Ford trying to patent system that reports speeding vehicles to police

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Well... who would have guessed that a company that championed ridiculously fast cars and sells 500+HP monstrosities would pull this dystopian bullshit?

DETROIT (WKRC) - The Ford Motor Company is attempting to patent a camera system that reports speeding vehicles to authorities.

According to WXIN, a patent application was filed by Ford titled "Systems and Methods for Detecting Speeding Violations." The application was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on July 18, per the station.


Ford initially filed for the patent on January 12, 2023.

The station reported that Ford discusses using vehicles to monitor each other's speed in the application.

- How Ford's system reportedly works, per WXIN:

When an equipped automobile detects a nearby vehicle is traveling over the posted speed limit, it will use onboard cameras to capture an image of the speeder.
The equipped vehicle will then be able to send a report containing both speed data and pictures of the speeding vehicle directly to law enforcement or roadside monitoring units.
Car Scoops reported that authorities will also receive GSP location data.
Ford said in its application that the surveillance vehicles would make law enforcement's job easier because they wouldn't need to quickly identify violations and engage in pursuits, per WXIN.
Ford added that some of the work could be delegated to self-driving vehicles, which could also be equipped to detect speeders.
According to the station, because real officers wouldn't be present to witness the alleged speeding violation, it remains unclear what legal argument the automaker would have if it tried to implement the technology.

Speed cameras currently serve as stationary enforcement of speed limits, although they can only issue tickets based on a vehicle's license plate number because they are unable to confirm the driver's identity.

WXIN noted that Ford often files patent applications for emerging auto technology, but not all of those technologies make their way to production.

https://local12.com/news/nation-worl...mits-law-force