Traffic Cameras are Tracking You Right Now #privacy #surveillance #cars

Our Take

Credit to Car Coach Reports for connecting two surveillance threads that usually get covered separately: the cameras bolted to poles reading your plate, and the computer sitting in your dashboard logging your trips. Most drivers think of these as unrelated annoyances. They're not. Together they form a pretty complete picture of where you've been, how fast you got there, and who you might have been with — all compiled without a warrant, often without your knowledge, and frequently sold or shared well beyond its original purpose.

The infotainment data angle is a newer front in this fight, but the plate-reader piece is one we track every day. Flock Safety and similar vendors have blanketed neighborhoods, school zones, and small-town intersections with cameras that log every passing vehicle, retain the data, and in many cases share it across agency and state lines with minimal oversight. It's not hypothetical tracking — it's infrastructure that already exists in thousands of communities, often approved by a city council with little public debate.

If this video got your attention, don't stop at being alarmed — go look at what's actually deployed near you on our camera map, and if you want to push back on a camera contract or city council vote in your area, our take-action resources walk you through how to do it.