California Digital License Plates Let You Be So Vain

California's new digital license plates now allow drivers to be as vain as they want with changeable messages.

Last week Sacramento became the first city to test out the plates, which form part of a pilot program ultimately giving drivers and fleet managers full control of the custom messages displayed while also eliminating the need for registration stickers and allowing for a vehicle's location to be tracked, Gizmodo noted.

At the heart of the feature is technology similar to Kindle, which allows the driver to display a personalized message on the license plate when the vehicle has stopped.

An advantage to these plates is that motorists can simply register their vehicles electronically and the date on the tags will simply update itself.

Additionally, if the vehicle is stolen, police will be able to track it, or at least the plate, which will also display the message "STOLEN."

This concept has been in the works for years.

Several years ago, South Carolina began exploring the use of electronic plates in a bid to improve highway safety.

However, Sacramento is the first city to test the concept of changeable custom messages, taking a shipment of 24 plates for its in-house vehicle fleet, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Many businesses will likely use the concept to advertise their services or products, much like a mini billboard, but individuals can also use the plates, they just have to have messages approved by the DMV first.

This once again highlights the topic of free speech, which came to light in 2015 when the Supreme Court ruled that Texas' rejection of the image of a Confederate flag on vanity license plates did not violate the First Amendment.

At the time, many felt there was censorship enforced over what can be advertised on buses and subways or displayed on license plates.

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