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Cell Phones to Monitor Traffic Flow

Posted by Zonk on from the hi-there dept.

PCOL writes "The Baltimore Sun reports that Delcan technology will soon begin fullscale deployment of a system in Maryland that will mine cellphone data to determine traffic conditions such as jams and slowdowns. As long as a user's phone is turned on, the cellphone network notes the time of handoffs from cell to cell to calculate the location and speed of vehicles. Researchers say the program will reduce congestion by quickly delivering alerts on road conditions to drivers. The company says they will not track the movement of individual drivers. However, a staff attorney for the EFF says that tracking might violate federal law and 'increases the chances that information will be used for more invasive purposes in the future.'"

10 of 88 comments (clear)

  1. Re:First DUPE!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Slashdot should use cell phones to start monitoring dupes! :-)

    http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/ 01/159241&tid=193

  2. Doesn't have to be a privacy problem. by ezzzD55J · · Score: 4, Informative

    You don't have to do any tracking of handsets to estimate how busy the roads are - just count the number of handoffs coming in going out (per cell per handset). The quicker they are, the faster the cars are moving.

    1. Re:Doesn't have to be a privacy problem. by Tatarize · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Just wait til they track the individual cell phones, and use the calculations to catch speeders. Location and speed they travel. Then just get a bunch and find out who the cellphones belong to and ticket them.

      --

      It is no longer uncommon to be uncommon.
    2. Re:Doesn't have to be a privacy problem. by Macka · · Score: 3, Interesting


      I'm writing this from the City of Sheffield in the UK, about 200 miles away from where I live. I just drove up this morning. On 3 occasions I called the Orange traffic info line to check what was happening on the motorways (freeways) ahead of me. Apart from getting info on specific motorways (punching the number in on the car keypad) one option is to get traffic information near to where I am. It takes only a couple of seconds, then they announce the A road or motorway I'm traveling on, the direction I'm traveling in, and then proceed to give me a full report on what happening ahead of me and in the surrounding area. It's bloody useful.

      It's also possible to be too paranoid about things to you own detriment !!

    3. Re:Doesn't have to be a privacy problem. by zippthorne · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I wish they would catch EVERY speeder. Then there'd be enough clamor that we could get the damn speed limits increased to reasonable levels. and maybe we'll stop using the rediculous rhetorical device of "if it saves one life its worth it" to pass bad laws.

      The only thing that keeps bad laws on the books is arbitrary enforcement of bad laws.

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
  3. Re:First DUPE!!!! by Punkrokkr · · Score: 4, Informative

    Being an unfortunate resident of Maryland I do know that they tried to set up speed cameras; however, from my understanding that idea failed. In fact, Lockheed Martin was the company in charge of developing the cameras and when the controversy started, they let another company take over that. LM didn't want the heat apparently. They had a couple for "testing" purposes on the beltway around DC, it caught me once, but they were only sending out warnings since it wasn't "legal" yet to ticket speeders.

    --

    There's no emoticon for what I'm feeling! -- CBG, "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes"
  4. invasive by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 5, Informative
    We have a similar system in the UK.

    Introduced to provide traffic speed info (provided you subscribe - about $50 per month).

    Now beiing used to find stolen cars, terrorists (recently anyone who disagrees with a government minister) and people who owe parking tickets - who have their car clamped until they pay.

    George Orwell was only 20 years too early - he got most of the rest right.

    --
    Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
    1. Re:invasive by Hosiah · · Score: 3, Insightful
      George Orwell was only 20 years too early - he got most of the rest right.

      I've thought this so long, and have seen so many others say the same, that I'm supporting Orwell's canonization as an official prophet. God knows, he had a better batting average than most prophets.

  5. Obligatory by codeshack · · Score: 3, Funny

    Of course, it can't track you if your number starts with $sys$...

  6. Re:First DUPE!!!! by Jupix · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well, after clicking through some links it seems this is the FIFTH /. story about the same thing.

    http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/ 01/159241&tid=193
    http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/16/076217 &tid=215&tid=126
    http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/12/30/124324 7&mode=thread&tid=126
    http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/13/042822 9&mode=thread&tid=100