Ford Files Alarming Patent That Rats Out Speeding Drivers To Police

A new patent by Detroit automaker Ford may make future Ford cars owners snitches on speeding drivers to law enforcement agencies. The technology works passively using cameras, LIDAR and radar devices mounted around a vehicle to monitor the speed of other vehicles. If speeding is detected, relevant data is forwarded directly to law enforcement and/or the nearest police car. Care to have your vehicle deputized, anyone?


In a July approval with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the technology development arm of Ford Motor Company, Ford Global Technologies, sought to patent a system that reports speeding drivers to law enforcement. Titled "Systems and Methods for Detecting Speeding Violations," the patent describes how one's car can be used to detect if nearby vehicles were being driven above the posted speed limit. Compared to current stationary speed cameras and police speed traps, Ford's system has the ability to capture and submit images of the driver to law enforcement for immediate identification and processing.

The document mentions that speed and imaging data is captured with an array of cameras and sensors; we're guessing at least most (if not all) of these components will use autonomous driving and safety sensor suites. As infotainment and vehicular processing power increase with each generation, it'd be relatively easy for a car to support this function anyway.


From what we can gather from the diagrams, Ford's invention can monitor speeds of other cars in at least three ways: stationary, moving along with traffic, or even as a herd. The latter leverages multiple vehicles with this technology to monitor one vehicle. One of the key features of this patent is the ability to capture driver photos when speeding is detected, so having cameras from multiple cars covering different angles makes sense.

While this tech is interesting and all, two questions come to mind: how is using a private vehicle as a speed enforcement tool legal? Plus, how would car owners feel about becoming speed enforcers? We imagine some may enjoy contributing to law enforcement efforts or being part of a digital citizen's arrest network (for the lack of a better term), but others may balk at the idea of a third-party like Ford essentially using their personal property to monitor other citizens.