SIST-TP CEN ISO/TR 6026:2023
(Main)Electronic fee collection - Pre-study on the use of vehicle licence plate information and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technologies (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
Electronic fee collection - Pre-study on the use of vehicle licence plate information and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technologies (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
This document provides an analysis of the use of licence plate number (LPN) information and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technologies in electronic fee collection (EFC), through the description of the legal, technical and functional contexts of LPN-based EFC. It also provides an associated gap analysis of the EFC standards to identify actions to support standardized use of the identified technologies, and a roadmap to address the identified gaps.
The gap analysis in this document is based on use cases, relevant regulations, standards and best practices in the field of EFC, based on the European electronic toll service (EETS)[27] model.
Examples of licence plate number (LPN)-based tolling schemes are given in Annex A.
Elektronische Gebührenerhebung - Vorstudie zur Nutzung von Kennzeicheninformationen und automatischer Kennzeichenerkennung (ANPR) Technologien (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
Perception de télépéage - Pré-étude sur l'utilisation des informations de la plaque d'immatriculation du véhicule et la technologie de la lecture automatique des plaques minéralogiques (LAPI) (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
Le présent document donne une analyse de l’utilisation des technologies d’extraction des informations portées par le numéro d'immatriculation (LPN) et de lecture automatique des plaques d’immatriculation (LAPI) dans le contexte de la perception électronique du télépéage (EFC), par la description du contexte légal, technique et fonctionnel de la perception électronique du télépéage basée sur le LPN. Il donne également une analyse des lacunes des normes de perception électronique du télépéage afin d'identifier les actions à entreprendre pour soutenir l'utilisation normalisée des technologies identifiées, ainsi qu'une feuille de route pour combler les lacunes identifiées.
L'analyse des lacunes figurant dans le présent document se fonde sur les cas d'utilisation, les réglementations en vigueur, les normes et les meilleures pratiques dans le domaine de la perception électronique du télépéage, sur la base du modèle du Service européen de télépéage (SET)[27].
Des exemples de systèmes de péage basés sur les numéros d'immatriculation (LPN) sont donnés dans l’Annexe A.
Elektronsko pobiranje pristojbin - Predštudija o uporabi informacij o registrskih tablicah vozil in tehnologij za samodejno prepoznavanje registrskih tablic (ANPR) (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
Analiza vrzeli v zvezi z uporabo informacij o registrskih tablicah vozil in tehnologijo ANPR v sistemih EFC, zlasti na podlagi DSRC in GNSS, ki začasno zajema:
• trenutno stanje (potrebe uporabnikov, obstoječi predpisi in standardi);
• priporočila za uporabo obstoječih standardov;
• priporočila za odpravo ugotovljenih vrzeli, zlasti v smislu predlaganih (razširitev ali novih) standardov;
• informativne dodatke o primerih uporabe, npr.:
o degradirani način – uporaba belih seznamov;
o (re)konstrukcija potovanja;
o občasni uporabniki: predprijava za potovanje, za obdobje;
o občasni uporabniki: ukrepi po potovanju za zagotovitev prostovoljne skladnosti;
o neskladnost – oprema nameščena v napačno vozilo;
o neskladnost – odkrivanje lažnega uporabnika.
Določanje interoperabilne storitve cestninjenja izključno na podlagi registrske tablice vozila ne spada na področje uporabe tega dokumenta.
General Information
Standards Content (Sample)
SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-januar-2023
Elektronsko pobiranje pristojbin - Predštudija o uporabi informacij o registrskih
tablicah vozil in tehnologij za samodejno prepoznavanje registrskih tablic (ANPR)
(ISO/TR 6026:2022)
Electronic fee collection - Pre-study on the use of vehicle licence plate information and
automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technologies (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
Elektronische Gebührenerhebung - Vorstudie zur Nutzung von
Kennzeicheninformationen und automatischer Kennzeichenerkennung (ANPR)
Technologien (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
Perception de télépéage - Pré-étude sur l'utilisation des informations de la plaque
d'immatriculation du véhicule et la technologie de la lecture automatique des plaques
minéralogiques (LAPI) (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN ISO/TR 6026:2022
ICS:
03.220.20 Cestni transport Road transport
35.240.60 Uporabniške rešitve IT v IT applications in transport
prometu
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
CEN ISO/TR 6026
TECHNICAL REPORT
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
September 2022
TECHNISCHER REPORT
ICS 03.220.20; 35.240.60
English Version
Electronic fee collection - Pre-study on the use of vehicle
licence plate information and automatic number plate
recognition (ANPR) technologies (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
Perception de télépéage - Pré-étude sur l'utilisation des Elektronische Gebührenerhebung - Vorstudie zur
informations de la plaque d'immatriculation du Nutzung von Kennzeicheninformationen und
véhicule et la technologie de la lecture automatique des automatischer Kennzeichenerkennung (ANPR)
plaques minéralogiques (LAPI) (ISO/TR 6026:2022) Technologien (ISO/TR 6026:2022)
This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 12 August 2022. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 278.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2022 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN ISO/TR 6026:2022 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
European foreword
This document (CEN ISO/TR 6026:2022) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 204
"Intelligent transport systems" in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN/TC 278 “Intelligent
transport systems” the secretariat of which is held by NEN.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document has been prepared under a Standardization Request given to CEN by the European
Commission and the European Free Trade Association.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards
body/national committee. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO/TR 6026:2022 has been approved by CEN as CEN ISO/TR 6026:2022 without any
modification.
TECHNICAL ISO/TR
REPORT 6026
First edition
2022-08
Electronic fee collection — Pre-study
on the use of vehicle licence plate
information and automatic number
plate recognition (ANPR) technologies
Perception de télépéage — Pré-étude sur l'utilisation des
informations de la plaque d'immatriculation du véhicule et la
technologie de la lecture automatique des plaques minéralogiques
(LAPI)
Reference number
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
© ISO 2022
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction . vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviated terms . 3
5 Legal context of LPN information. 5
5.1 Regulated licence plate . 5
5.2 Physical characteristics of the licence plate . 5
5.2.1 General . 5
5.2.2 Licence plate characteristics in Europe . 6
5.3 Licence plate properties . 6
5.4 Illegal licence plates . 9
6 LPN information for EFC .9
6.1 General principles . 9
6.2 Limitations of the LPN . 10
6.3 LPN recognition process (ANPR) . 10
6.4 Limitations of LPN recognition process (ANPR) . 13
6.5 LPN validation . 15
7 Scenario — ANPR-based EFC .16
7.1 Description of the scenario. 16
7.2 Use cases . 16
7.3 Business processes . 16
7.4 Technical interfaces (TI) . 24
8 Use cases .25
8.1 Define toll context . 25
8.2 Register user . 27
8.3 Recognize user with LPN .28
8.4 Charge user .28
8.5 Enforce payment . 29
8.6 Handle exceptions (errors) .29
9 Technologies for LPN recognition.30
9.1 Technologies associated with ANPR . 30
9.2 Components of ANPR system .30
9.3 Image acquisition . 31
9.4 Central management . 31
9.5 Image authentication . 31
9.6 Communication . 31
9.7 Human-machine interface . 31
9.8 Challenges in the identification process . 32
9.8.1 Accuracy . 32
9.8.2 Margin of error . 32
10 Gap analysis .33
10.1 General . 33
10.2 Technical interfaces . 33
10.2.1 TI-1 Toll context definition . 33
10.2.2 TI-2 User registration .34
10.2.3 TI-3 User list exchange .34
10.2.4 TI-4 User recognition .35
10.2.5 TI-5 Billing . 36
iii
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
10.2.6 TI-6 User data retrieval . 36
10.2.7 TI-7 Enforcement . . 37
10.3 Identified gaps .38
10.3.1 Specification for BO interface .38
10.3.2 Test for BO interface .38
10.3.3 Definition of performance metrics . .38
10.3.4 Content of the LPN-based information .38
10.3.5 Security . . .39
10.3.6 Performance for the acquisition of LPN image .39
10.3.7 Specifications and tests for the interface with registers of vehicles .39
10.3.8 EFC System Architecture, Vocabulary, Data Dictionary – the ISO 17573
series . 39
10.3.9 Business-related gaps .39
11 Proposed standardization roadmap .40
Annex A (informative) Examples of operational ANPR schemes .41
Bibliography .45
iv
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/
iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 204, Intelligent transport systems, in
collaboration with the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee CEN/
TC 278, Intelligent transport systems, in accordance with the Agreement on technical cooperation
between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
v
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
Introduction
This document endeavours to foster a common understanding in the context of electronic fee collection
(EFC) systems of the use of vehicle licence plate information, and of automatic number plate recognition
(ANPR) technologies.
This document notably seeks to advance the common understanding and definitions in the following
areas:
— information associated with the licence plate number (LPN);
— information exchanges over open interfaces;
— outline of specification of exchanges between actors, notably the toll service provider (TSP), the toll
charger (TC), vehicle registration authorities, etc;
— technologies regarding the ANPR.
The outcome is intended to contribute to more effective and efficient EFC schemes using vehicle LPN,
obtained by means of ANPR technology and any associated information (including make and model)
as a primary means to identify the user via the LPN, or a complementary means to augment the
reliability and the robustness of their dedicated short-range communication (DSRC)-based or global
navigation satellite system/cellular network) (GNSS/CN)-based systems (including degraded mode,
trip reconstitution, etc).
vi
TECHNICAL REPORT ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
Electronic fee collection — Pre-study on the use of vehicle
licence plate information and automatic number plate
recognition (ANPR) technologies
1 Scope
This document provides an analysis of the use of licence plate number (LPN) information and
automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technologies in electronic fee collection (EFC), through
the description of the legal, technical and functional contexts of LPN-based EFC. It also provides an
associated gap analysis of the EFC standards to identify actions to support standardized use of the
identified technologies, and a roadmap to address the identified gaps.
The gap analysis in this document is based on use cases, relevant regulations, standards and best
[27]
practices in the field of EFC, based on the European electronic toll service (EETS) model.
Examples of licence plate number (LPN)-based tolling schemes are given in Annex A.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
3 dimensional
3D
computer graphics that define an object by its width, length and depth
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 23541-1:2021, 3.1.1, modified — Note 1 to entry removed.]
3.2
automatic number plate recognition
technology to automatically read vehicle registration plates
Note 1 to entry: A vehicle registration plate typically contains the indicator or the code of the country that issued
the vehicle registration plate.
Note 2 to entry: Optical character recognition techniques are typically part of the technology associated with
automatic number plate recognition.
Note 3 to entry: Automatic licence plate recognition (ALPR) is a synonym to ANPR.
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 17573-2:2020, 3.18, modified — Note 3 to entry has been added.]
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
3.3
artificial intelligence
set of methods or automated entities that together build, optimize and apply a
model so that the system can, for a given set of predefined tasks, compute predictions, recommendations,
or decisions
Note 1 to entry: AI systems are designed to operate with varying levels of automation.
Note 2 to entry: "Predictions" can refer to various kinds of data analysis or production (including translating
text, creating synthetic images, or diagnosing a previous power failure). The term does not imply anteriority.
3.4
country code
identification of the issuing country of a licence plate, formatted in accordance with the United Nations
Distinguishing Signs of vehicles in International traffic regulation
Note 1 to entry: In accordance with the United Nations Distinguishing Signs of vehicles in International traffic
[33]
regulation, the CC contains 1, 2 or 3 alphabetical characters.
Note 2 to entry: A "human-readable country code" is defined as a licence plate number where human inspection
can determine the issuing country from syntax, font and other characteristics of licence plates.
3.5
error rate
ratio between the absolute error and the reference value of all transactions
3.6
false negative
incorrect reporting of a failure when in reality it is a pass
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC TR 29119-11:2020, 3.1.34, modified — Note 1 to entry and Example removed.]
3.7
false positive
incorrect reporting of a pass when in reality it is a failure
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC TR 29119-11:2020, 3.1.34, modified — Note 1 to entry and Example removed.]
3.8
false negative error rate
ratio between the false negatives and the reference value of all transactions
3.9
false positive error rate
ratio between the false positives and the reference value of all transactions
3.10
false recognizable error rate
ratio between the false recognizable transactions and the reference value of all processed transactions
3.11
infrared
optical radiation for which the wavelengths are longer than those for visible radiation
Note 1 to entry: For infrared radiation, the range between 780 nm and 1 mm is commonly subdivided
3.12
intelligent transport system
transport system in which advanced information, communication, sensor and control technologies,
including the Internet, are applied to increase safety, sustainability, efficiency and comfort
[SOURCE: ISO/TR 17465-2:2015, 2.2]
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
3.13
licence plate image
digital image on which a vehicle licence plate is visible
Note 1 to entry: A "human-readable licence plate image" is defined as a licence plate image with a human-readable
licence plate number and country code.
3.14
licence plate number
number of the registration plate of a vehicle
3.15
manual number plate recognition
process of determining the licence plate number and country code by human inspection of a digital
image
3.16
on-board unit
electronic unit on-board a vehicle for performing specific electronic fee collection (EFC) functions and
for communication with external systems
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 17573-2:2020, 3.127]
3.17
optical character recognition
technique where characters are recognized and converted into binary code
[SOURCE: ISO 12651-1:2012, 4.100, modified — Note 1 to entry removed.]
3.18
payment means
means accepted by the service provider, that gives the user the right to use provided services
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 17573-2:2020, 3.134, modified — Example removed.]
toll domain statement
statement setting out the general conditions for European electronic toll service (EETS) providers for
accessing a toll charger’s toll domain.
[27]
Note 1 to entry: The definition is based on the EU directive 2019/520 on the recast of the European electronic
toll service (cf. Article 6(2)).
3.20
user account
centrally or on-board stored transport-related service rights of the user in relation to a service provider
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 17573-2:2020, 3.228]
3.21
vehicle registration authority
authority responsible for the registration and maintenance of vehicle registers, including details of
legal owners
4 Abbreviated terms
For the purposes of this document, the following abbreviated terms apply.
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
AI artificial intelligence
ALPR automatic licence plate recognition
ANPR automatic number plate recognition
BD billing details
BO back-office
CC country code
CS central system
OBE on-board equipment
OBU on-board unit
OCR optical character recognition
EEA European Economic Area
EETS European electronic tolling service
EFC electronic fee collection
EU European Union
EUCARIS European car and driving licence information system
HGV heavy goods vehicle
IR infrared
ITS intelligent transport system
LP licence plate
LPN licence plate number
MNPR manual number plate recognition
PAN primary account number
RFID radio frequency identification
SA service area
SCC specific commercial conditions
SU service user
TC toll charger
TI technical interface
RSE roadside equipment
TDS toll domain statement
TSP toll service provider
VIN vehicle identification number
VRA vehicle registration authority
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
5 Legal context of LPN information
5.1 Regulated licence plate
The format of the number plate is usually defined in a jurisdiction by specific legislative acts, allowing
LPN information to be used in many applications. The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of
such applications:
a) indication of registered vehicle;
b) indication of conformity to vehicle safety regulations at the time of registration;
c) certificate of usual vehicle parking location;
d) verification of vehicle insurance contract, or vehicle-related tax;
e) identification of vehicle usage types such as personal, commercial, rental, emergency, military;
f) toll collection;
g) enforcement, e,g. in case of traffic violation, car theft, crime.
These acts also specify the design and placement of the plate when mounted on the vehicle and the
obligations of the vehicle owner. Each jurisdiction has its own specifications for the plate design as
dictated by national priorities and use. As such, plate designs and placement typically differ between
jurisdictions. ANPR systems need to be capable of dealing with all potential characteristics of the
detected plates, such as:
— fixed position, angle, rotation, visible on vehicle;
— colour and painting and reflecting material of character and base plate;
— character alphabet;
— size and dimensional characteristics of characters (e.g. font width).
In principle, the TC can obtain the above information applicable to a given vehicle if the registration
jurisdiction is known to it.
5.2 Physical characteristics of the licence plate
5.2.1 General
The LPN is a human- and machine-readable set of characters, represented in an image, which serves
as a reference to the information of a licensed vehicle. As an example, in Europe the format for number
[23]
plates follows the requirements listed in the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Under the Vienna
Convention, road vehicles carry their registration number on the front and back, even if legislation in
the registration jurisdiction does not require a front vehicle registration plate on road vehicles.
The registration numbers:
— consist either of numerals or of numerals and letters;
— use capital Latin characters and Arabic numerals (can optionally be displayed in a different
alphabet);
— carry (on the rear plate) a distinguishing sign of the registration jurisdiction.
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
The requirement to display said distinguishing sign is mutually waived between some countries, for
example (the list is not exhaustive):
— within the European Economic Area (EEA), for road vehicles with licence plates in the common
European Union (EU) format (which satisfies the requirements of the Vienna Convention on road
traffic, and which is also valid in those non-EU countries that signed the convention) issued in EU
member states;
— between Canada, the United States and Mexico, where the province, state, or district of registration
is usually embossed or surface-printed on the vehicle registration plate.
5.2.2 Licence plate characteristics in Europe
The common EU format for the licence plates for vehicles is defined as a blue section on the extreme left
with the EU circle of stars and the country code. This was introduced by European Council Regulation
[24]
(EC) No 2411/98. According to Article 3 of this regulation, the distinguishing sign showing the State
of registration placed at the extreme left of the registration plate is to be recognized in all Member
States that require such information to be shown in vehicles registered in another Member State.
[23]
According to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, vehicles in cross-border traffic are obliged to
display a distinguishing sign of the country of registration on the rear of the vehicle (note that it is
not common for ANPR-based systems to detect the country sign of the country of registration). This
sign can either be placed separately from the registration plate or, pursuant to the amendments to the
convention in 2006, can be incorporated into the vehicle registration plate. One of the main benefits
of the convention for motorists is the obligation on signatory countries to recognize the legality of
vehicles from other signatory countries. The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic lays out the following
provisions concerning driving outside the country of registration:
— The physical requirements for the separate sign, defined in its Annex 3, state that the letters are
to be written in black on a white background having the shape of an ellipse with the major axis
horizontal. The distinguishing signs are not to be affixed in such a way that it could be confused
with the registration number or impair its legibility.
— When the distinguishing sign is incorporated into the registration plate, it also appears on the front
registration plate of the vehicle and can be supplemented with the flag or emblem of the national
state, or the emblem of the regional economic integration organization to which the country belongs.
[27]
After approval of the EU directive 2019/520 on the recast of the European electronic toll service
[29]
(EETS), the Commission implementing regulation (EU) 2020/204 was adopted. This regulation
introduces ANPR among the EETS interfaces.
5.3 Licence plate properties
ISO 7591 specifies the performance of a retro-reflective registration plate. It specifies the minimum
performance for a durability measurement of:
— photometric properties;
— uniformity of retro-reflection;
— colorimetric properties for day and night use;
— temperature resistance;
— adhesion to substrate;
— impact resistance;
— bending resistance;
— water resistance;
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
— cleanability specifically when soiled by oil and graphite;
— resistance to fuel;
— resistance to saline mist.
The aim of ISO 7591 is to ensure plate readability by humans and machines for the lifespan of the plate.
However, the duration of the readability is not specified. Common warrantees for retro-reflective
sheeting, inks and foils are between 5 and 10 years. This value is important, since the average age of
vehicles exceeds 10 years, which means that plates can degrade over time and become difficult to read.
NOTE 1 Some countries have adapted ISO 7591 into a national standard, e.g. DIN 74069.
Besides plate age, the following aspects, often induced by the vehicle owner/driver, also influence plate
readability:
— delamination of the sheeting due to surface pits, cracks, and cuts, often the result of normal use due
to stones and bumps;
— dirt, mud, and snow on the plates. Studies indicate that natural dirt formed on the top edges of
embossed plates have an additional negative impact on read accuracy;
— paints, particularly infrared blocking plates, which obscure infrared reading of plates;
— plate-fastening screws and rivets which are placed strategically to trick the optical character
recognition (OCR) system;
— plate covers, which act as filters, either by design or by aging;
— plate frames which encroach on the plate characters causing OCR systems to fail;
— other retro-reflective decals, marks and characters, which have been shown to reduce the ANPR
ability to identify the plate on the vehicle;
— towbars, bike racks, cables, straps, etc., which obscure the line-of-sight;
— plates tilted to make it difficult for overhead cameras to read the plate. This typically happens on
motorcycles.
Lastly, weather and lighting conditions play an important role in the read performance of a plate. For
this reason, EFC operators often provide additional lights and weather protection to improve the ANPR.
With the widespread usage of traffic cameras, enforcement cameras, surveillance cameras and ANPR
cameras, commercially available plate-detection-avoidance products are becoming increasingly
available, such as plate-flippers, covering foils and sprays. Few countries have explicit regulations in
place to deal with unreadable plates, plate tampering and aging.
Figure 1 shows the general process that results in the LPN from the image.
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
Figure 1 — From image to LPN
NOTE 2 The automatic recognition can occur at the roadside processing unit or/and in the back-office (BO).
Usually, the roadside ANPR system employs fewer computational resources, for the sake of speed of elaboration,
and typically provides lower accuracy and success rate than BO ANPR. An efficient ANPR process can involve
both, in order to exploit the speed and real-time features of the roadside processing, and use BO processing as
backup, whenever the previous fails.
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
5.4 Illegal licence plates
The use of illegal plates is a globally increasing problem, particularly due to the increased use of ANPR
and traffic surveillance cameras. As previously highlighted, cameras have difficulties authenticating
a licence plate. However, especially when alternative routes to toll roads are available, rather than
avoiding paying a toll, the intention of users of illegal plates is typically to try to avoid fines and
penalties. Therefore, illegal plates are perceived to be of low importance for fee collection operators.
Emerging tolling strategies and fee collection areas, like congestion zones and road-use charging, will
increase the impact of illegal plates, especially for conformity checking of users through interrogation
of on-board equipment (OBE) in autonomous tolling schemes. The ability to verify the authenticity of
licence plates will increase in importance.
There are three types of illegal licence plate (LP):
— counterfeits plates: there exist many methods to manufacture plates outside of the regulated and
controlled channels. As an example, the Internet offers many opportunities to obtain a counterfeit
plate, often through a legitimate channel like offerings of custom/novelty plates. However, custom/
novelty plate vendors operate in the open; as such, they are policed in many countries. Home-
made plates are increasingly diffused, since the plate raw materials are easily available. Even
the embossing of plates is not a hurdle due to the ease and cost efficiency of modern 3D printing.
Embossing dies can easily be 3D-printed from a plate image. Counterfeit plates may be used for a
long time. Such plates are only detected when the owner of the cloned plate reports it due to an
unsought fee collection or transgression fine. Cases of innocent people implicated in crime due to
counterfeit plates have been reported in the press;
— stolen plates: these are typically used in an opportunistic manner since stolen plates are reported
when the vehicle owner detects the missing plates. The usefulness of a stolen plate is therefore
limited in time;
— expired/terminated plates; these plates are typically plates salvaged from vehicles which are
written-off due to a crash.
To reduce the chance of detection, perpetrators typically use an LPN of a legitimate vehicle of similar
make, model and appearance. A strategy of using illegal plates in different jurisdictions than the
original one also reduces the chance of detection. Typically, perpetrators will have several sets of plates
which they will swap periodically.
Plate migration is the general term for when a legitimate LP is used on another vehicle. Plate migrations
are executed by:
— a third party: effective measures are necessary for deterring, detecting and reporting such plate
theft. Generally, the theft is detected at some point and is reported, allowing such plates (the plate
number) to be listed, often to the inconvenience of the legitimate vehicle owner;
— by the vehicle owner/driver: typically, the LP of a low fee vehicle is used on a higher fee vehicle.
For example, it has been reported that the plates of a pickup are being used on a truck. The ability
to fit the plate to the correct class of vehicle will deter plate migration, though the class-of-vehicle
information is available at the detection point.
6 LPN information for EFC
6.1 General principles
The licence plate number (LPN) is used as a primary vehicle identifier (in a recognition process that
makes direct use of the LPN as recognition means) and a secondary vehicle identifier (in a process where
another method, namely DSRC, is used as primary means of recognition) allowing the identification of
the relevant user account or the owner of the vehicle. The LPN serves as a reference to the regulatory
controlled licence information of a vehicle. This ensures the correct fee to be charged and, in case of
non-payment, a fee recovery process to be acted.
ISO/TR 6026:2022(E)
The regulatory licence information of the vehicle [e.g. vehicle identification number (VIN), make
and model] which includes observable characteristics of the vehicle (e.g. shape, make, model, colour,
size and number of axles), the usage of the vehicle (e.g. freight, emergency and public transport) and
non-observable characteristics of the vehicle (e.g. type of power source, EuroClass, weight limits and
ownership type – private vs business) can influence the fee and assist in detecting vehicle identity
counterfeit LPs.
The user recognition and payment fulfilment can be pursued via several paths:
— directly: the user and the associated vehicle are contracted with the TC. Payment modality and
fulfilment of amount due is directly with the user;
— via a third party: the user’s vehicle is contracted with a payment fulfilment third party, typically a
TSP, who cooperates with the TC and can be local or foreign to the TC’s State;
— not contracted, but licensed: the user and associated vehicle is contracted with neither a TC nor a
TSP. User information is obtained from the assumed VRA, which can be local or foreign. The relevant
VRA is obtained by recognizing the country code;
— not contracted, with licensing information not available: the user information is not available through
an assumed licensing department, the information is perhaps in doubt, or the use is challenged by
an identified user. These cases are treated as enforcement processes depending on the relevant
legal context, which can include specific interventions on the vehicle/user by the entities in charge.
6.2 Limitations of the LPN
The most relevant information on the identity of the licensing department of a vehicle’s plate can be
obtained from the state identifier on the L
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