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Using Cell Phones to Track Traffic

msh210 writes "The AP has reported (with additional information from KMOX-AM) that the Missouri Dept. of Transportation will be teaming up with a private company to track in-use cell phones on Missouri highways and state roads in an effort to monitor traffic flow. Individual information will not be stored, they say -- only the aggregate will be studied, using "sophisticated" math. (See also findlaw.com's commentary on privacy concerns. "

10 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. Better idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Using cell phones to track dupes.

    1. Re:Better idea by stupidfoo · · Score: 2, Funny

      But, we haven't had a US vs UN Internet root control discussion for days now!

  2. I'll save them some money by stlhawkeye · · Score: 4, Funny

    Traffic is bad on 40 East in the morning and 40 West in the afternoon. 270 is often packed too. Source: me. I drive it every day.

    --
    "I have never won a debate with an ignorant person." -Ali ibn Abi Talib
  3. Nothing to see here, please move along by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is just the government's way of beowulf clustering our cellphones.

  4. Not clean! Must wash again! by TheTranceFan · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ack!! The unclosed parenthesis at the end of the OP is compelling me to wash my hands over and over. And it's not helping.

  5. Re:Does powering off work? by voice_of_all_reason · · Score: 2, Funny

    You gotta shut it down, lock it up, and dig a moat around it

  6. What you say? by eno2001 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm sorry but there is only one solution to all statistical problems that require tracking data. The Count from Sesame Street:

    "One!! One car travelling down i90!!! Ahahahahah!!! Two!! Two cars travelling down i90!!! Ahahahahaha!!!..." ;P

    --
    -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
  7. Re:As a St. Louis commuter... by hebie · · Score: 3, Funny

    I am calling in from my cell...please keep this brief, but what is a lane change indicator

  8. In the words of C.W. McCall... by Overzeetop · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...We Got Us A CONVOY..."

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  9. re "sophisticated" by mkcmkc · · Score: 2, Funny

    Speaking as a resident, let me give you an example of what passes for "sophisticated". For several years, after people complained about tax forms being sent out with their SSN's on them, they started encrypting them. How? Using a substitution cipher (e.g., 4 for 1, 7 for 2, etc.) Now that's sophisticated...

    --
    "Not an actor, but he plays one on TV."