A woman drives with both hands on the wheel. Her phone sits face-down on her lap. No officer pulls her over. No lights flash. Weeks later, a $1,251 ticket arrives in the mail. The evidence: a single frame from a Camera surveillance app. The charge: phone use while driving.
Automated camera companies market their devices as automated license plate readers — tools for catching stolen cars, flagging warrants, and aiding serious investigations.
Sold as a Crime Tool. Used as a Fine Machine.
I know of at least 1 study on human behaviour, where an image of an eye was added to a bathroom and increased the number of people who washed their hands after using the facilities, that suggests people do in fact need the “threat” of feeling they’re being watched to behave responsibly.
Ultimately, when you’re in control of something with the potential destructiveness of a car, you do need to be monitored for everyone’s safety. The only way to have a society without that level of monitoring is to have one without general access to cars.
You realize people can buy guns, yeah? Primitive guns can be made with shockingly little resources. The only way to protect society from guns is to monitor everyone all the time in all scenarios – full surveillance state, and every thing that comes with it. If your stance is anything to prevent any risks at any costs, we disagree about really fundamental aspects of life.
Are cars dangerous? Sure, but they’re not weapons. I’m even not convinced banning weapons - much less mass surveillance against weapons - is a particularly wise idea with rising authoritarianism. Maybe you do draw a line somewhere and accept some level of risks, but if you do it’s far beyond anything I’d consider reasonable.