An Australian driver has criticized the new surveillance cameras on our roads as an “invasion of privacy” and questioned why there are no “warning signs”.
Layla Ellaz, 32, filmed a handheld mobile phone detection camera on Punchbowl Road, Punchbowl, in Sydney’s southwest, and posted it on Tik Tok Thursday.
The Sydney driver asked why people weren’t informed about the cameras high in the clouds, which are located on top of a small crane.
‘Why don’t we receive warning signals similar to those from mobile speed cameras? Also, isn’t this an invasion of our privacy? Can you see the inside of our car? she said.
Ellaz, who joked that his solution would be to stop wearing pants, doubled down on his privacy concerns.
Ellaz mounted his phone on the dashboard and filmed the camera to show people how similar it looks to power lines and, for smoking, there are no warning signs (pictured).
The 32-year-old Sydney driver (pictured) said overhead cameras are an invasion of privacy and warning signs are a “constitutional right”.
“I have no problem with not using my phone while driving, I have a problem with whether it’s okay to take pictures from above inside people’s cars,” he wrote.
In the video, a yellow trailer is seen on the grass in front of Perry Park, with a tow truck attached that has the camera positioned over the road.
Ellaz said the unit resembles overhead power lines.
‘Can you see the yellow box hanging on the left? It looks like electricity. There you go. Your mother gets upset,’ she said.
“That’s to catch you using your mobile phone.”
Some Australian drivers agreed with Ellaz, but most did not share his concerns.
“What are you doing in your car that you don’t want them to see?” one wrote.
‘Why would you need a warning sign not to use your phone while driving? “It’s not that fucking hard,” wrote another.
‘Wait until someone in your family is injured or killed by a driver using their phone and your tone will change!’ said another.
Ellaz also wrote that she was concerned about whether the people projecting the images could be trusted.
NSW Transport doesn’t want warning signs because it wants drivers to do the right thing and not use their phones. They are more likely to do this if they think they could be caught at any moment. (pictured, a stock image of a portable mobile phone detection camera)
‘Are the people who control those cameras protected by police controls and work with child controls?’ she said.
The 32-year-old said yahoo He was concerned about the height of the camera and how ‘Big Brother’ is infiltrating the internal spaces of the car.
“If only our vehicles came with a ‘privacy mode’ button to protect us from inadvertent captures of the crotch and cleavage,” she said.
“At a minimum, a sign indicating the presence of the device or acknowledgment of photo capture would level the playing field.”
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said all photographs taken, stored and used do not breach the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.
“When potential infringement is detected, images will be pixelated and cropped to protect privacy before being judged by authorized personnel,” they said.
Transport NSW said the images are monitored by computers and permanently deleted if the driver commits no offence. For those who do the wrong thing, photos are cropped and pixelated before staff review the image.
The software reviews all images (not those of humans) and when no crime has been detected, the footage is permanently deleted, usually within an hour.
The fine in New South Wales for using a mobile phone while driving is $387, or $514 in a school zone, plus five demerit points.
The Transport for NSW spokesperson also said the cameras do not have warning signs to be able to catch people doing the wrong thing.
The government wants to discourage drivers from using their phones while driving to make the roads safer by letting them know that they can be caught anywhere at any time.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said Cameras save lives and are a preventive measure.
Khoury also stated that a driver’s ability to use their vehicle safely is reduced when looking at their mobile phone: it’s “almost like driving drunk.”