1. A method for localizing numbers and characters in captured images, said method comprising: preprocessing a side image of a vehicle captured by at least one camera to determine at least one region of interest; calculating a confidence of a plurality of windows within regions of interest of different sizes and aspect ratios containing a structure of interest; identifying highest confidence candidate regions with respect to said regions of interest and at least one region adjacent to said highest confidence candidate regions; performing an optical character recognition in said at least one adjacent region; and returning an identifier from said at least one adjacent region in order to localize numbers and characters in said side image of said vehicle.