Fixed cameras: roughly 100 feet and up
Flock's fixed license plate readers are mounted on poles at intersections, highway on-ramps, and neighborhood entrances. Reporting and product descriptions generally put their effective plate-reading range at around 100 feet or more. Real-world accuracy depends on:
- Weather and lighting — rain, glare, and darkness all affect reads.
- Vehicle speed — faster traffic is harder to capture cleanly.
- Angle and position — cameras are aimed at specific lanes.
- Plate condition — dirty, damaged, or obscured plates read poorly.
These are design targets, not guaranteed numbers — an agency's actual configuration determines what happens on the road. For a technical breakdown see Yahoo Tech's explainer.
Drones: a different story
Flock's "Alpha" drone product is marketed as reading license plates from 2,000 feet (reported by NewsBreak). That's a separate product from the fixed cameras most people encounter — but it shows how quickly the surveillance range of this technology is expanding.