thousands of people every week...
What are your opinions...
He notes that the license plate is not blurred out, andmakes a statement to the effect of: "why didn't that dumb *** blur his plate"..
Well I had not previously noticed that the plate was not blurred out, but in thinking about it, I have wondered why so many folks domake their plates illegible on the Internet?
I meanthey probablydrive around with the plate plainly visible all of the time, perhaps in the view of thousands of people every week...
What are your opinions...
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 923
From: Colorado
RE: To Blur or not to blur?
I have never understood that either. People do it on ebay and craigslist too. It seems like if someone is going to try to copy your plate numbers or something they could just find a car at the mall or something, and then they would have the added bonus of the VIN and stuff. The only explanation I could guess is if the person were doing something illegal in the video (street racing, burnouts, etc.) they might be hesitant to put it up for the police to see or something.
4th Gear Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,751
From: Central Illinois
RE: To Blur or not to blur?
It is pretty pointless since you drive around all day displaying the plate hundreds or thousands of people. Not exactly a secret. Not long ago I saw a car on Craigslist I was considering for my niece. It had the plate blurred. It was also a scam. The guy found a bunch of pictures on the web of a car for sale and blurred out the plate to hide its real identity. Your plate number is not going to do a lot for anybody. The only thing they can do in some states is use it to request a name and address from the DMV but I don't know if there are any states left that will provide that anyway.
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 356
From: saffranciscobayarea
RE: To Blur or not to blur?
I think that someone who is blurring the plate has something to hide... Either they are trying to sell a problem car or are just paranoid about someone finding them. Of course you need a law enforcement or DMV connection to look up the plate but it can be done. Personally I dont bother blurring my plates any time because I've got nothing to hide.
Personally I would not buy a car from someone who is blurring the plate in their ads.
But then again... Do you trust your brother in law??
I would be curious to hear the rationale behind his strong convictions on the topic.
Personally I would not buy a car from someone who is blurring the plate in their ads.
But then again... Do you trust your brother in law??
I would be curious to hear the rationale behind his strong convictions on the topic.
4th Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,099
From: Vancouver Wa
RE: To Blur or not to blur?
If someone really wanted to commit a crime and they had a car that was similar to yours they could fab up a fake plate to attempt to disquise their car and frame you. Course it seems like a lot of what ifs and alot of work for a criminal. Most arent that smart.
Thread Starter
6th Gear Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,469
From: AR
RE: To Blur or not to blur?
ORIGINAL: BAY68_347
But then again... Do you trust your brother in law??
I would be curious to hear the rationale behind his strong convictions on the topic.
But then again... Do you trust your brother in law??
I would be curious to hear the rationale behind his strong convictions on the topic.
We went round and round for a few minutes about that And,,, you have one of those cars that grabs my attention every time I see your signature,,, damn nice looking car...I might have said so before...but WTF,,,I will say it again...
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 356
From: saffranciscobayarea
RE: To Blur or not to blur?
Hey JMD,
Thanks for the comps, 'preciate it!
And I have said it before and WTF, I'll say it again... Thanks for sending me that Barry Grant Demon carb DVD. You da man!!!
Thanks for the comps, 'preciate it!
And I have said it before and WTF, I'll say it again... Thanks for sending me that Barry Grant Demon carb DVD. You da man!!!
5th Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,106
From:
RE: To Blur or not to blur?
For safety sake, yep. Too much access to DMV records. They can easily find you. The good thing is around here, I don't even know my 911 address is. They keep changing it, and often the new UPS and FedEx drivers go nutstrying to find me. I figure its only a matter of time before I can't even find it. Its hard to deter a thief, and if they want it, they will usually get it. I'm sure their are thousands of photos of our cars floating around the net. I guess some protection is better than none though. BTW, my garage is so messed up it would take a couple of hours even to get a car out.
5th Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,176
From: Insanity
RE: To Blur or not to blur?
ORIGINAL: 67 evil eleanor
For safety sake, yep. Too much access to DMV records. They can easily find you. The good thing is around here, I don't even know my 911 address is. They keep changing it, and often the new UPS and FedEx drivers go nutstrying to find me. I figure its only a matter of time before I can't even find it. Its hard to deter a thief, and if they want it, they will usually get it. I'm sure their are thousands of photos of our cars floating around the net. I guess some protection is better than none though. BTW, my garage is so messed up it would take a couple of hours even to get a car out.
For safety sake, yep. Too much access to DMV records. They can easily find you. The good thing is around here, I don't even know my 911 address is. They keep changing it, and often the new UPS and FedEx drivers go nutstrying to find me. I figure its only a matter of time before I can't even find it. Its hard to deter a thief, and if they want it, they will usually get it. I'm sure their are thousands of photos of our cars floating around the net. I guess some protection is better than none though. BTW, my garage is so messed up it would take a couple of hours even to get a car out.