It sounds like Big Brother is getting another tech upgrade.
From the Washington Post:
The private companies that will build and operate the Beltway [high-occupancy toll] lanes have proposed using technology that would scan drivers and passengers with bursts of infrared light that detect human skin. The technology is so sophisticated that it can distinguish human faces from decoy dummies and shotgun-riding dogs, according to Ken Daley, a senior vice president at toll road operator Transurban, one of two private companies behind the Beltway project.[...]
Aside from a driver’s general unease with being scanned, such equipment raises concerns about possible misuse of images in, say, divorce court or by insurance companies seeking to increase rates for long-haul commuters, said Ginger Goodin, an engineer at the Texas Transportation Institute who oversaw a July study on head-counting for the Federal Highway Administration.[...]
Yet despite the growing popularity of HOT lanes, enforcement remains a critical challenge. In some cities, including San Diego, enforcement is done manually: California Highway Patrol officers on motorcycles watch drivers from behind concrete barriers, looking for cheaters. Other areas, including Denver, require carpoolers to peel off mid-trip to a designated lane to avoid being charged.
For the non-roadgeeks out there, HOT lanes are being implemented or considered in a number of congested metropolitan areas as a way to fund additional highway capacity and to encourage carpooling. Whereas “normal” HOV/carpool lanes on freeways are limited to vehicles containing the requisite number of people (usually a minimum of 2 or 3 occupants), HOT lanes permit access by vehicles containing fewer passengers willing to pay a toll, the price of which frequently varies based on congestion in the non-HOT lanes or the time of day.
Here around Hartford, we do have a couple of HOV lanes on the interstates north and east of Hartford. I don’t use them on my commute, but they do come in handy when I ferry my wife to her weekly appointments at a couple of doctors in other parts of the state. Interstate traffic can get very bogged down on 91 north of Hartford, and so the HOV lanes come in handy in bypassing some of the congestion, and in reducing some of the randomness involved in trying to figure out how much drive time to allow.
And yes, I do get grumpy when traffic is particularly bad, and some single-occupant vehicles pull across the paved area separating the HOV lane from mainline 91 to escape the jam…usually without looking behind them to notice that we’re about to occupy the space they’re pulling into.
And, while the state troopers do occasionally enforce the 2-person limit for the HOV lane, I must admit that having consistent photo enforcement does have a certain appeal to me, despite the privacy implications.
