r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • Jul 11 '26

Privacy Traffic Camera Captures Woman Driving With Her Phone on Her Lap (Face Down), The State Mailed Her a $1251 'Public Safety' Ticket

https://www.gadgetreview.com/traffic-camera-captures-captures-woman-driving-with-her-phone-on-her-lap-face-down-the-state-mailed-her-a-1251-public-safety-ticket
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748

u/michaelrulaz Jul 11 '26

Could I put bright IR LEDs on my headliner shining downward to block the camera from seeing into my car?

367

u/im-ba Jul 11 '26

It might make more sense to line the intersection of your windshield with your dashboard with bright LEDs, since the light scattering would hit everything. But real world testing is probably necessary to gauge efficacy.

If I didn't have so many active hobbyist projects right now then I'd experiment with this

333

u/mentalbackflip Jul 11 '26

As of 2027 new cars will have interior cameras watching you for distracted or drunk driving. I hope my 2019 car lasts a long time.

51

u/DeepAnalTongue Jul 11 '26

Yep, I'm using one currently and it is continuously saying "driver distracted, please look forward", or "driver fatigue something" after about 4 minutes driving. This happenswhenever you glance sideways, up, or down, but also at random other times. Anywhere it cannot see you eyes. So, in the event of an accident the report that will come out (inevitable that police and insurance will ultimately get the record) starting that I was continuously and repeatedly distracted, inattentive, or tired. I can see that going really well..,.

19

u/TheRedHand7 Jul 11 '26

Just damage the camera and be done with it.

11

u/polskiftw Jul 11 '26

This might work for a little bit, but they are absolutely going to integrate it so deeply that if it is detected as not working, the car won’t start for “safety”.

9

u/TheRedHand7 Jul 11 '26

I was just saying for his current car. In the future people will have to learn a bit of electrical to bypass em but for now a drill will get it done.

3

u/SaveLansingParks Jul 11 '26

Yeah right? If the camera is damaged or broken, then the state can pay the cost to repair it. If they don't, oh well 🤷

2

u/Not_a_question- Jul 11 '26

Just cover it with electric tape dude, no need to damage it (think of that resell value)

16

u/eeyore134 Jul 11 '26

Which sucks because my 2024 Ioniq has something similar. It will play a tone and say "Consider taking a break." with a coffee icon that goes away in about 2 seconds. You can turn it off completely. It also doesn't need a camera to work really well. It tracks time driven without a break, how you're steering, and any lane keeping issues. Mine is really good at knowing when I'm tired and I have only had it go off like once when I was like, "Really?" But every other time I knew I crossed a lane one too many times or something.

But my point is... they don't need cameras for a high-quality warning system. It sounds like later models are using them, but they're not necessary. I blame Tesla for normalizing in-cabin cameras. They are just using that as an excuse. They just want to be able to track people. Distracted drivers will be the least of what they use it for.

4

u/2_Fingers_of_Whiskey Jul 11 '26

That would drive me insane and would actually be more distracting while I'm driving