Strangers Can Send Video of You Speeding Directly to Police With Dashcam App

[Teh One Who Knocks]

BY PETER HOLDERITH - The Drive


https://i.imgur.com/lS1WO6vl.jpg

Speed cameras have been around for a long time and so have dash cams. The uniquely devious idea of combining the two into a traffic hall monitor's dream device was not a potential reality until recently, though. According to the British Royal Automobile Club, such a combination is coming soon. The app, which is reportedly available in the U.K. as soon as May, will allow drivers to report each other directly to the police with video evidence for things like running red lights, failure to use a blinker, distracted driving, and yes, speeding.

Its founder Oleksiy Afonin recently held meetings with police to discuss how it would work. In a nutshell, video evidence of a crime could be uploaded as soon as the driver who captured it stopped their vehicle to do so safely. According to the RAC, the footage could then be "submitted to the police through an official video portal in less than a minute." Police reportedly were open to the idea of using the videos as evidence in court.

The RAC questioned whether such an app could be distracting. It certainly opens up a whole new world of crime reporting. In some cities, individuals can report poorly or illegally parked cars to traffic police. Drivers getting into the habit of reporting each other for speeding might be a slippery slope, though. The government would be happy to collect the ticket revenue but the number of citations for alleged speeding could be off the charts with such a system. Anybody can download the app and report someone else, but the evidence would need to be reviewed.

The app, called dashcamUK, will only be available in the United Kingdom, as its name indicates. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like there are any plans to bring it Stateside. Considering the British public is far more open to the use of CCTV cameras in terms of recording crimes than Americans are, it will likely stay that way for that reason, among others.

[Pony]

How would video be proof of speeding unless you were speeding too?

[PorkChopSandwiches]

cunts

[Teh One Who Knocks]

How would video be proof of speeding unless you were speeding too?

From a different article on it, from the Daily Mail:


A new free app which converts smartphones into dashcams could soon be advanced enough to clock other motorists for speeding.

The free dashcamUK app allow motorists to submit evidence of 21 different driving offences to the police.

It can capture transgressions including jumping a red light, failing to indicate and using a mobile phone while driving.

The app, which launches in May, may yet be developed with the ability to track speeding, The Times reports.

Only around a quarter of the country's 33million drivers has a dashcam, while almost everyone has a mobile phone - meaning the app has the potential to radically increase reports of road crime.

[DemonGeminiX]

I hate to break the news to you guys, but other drivers were calling the cops on you if you were speeding or driving recklessly to begin with. This is just new tech to do the same exact thing.

[deebakes]

:(

[lost in melb.]

Hunt them down and kill them :rock:

[DemonGeminiX]

... or you could just obey traffic laws. I mean, it's not really that novel of an idea. Lots of people do it every day. :dunno:

[Pony]

My point was assuming they are automatically mailing a ticket based on a picture or video of an infraction. Even IF the webcams have some sort of speed detector, it's still not the same as a calibrated radar gun and an officer present to witness the infraction.

The difference between someone making a phone call and this is if you call, they send an officer out who still has to witness the crime firsthand. This sure sounds like it's giving the people the power to basically ticket someone.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

My point was assuming they are automatically mailing a ticket based on a picture or video of an infraction. Even IF the webcams have some sort of speed detector, it's still not the same as a calibrated radar gun and an officer present to witness the infraction.

The difference between someone making a phone call and this is if you call, they send an officer out who still has to witness the crime firsthand. This sure sounds like it's giving the people the power to basically ticket someone.

:agreed:

[DemonGeminiX]

My point was assuming they are automatically mailing a ticket based on a picture or video of an infraction. Even IF the webcams have some sort of speed detector, it's still not the same as a calibrated radar gun and an officer present to witness the infraction.

The difference between someone making a phone call and this is if you call, they send an officer out who still has to witness the crime firsthand. This sure sounds like it's giving the people the power to basically ticket someone.


You have a very good point, however, it's based on the presumption that the calibrated radar gun is the top of tech today. The calibrated radar gun is old tech. Who's to say these devices won't be better?

An officer doesn't have to witness first-hand a king-dick driving recklessly, weaving in and out of lanes, leaving a trail of traffic accidents in his wake if somebody has a smartphone video of it. They will use that video to id the perpetrator and convict him in court. Hell they can just deduce it from witness testimony without video. They've been doing that shit for decades.

[Pony]

You have a very good point, however, it's based on the presumption that the calibrated radar gun is the top of tech today. The calibrated radar gun is old tech. Who's to say these devices won't be better?

An officer doesn't have to witness first-hand a king-dick driving recklessly, weaving in and out of lanes, leaving a trail of traffic accidents in his wake if somebody has a smartphone video of it. They will use that video to id the perpetrator and convict him in court. Hell they can just deduce it from witness testimony without video. They've been doing that shit for decades.

Regardless of tech, I still don't think that in a moving car, with many other moving cars and objects at different distances you can accurately determine speed. Even if the app uses GPS to determine if the phone is moving, there are a lot of variables. It's way different than video of blowing a stop sign or weaving in and out of traffic.

Hell, many states were even forced to remove their speed cameras because it was determined unlawful to use them without an officer present.

[DemonGeminiX]

Regardless of tech, I still don't think that in a moving car, with many other moving cars and objects at different distances you can accurately determine speed. Even if the app uses GPS to determine if the phone is moving, there are a lot of variables. It's way different than video of blowing a stop sign or weaving in and out of traffic.

Hell, many states were even forced to remove their speed cameras because it was determined unlawful to use them without an officer present.

Hey, maybe you're right, man. I don't know. I'd have to see the tech and the engineering and programming that went into it to know for certain. They're doing a lot of crazy shit with what we have available today.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Regardless of tech, I still don't think that in a moving car, with many other moving cars and objects at different distances you can accurately determine speed. Even if the app uses GPS to determine if the phone is moving, there are a lot of variables. It's way different than video of blowing a stop sign or weaving in and out of traffic.

Hell, many states were even forced to remove their speed cameras because it was determined unlawful to use them without an officer present.

You can even call into question the calibration of radar guns if you go fight your ticket in traffic court. The LEA in question has to supply the calibration records to show that the radar gun is calibrated and working properly. An average smart phone should be required to show the same thing, which obviously cannot be done, so I have no idea how the speeding part of this app would stand up in court.