Ford Researching Tech That Snitches on Speeders to the Police

The same company that once sought to patent self-repossessing cars, then let that application expire, has a new idea to employ tech in a manner most drivers probably won’t love. A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office submission published July 18 titled “Systems and Methods for Detecting Speeding Violations” describes a way for Ford‘s vehicles to measure the speeds of nearby cars using cameras and sensors, and then potentially report those violations to the police.

The application, which arrives to us by way of Motor Authority, contains a flowchart on page six explaining the logic that would govern the system. As illustrated, cars would constantly be gathering speed data of surrounding traffic, using radar or lidar. If a particular vehicle is determined to exceed a “threshold speed limit” (whether this would be a posted legal limit or otherwise isn’t decided), it would then switch the camera on and begin recording. It would also “determine one or more identifying features of the second vehicle,” to generate a record that may help authorities find it. From there, the data would be sent to additional connected monitoring devices and/or the police, and it’s up to the latter to determine whether to pursue the offending speeder or not.

“Systems and Methods for Detecting Speeding Violations” by Ford Global Technologies, LLCDownload

The patent proposes multiple ways the recording system might behave. One pitch involves a 360-degree camera or network of cameras, capturing all the action. Another involves surrendering camera control during these scenarios to the police—I guess they’d look around with a joystick or something. And of course, the text notes the value of this wealth of information would have in courts of law.

You don’t need us to sound alarms over the implicit slipperiness of this slope, mobilizing individuals’ cars to snitch on the rest of the public. We’ve likely all had that experience where somebody blazes past on the highway—or worse yet, “swims” through—and you’re thinking “Where are the cops now?” If such a system is used to deter truly reckless, egregious speeding, it might be a positive. But the age-old problem of technology is that you can never restrict or guarantee how it’ll be deployed after that genie leaves the bottle.

In an age when intelligent speed governors are gaining traction among legislators around the world, you’d figure the powers that be would just skip the complexities of cars sending videos of each other to each other, and just go straight to the part where they automatically fine you each time you speed. In the interim, it’s not like Ford’s technology is destined for the road; companies patent things all the time, and most remain pie-in-the-sky ideas that never touch the ground. That’s a good thing, because there are many questions lawmakers and car manufacturers alike must answer before this one ever should.

Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com